New pots, new steam
Two food magazines and a redesign are set to revitalize the newsstand and subscription markets this spring
Two gastronomy magazines and a redesign will revitalize the newsstand and subscription market in the springBy Carlo Bernasconi Kochen and La Tavola are the names of the new kitchen and lifestyle magazines that will hit the market in March. In addition, the hitherto rather staid d'Chuchi from the Meyer publishing house has been given a slimming cure, and the high-priced Marmite will only be put on the fire four times a year. The battle for readers' favor at the kiosk buffet and on the subscription market is on.
In gastronomy and cuisine, the new objectivity prevails. "Hanspeter Eggenberger, the new editor-in-chief of Chuchi (now without a preceding article, but still consistently written in lower case), allows himself "little to no frippery. Last fall, he received a mandate from the publishing house Meyer AG in Jona, Canton St. Gallen, to head the editorial team of the cooking magazine that was launched about ten years ago.
"We don't want to present a fragmented cookbook, but rather take a journalistic approach to the subject of food and drink," he adds. The first booklet implements this maxim, at least visually: "Before, the pictures showed lavish decorations, now the image focuses on the dish," adds the CEO of Duktus AG, the newly founded editorial company with which Eggenberger will acquire further mandates.
Ramona Meisser, Chuchi's advertising manager since December 1, has not increased advertising prices for this redesign of the cooking magazine, which is certified with 106652 copies (Wemf 2000). 12710 francs cost the four-color page. It had long been clear that the previous editor-in-chief Annemarie Wildeisen would be handing in her cooking apron at Chuchi at the end of 2001, but "many people, especially on the media side, didn't know what was happening with the magazine," she says (see also page 3). Even ad salespeople in her own company were in the dark.
With issue 3 on the newsstands, the publishing house Meyer AG wants to satisfy the "pent-up demand for communication" and above all target readers. Or female readers. "It is possible that we will organize an event," says Meisser. An extensive reader survey is also planned for the current year.
With 80000 copies, the AZ Media Group from Baden wants to
on March 6, the first two issues of the new monthly magazine Kochen (with Annemarie Wildeisen - the subtitle) will be launched on the market. From issue five on, the output will be reduced to 40,000 copies. At 6590 Swiss francs per page, the advertising rate is rather on the bargain side. Too low almost? "No," contradicts AZ publishing manager Ueli Eckstein. "We'd rather have ads in the paper," he says, and doesn't see the amount as an introductory price.
In broad reader niche the AZ magazine cooking wants to be active
Initial experience on the market proves Eckstein right. He also refutes the suggestion that a spring launch might not be the ideal time for a magazine. "We are convinced that the project is coming to market at the right time. We wanted to afford this investment." He bases his optimism on an internal AZ survey in July 2001 of 951 test persons (840 of whom were female) who had been presented with a zero issue of Kochen. 354 of the respondents - 515 had returned the questionnaire - said that the text presentation of the recipes, Wildeisen's core competence, was very good, and 345 respondents found the picture presentation very good.
This investment in 10 cooking issues a year is, of course, at the expense of Marmite magazine, which used to appear six times a year. Now AZ publisher Peter Wanner is trimming the glossy magazine back to four issues. Annemarie Wildeisen is now responsible for everyday life at the stove and sink - incidentally, it was she who had knocked on Wanner's door and suggested the project of a new magazine. Wanner and Wildeisen sat together for half an hour over lunch, then the project was on the stove.
The zero number shows what the name Wildeisen has come to stand for among amateur gastronomes: upstanding conventionality. Admittedly, rhinestones and flourishes have been eliminated, but the reader guidance is still not optimal: Often the reader (70 percent of the intended target group between 28 and 50 years) looks for the hook, wanders around on the page, and the texts remain on the conservative, but brightly polished kitchen floor. It remains incomprehensible to the gourmet why not a single wine story makes the reading of Kochen more palatable ...
Marion Michels mixes up the lifestyle market
On March 12, Marion Michels plans to launch her magazine La Tavola by Marion Michels. It starts immediately with an edition of 100000 copies, which it wants to drive out over the new national airline, hotels, medical practices, the specialized trade (furnishing houses for catering trade) and naturally Abos and kiosk. With a unit price of 12 Swiss francs, the glossy magazine, which appears every three months (later, Michels plans to increase the publication frequency), will appeal to a lifestyle-conscious clientele: Generously laid out images spread across the pages, atmospheric exterior and interior photos are intended above all to please the eye, Michels is convinced. "I think the timing for the launch of La Tavola is extremely favorable," she says.
For the time being, the publisher from Orselina TI sells the ads and Publi reports herself and sets the amount of 9800 Swiss francs as the advertising price for a four-color page. Unlike the other cooking magazines, Michels attaches importance to a cultivated environment for her culinary creations, for which she has engaged maestros from all over Switzerland and "chef of the century" Eckart Witzigmann.
La Tavola will also show readers how to set tables beautifully and maintain an upscale lifestyle without having to sell off rows and rows of share packages. The fact that gastronomic destinations are also presented rounds off the image of the newcomer among lifestyle magazines.
New delicacies
In gastronomy and cuisine, the new objectivity prevails. "Hanspeter Eggenberger, the new editor-in-chief of Chuchi (now without a preceding article, but still consistently written in lower case), allows himself "little to no frippery. Last fall, he received a mandate from the publishing house Meyer AG in Jona, Canton St. Gallen, to head the editorial team of the cooking magazine that was launched about ten years ago.
"We don't want to present a fragmented cookbook, but rather take a journalistic approach to the subject of food and drink," he adds. The first booklet implements this maxim, at least visually: "Before, the pictures showed lavish decorations, now the image focuses on the dish," adds the CEO of Duktus AG, the newly founded editorial company with which Eggenberger will acquire further mandates.
Ramona Meisser, Chuchi's advertising manager since December 1, has not increased advertising prices for this redesign of the cooking magazine, which is certified with 106652 copies (Wemf 2000). 12710 francs cost the four-color page. It had long been clear that the previous editor-in-chief Annemarie Wildeisen would be handing in her cooking apron at Chuchi at the end of 2001, but "many people, especially on the media side, didn't know what was happening with the magazine," she says (see also page 3). Even ad salespeople in her own company were in the dark.
With issue 3 on the newsstands, the publishing house Meyer AG wants to satisfy the "pent-up demand for communication" and above all target readers. Or female readers. "It is possible that we will organize an event," says Meisser. An extensive reader survey is also planned for the current year.
With 80000 copies, the AZ Media Group from Baden wants to
on March 6, the first two issues of the new monthly magazine Kochen (with Annemarie Wildeisen - the subtitle) will be launched on the market. From issue five on, the output will be reduced to 40,000 copies. At 6590 Swiss francs per page, the advertising rate is rather on the bargain side. Too low almost? "No," contradicts AZ publishing manager Ueli Eckstein. "We'd rather have ads in the paper," he says, and doesn't see the amount as an introductory price.
In broad reader niche the AZ magazine cooking wants to be active
Initial experience on the market proves Eckstein right. He also refutes the suggestion that a spring launch might not be the ideal time for a magazine. "We are convinced that the project is coming to market at the right time. We wanted to afford this investment." He bases his optimism on an internal AZ survey in July 2001 of 951 test persons (840 of whom were female) who had been presented with a zero issue of Kochen. 354 of the respondents - 515 had returned the questionnaire - said that the text presentation of the recipes, Wildeisen's core competence, was very good, and 345 respondents found the picture presentation very good.
This investment in 10 cooking issues a year is, of course, at the expense of Marmite magazine, which used to appear six times a year. Now AZ publisher Peter Wanner is trimming the glossy magazine back to four issues. Annemarie Wildeisen is now responsible for everyday life at the stove and sink - incidentally, it was she who had knocked on Wanner's door and suggested the project of a new magazine. Wanner and Wildeisen sat together for half an hour over lunch, then the project was on the stove.
The zero number shows what the name Wildeisen has come to stand for among amateur gastronomes: upstanding conventionality. Admittedly, rhinestones and flourishes have been eliminated, but the reader guidance is still not optimal: Often the reader (70 percent of the intended target group between 28 and 50 years) looks for the hook, wanders around on the page, and the texts remain on the conservative, but brightly polished kitchen floor. It remains incomprehensible to the gourmet why not a single wine story makes the reading of Kochen more palatable ...
Marion Michels mixes up the lifestyle market
On March 12, Marion Michels plans to launch her magazine La Tavola by Marion Michels. It starts immediately with an edition of 100000 copies, which it wants to drive out over the new national airline, hotels, medical practices, the specialized trade (furnishing houses for catering trade) and naturally Abos and kiosk. With a unit price of 12 Swiss francs, the glossy magazine, which appears every three months (later, Michels plans to increase the publication frequency), will appeal to a lifestyle-conscious clientele: Generously laid out images spread across the pages, atmospheric exterior and interior photos are intended above all to please the eye, Michels is convinced. "I think the timing for the launch of La Tavola is extremely favorable," she says.
For the time being, the publisher from Orselina TI sells the ads and Publi reports herself and sets the amount of 9800 Swiss francs as the advertising price for a four-color page. Unlike the other cooking magazines, Michels attaches importance to a cultivated environment for her culinary creations, for which she has engaged maestros from all over Switzerland and "chef of the century" Eckart Witzigmann.
La Tavola will also show readers how to set tables beautifully and maintain an upscale lifestyle without having to sell off rows and rows of share packages. The fact that gastronomic destinations are also presented rounds off the image of the newcomer among lifestyle magazines.
New delicacies
Not least for reasons of lower production costs, but mainly because of Zurich's rapidly changing restaurant scene, Werd Verlag (Tamedia) is abandoning its restaurant guides in book form, previously published every two years, and is launching an annual magazine for the first time in May under the title Delikatessen with a print run of 25,000 copies. The yearbook, printed in web offset with 160 pages of content, costs 27 Swiss francs at the kiosk; Tages-Anzeiger subscribers can buy it for 19.90 Swiss francs. Advertisements can also be placed in it. Full-page ads in four colors cost 5900 Swiss francs. The ads are acquired by Schmid Annoncen in Zurich.
