Read me, you beautiful man
Men's Magazines With the first of two issues this year, Bo-Bolero will fill the «Swiss men's magazine» niche on March 12.
Men's magazines With the first of two issues this year, Bo-Bolero occupies the "Swiss men's magazine" niche on March 12.The time for playing hide-and-seek is over: men who used to secretly read their partner's women's magazines will now be served by Bolero with its own magazine. What remains hidden, however, are the future plans of Bolero Zeitschriften Verlag AG. For the time being, two issues of Bo (Bolero for men in the subtitle) will appear in March and September as part of a new special series. And after that? Managing Director Martina Allenspach acknowledges the question with a smile. She leaves open the question of whether Bo will continue as a biannual special or even expand into a stand-alone magazine with greater frequency. "You see, we are a small publisher. With big media houses, a title might be pushed into the market with millions. With us, smaller rolls are baked."
The intention to make Bo more than a one-shot is nevertheless obvious when Allenspach talks about the market opportunities. The trend that Bo wants to jump on is called "grooming": beauty care for men. A trend with huge potential. The market for women's cosmetics is 99 percent saturated, Allenspach quotes her customers in the cosmetics industry, while the market for men's cosmetics only covers two percent. To boost demand among the stronger sex and get the products to men, targeted advertising channels are now needed. "There is room for a men's magazine in German-speaking Switzerland," Allenspach says. "For Bo."
No Sucklattism
So far, Swiss men have mainly found German versions of British "lad's magazines" like GQ and FHM on the newsstands, which make their mark with sex, sports and raunchy humor. Bo, on the other hand, is aimed at "men with brains," emphasizes Allenspach. "Suckiness doesn't happen in Bo." Each issue has a theme - "Heroes" in the first issue on March 12, "Clans & Clubs" in the second on September 7. The content is in line with Bolero's core expertise: fashion, beauty, style, design. Eroticism is not missing, but it remains platonic. Thus, the first issue contains an erotic short story, for which illustrations were completely dispensed with. With a man on the cover and a photo series on beautiful secondo men, Bo sets itself even further apart from the usual men's magazine mix.
One could almost believe that Bo is aiming for a similar mix of readers as Bolero already has. Around a quarter of the women's magazine is read by men. Martina Allenspach sees no problem in such a mix of target groups: "According to trend researcher Faith Popcorn, the vast majority of all purchasing decisions are influenced by women anyway," she says with a laugh. As a special from Bolero, Bo is sent to all (around 13,000) subscribers. It will be on sale at newsstands for three months. A third of the print run of 35,000 copies will be distributed through other channels, such as partnerships with labels or events.
By the way, the male target group is not new territory for Bolero Zeitschriften Verlag. So far, Bolero has published specials twice a year with up to 36 pages aimed at the gentlemen of creation.
Eroticism in Bo-Bolero? There is also, but only very restrained.
Martina Allenspach offers men new reading fun with Bo-Bolero.
Stefano Monachesi
The intention to make Bo more than a one-shot is nevertheless obvious when Allenspach talks about the market opportunities. The trend that Bo wants to jump on is called "grooming": beauty care for men. A trend with huge potential. The market for women's cosmetics is 99 percent saturated, Allenspach quotes her customers in the cosmetics industry, while the market for men's cosmetics only covers two percent. To boost demand among the stronger sex and get the products to men, targeted advertising channels are now needed. "There is room for a men's magazine in German-speaking Switzerland," Allenspach says. "For Bo."
No Sucklattism
So far, Swiss men have mainly found German versions of British "lad's magazines" like GQ and FHM on the newsstands, which make their mark with sex, sports and raunchy humor. Bo, on the other hand, is aimed at "men with brains," emphasizes Allenspach. "Suckiness doesn't happen in Bo." Each issue has a theme - "Heroes" in the first issue on March 12, "Clans & Clubs" in the second on September 7. The content is in line with Bolero's core expertise: fashion, beauty, style, design. Eroticism is not missing, but it remains platonic. Thus, the first issue contains an erotic short story, for which illustrations were completely dispensed with. With a man on the cover and a photo series on beautiful secondo men, Bo sets itself even further apart from the usual men's magazine mix.
One could almost believe that Bo is aiming for a similar mix of readers as Bolero already has. Around a quarter of the women's magazine is read by men. Martina Allenspach sees no problem in such a mix of target groups: "According to trend researcher Faith Popcorn, the vast majority of all purchasing decisions are influenced by women anyway," she says with a laugh. As a special from Bolero, Bo is sent to all (around 13,000) subscribers. It will be on sale at newsstands for three months. A third of the print run of 35,000 copies will be distributed through other channels, such as partnerships with labels or events.
By the way, the male target group is not new territory for Bolero Zeitschriften Verlag. So far, Bolero has published specials twice a year with up to 36 pages aimed at the gentlemen of creation.
Eroticism in Bo-Bolero? There is also, but only very restrained.
Martina Allenspach offers men new reading fun with Bo-Bolero.
Stefano Monachesi
