Ignition fuel: Exercise a little patience until the spark ignites
«Neither a highbrow magazine nor a bland glossy publication»—that's what Zündstoff aims to be.
Zündstoff aims to be "neither a glossy magazine nor a bland glossy product"; rather, the free Basel magazine sees itself as a mouthpiece for the interests and concerns of young people. Zündstoff was launched at the end of April with enough money in the coffers for two issues. Now that issue 2 has been published, young publisher Christian Keller draws a mixed conclusion. The 21-year-old political science student emphasizes that the response in the advertising market has confirmed the concept with a mixture of trend and politics. However, Zündstoff is met with a lot of mistrust in agencies. They have had bad experiences with the unreliability of young media producers,
for example with missed publication dates.
Keller is determined to do better than his predecessors. "Our problem is that we need more time to make a name for ourselves and gain trust." At the moment, potential customers prefer to wait and see how the title develops. "If we succeed in
I'm sure we'll be able to get into the media plans," says Keller. The production budget is 12,000 francs per issue. At the moment, the financing is in place for three issues, i.e. until August.
In addition to the malus as a youth medium, Zündstoff struggles with other handicaps. Keller has also received rejections due to the low circulation of 10,000 copies and the restriction to the Basel region. An increase in circulation makes little sense in view of the target group definition (the 50,000 pupils and students in Basel). "At most, it would be conceivable whether the concept could be transferred to other cities," muses Keller. However, the local reference is important to him.
Zündstoff, on the other hand, wants to improve distribution by having someone at each school ensure correct distribution in future. The new issue will be advertised on Radio Basel 1. Young publisher Keller rules out the possibility that the magazine could one day be supported by the state or a foundation: "Zündstoff is only made by young people. As soon as a youth medium is institutionalized, young people will inevitably jump ship."
Start-up problems: Agencies are skeptical about ignition fuel.
(sm)
for example with missed publication dates.
Keller is determined to do better than his predecessors. "Our problem is that we need more time to make a name for ourselves and gain trust." At the moment, potential customers prefer to wait and see how the title develops. "If we succeed in
I'm sure we'll be able to get into the media plans," says Keller. The production budget is 12,000 francs per issue. At the moment, the financing is in place for three issues, i.e. until August.
In addition to the malus as a youth medium, Zündstoff struggles with other handicaps. Keller has also received rejections due to the low circulation of 10,000 copies and the restriction to the Basel region. An increase in circulation makes little sense in view of the target group definition (the 50,000 pupils and students in Basel). "At most, it would be conceivable whether the concept could be transferred to other cities," muses Keller. However, the local reference is important to him.
Zündstoff, on the other hand, wants to improve distribution by having someone at each school ensure correct distribution in future. The new issue will be advertised on Radio Basel 1. Young publisher Keller rules out the possibility that the magazine could one day be supported by the state or a foundation: "Zündstoff is only made by young people. As soon as a youth medium is institutionalized, young people will inevitably jump ship."
Start-up problems: Agencies are skeptical about ignition fuel.
(sm)
