Finally, The Boy Next Door Speaks

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov, 2001 by Whitney Joiner

Does he really like you? How can you tell? And why does he act so weird around his friends? A 'tween title promises to get inside boys' heads.

Boy Crazy

URL www.boycrazy.com

COMPANY Decipher, Inc.

LAUNCH September 10

SUBSCRIPTION $27.95

NEWSSTAND PRICE $595 (U.S.)/$7.95 (canada)

AD RATES $7,500 (full-page, four color); $2,500 (1/3 page, color)

TARGET AUDIENCE Girls, 12-17

FREQUENCY Bimonthly

EDITOR Gabrielle Lasting

Three years ago, cindy Thornburg stood in front of a newsstand in Virginia Beach, Virginia, brainstorming ideas for a new trading-card game. Her company, Decipher, Inc.-home to customizable card games for kids (the "Star Wars" and "Star Treks" that rule the middle-school cafeteria)-had no problems marketing to young boys. Finding a game for girls, how. ever, was a problem. What interests teenage girls? Scanning the teen girls' magazine titles, Thornburg got the answer: Boys.

By the winter of 2000, Thornburg had created Boy crazy, a trading-card game with an accompanying Web site. Each card has a picture of one of the 363 Boy crazy boys-real teenagers found in mall searches across the United States and Canada-with his vital stats listed on the back: age, birth date, eye color, etc. (To wit: Martin, #215, is a yellow-shirted African-American Pisces, 5, 11" and 16 years old, with brown hair and blue eyes. His favorite food is fettuccine; his favorite school subject is math.) The Web site contains more in-depth info about each boy: turn-ons, turn-offs, embarrassing stories, dream-date scenarios.

In September, Boy Crazy hit newsstands. Like the trading cards, the magazine features real boys and their pin-Up particulars; like the Web site, the title has more room to get boys talking. Decipher decided to add a magazine, says Thornburg, because "magazines are the way girls are used to getting information. The trading cards are very limited; the Web site is something that girls are using more and more. Magazines are a much more traditional vehicle to reach the target audience."

Boy Crazy's appeal is its promise to unravel the mysteries of the teenage boy's mind. The magazine is written largely by the boys themselves, who offer tips, stories about love and relationships. The first issue features a piece from Tarkan, # 155, on getting over jealousy; kissing advice from Jonny, #186; and an essay on the importance of passion by Charlie, # 358.

A teen girl magazine with no stars? It would be unthinkable for the CosmoGirl!s and YMs of the publishing world. But that's the point of Boy Crazy, says editor Gabrielle Lasting: "Our purpose is to give girls real boys-not celebrities-to explore. For the girl, it's about self-awareness, figuring out what she wants in a romantic relationship. It's for girls with an emerging interest in boys. They can explore without having to deal with rejection and some of the emotional aspects they may not be ready for yet," she says.

GOOD TIMING, AND BAD

Decipher, which had never published a magazine before, planned only one test issue of Boy Crazy. But after contracting with distributor DistiCor, says Thornburg, it was obvious that the title could be more than a one-shot.

"[Chain drugstore] CVS offered us a spot on an eight-title rack program targeted to teens," says Thornburg. "They were willing to accept Boy Crazy for three years, but we had to commit to doing a bimonthly."

Boy Crazy's original launch date was September 10, the day before the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Decipher had created a promotional campaign for the magazine, sending packages to the major morning shows and daytime talk shows. "We had just done an AP interview Monday at 5 p.m.," says Thornburg. Boy Crazy was on newsstands by September 11, but considering the circumstances, the magazine decided to push its official launch back to January; it will go bimonthly from there.

COUNTING ON ADS

Advertising will make up most of the titles's revenue, says Thornburg, who points out that Boy Crazy advertisers won't be getting space just in a magazine. "Advertising will be tied in to value-added programs," she says, "mall tours, events with the boys-opportunities for the advertisers to really participate in cross-promotional programs."

At Foster-Grant sunglasses, Tom Fourt, vice president of marketing, says advertising in Boy Crazy seems like a surefire way to reach a coveted demographic. "It looked like a very unique format. I think teenage girls will respond very positively to it."

And although the pre-teen and teen girl market is overflowing with new titles, Lasting is optimistic: "1 feel like this magazine is totally different from anything else out there. I don't really feel like we're competing [with other titles]," she says.

At least one competitor sees a possible shortfall, however. Kristin McKeon Niteo, deputy editor, Twist, says, "I love the idea of how it evolved. It's so interesting that it went from a card game to a Web site to a magazine. The idea of guys giving firsthand advice is great. However, the thing that may be difficult is that readers want a lot of information out of a magazine. They also want tips on fashion and beauty and celebrity news-and if they're looking for that stuff, they're looking for information from other girls. Boy Crazy might fall short in that department."