20 Power Launches FOR THE '90s

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Feb, 2000 by Susan Thea Posnock

Yahoo! Internet Life

LAUNCH DATE 1996

AD PAGES 1997:482; 1999:1,150

RATEBASE 1996: 200,000; 2000: 900,000

STAFF Launch: l5; Today: 50

FREQUENCY Monthly

Yahoo! intern Life could have been a disaster. When the title launched in 1996, the Web was on the verge of exploding. If the title had been delayed, by evena few months, it would have missed its window, says Jim Spanfeller, executive vice president, publishing director for Ziff-Davis. "The Web took off with such velocity," he says. And had the timing been different, the magazine could have drowned in a category that was suddenly flooded, he says.

The magazine broke other ground. At a time when everyone was predicting the death of print, "Yahoo! Internet Life proved that magazines are important in building a franchise for new and emerging Web sites," Spanfeller says. "The number-one way to build traffic to your Web site is by being written about in magazines for Web users--it was a big mind bend for a lot of folks."

Maxim

LAUNCH DATE 1997

AD PACES 1997:241,1999:977

RATEBASE Initial distribution: 175,000; 2000:1.5 M

STAFF Launch 26; 1999:57 FREQUENCY 1997:10; 2000:12

The British Invasion returned in the 1990s, when Maxim stormed U.S. shores in April 1997. The magazine created a "guy" category, and quickly challenged longstanding titles in the men's lifestyle market

"It created a whole new genre of men's magazines-the slightly younger, less staid, general--interest magazine for men," says Garfinkle of McCann-Erickson.

"We talk to guys in a language they understand," says Steve Colvin, president of Dennis Publishing in the United States. "It's how guys talk to each other."

Since it's importation, there's been much of a to-do over Maxim's influence on fellow men's titles. "There are a lot more girls on the covers. All of them have started following our lead," says Colvin. And while there may be plenty of imitators around the bend, he says he isn't worried. "What we've proved through Maxim is that the American newsstand is alive and well-if you've got the right product."

Teen People

LAUNCH DATE 1998

AD PACES 1998:700; 1999: 930

RATEBASE Launch: 500,000; February 2000:1.5 M

STAFF 1998: 42; 1999:100 FREQUENCY Monthly

Charged with extending the People franchise to include the teen market, Teen People's launch team went straight to the source. "We made an effort from day-one to include teenagers in the creation of the magazine," explains managing editor Christina Ferrarie. The publication's trend-spotters--a group of over 7,000 teens who contribute editorial ideas and participate in focus groups for advertisers-were key in creating the title's mission. Additionally, 35 aspiring highschool and college journalists receive assignments and are paid for contributions to the magazine.

"Everywhere in the magazine there's truly the voice of teens," Ferrarie says. "We're not just paying lip service to the idea that this really is a magazine for teens-we involve them in every way." The magazine doesn't talk down to the audience by using slang, adds Ferrarie. And it uses real teens and celebrities instead of professional models. "That made our readers really feel like it was their magazine," she says.