Building A Better Builder Book

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May 1, 2003 by Katie Caperton

Byline: KATIE CAPERTON

Consumer mags that can practically be mistaken for shopping catalogs are not news, and neither are product guides in the b-to-b category. But the recently launched Architectural Products is something in between, looking curiously like a Lucky for architects. Tim Shea, co-managing partner along with Gary Redmond, insists AP is more than just a product tabloid. "We're talking about a very sophisticated, highly educated audience," he says, "so we had to come up with a design that was graphically stimulating."

AP enters a category as the only book focused unrelentingly on product. It will compete with VNU's Architecture and McGraw-Hill's Architectural Record. Architecture publisher Suzanne Tron Haber says, "The timing is not great, but our business is steady, so more power to them." Redmond and Shea, both formerly in ad sales at Hanley-Wood and McGraw-Hill, say they expect their self-funded venture to be profitable by the end of this year.

AP's outsourced edit content anchors product descriptions provided (but not paid for) by manufacturers. Getting their goods featured on edit pages is not a guarantee for advertisers, but Shea says the mag will "work" with clients. "We're in the business of being an information bridge. If we can find a way to push product information, we think that manufacturers will see us as a viable alternative, and if they have ad dollars to spend, they'll want to spend them with us." The March/April premier issue included 23 ad pages.

Shea and Redmond looked to Hanley-Wood's Building Products as a model for their new magazine. BP publisher J. Michael Boyle finds the similarities to his residential b-to-b title apparent. "If, in fact, [AP] is filling a void in the commercial architecture marketplace," Boyle says, "then it may be the right formula."

The target audience for the Palatine, Illinois-based book consists of 30,000 architects from the top 20 percent of commercial design firms. To come up with that list, AP hired an outside company to pull the names from the Internet. Shea claims his competitors have broader circ, reaching more than 100,000. Bryant Hendricks, director of sales and marketing at Building Systems Design, Inc., says AP's targeted demo and product-based content prompted his full-page buy in the first issue. BSD, a former advertiser in Architectural Record, will continue to advertise in AP, according to Hendricks.

The commercial construction industry was down last year and continues to be this year, but analysts predict a rebound when the economy recovers. Meanwhile, AP may need to scrap for its survival. Bob Crosland, managing director at AdMedia Partners, says, "Let's just hope for [AP] that the architecture, engineering, and construction areas stay robust for a couple of years while they get their feet on the ground."

MAG STATS

Architectural Products

Launch date: March/April 2003 Company: Construction Business Media, LLC Frequency: 5X in 2003 Target audience: Commercial architects Subscription: Controlled circulation Newsstand price: N/A Ad rates: 1X gross rate, $5,990 Editor: Roy L. Diez Managing partners: Tim Shea and Gary Redmond

MINI-REVIEWS

Bell'Italia

>Beautiful Publishing Bimonthly

Italia-philes will shout "buono!" when reading the new American edition of this Italian lifestyle book. But they may mumble "malo" over the design. Some advice for future issues: Convert euros to dollars for us ignorant Americans.

BigShot

Big Media Group, Inc. Monthly

This Brooklyn-based mag covering the dance/techo music scene is basically a 'zine in glossy getup. But the small staff does a yeoman's job of putting out wide-ranging and engaging pieces, many of which you won't find in any of the major American music books.

LAUNCHING SOON

JAQK

Ex Men's Journaler Brett Garfinkel is betting men need another lifestyle mag - this one with a gambling theme. Fall 2003.

Automation World

This b-to-b title from Summit Media hopes to get an animated response from automated professionals by covering "the business of automation, from sensor to customer." June.