John Mcdonald Whips Up Copy And Cuisine

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, June 1, 2004 by Michael Rovner

Byline: MICHAEL ROVNER

When restaurateur and publisher John McDonald, 35, isn't hosting media movers at his Park Avenue boite, Lever House, he's going up against them at the American Society of Magazine Editors awards. An entrepreneur from Phoenix, McDonald started out with no experience in either business but is making remarkable headway in both. After graduating from Columbia with a BA in political science, McDonald managed to raise private funding from investors to open Merc Bar, a stylish cocktail lounge in New York's trendy SoHo in 1993. Four years later, he plunged into publishing with Desert Living, a regional lifestyle/shelter title (circ 50,000), which is distributed in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Las Vegas and Palm Springs. McDonald later expanded his menus and TOCs, opening other swanky eateries including Canteen, Dos Caminos and Lever House, which was recently nominated for a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. And in 1999, McDonald launched City magazine, a luxury lifestyle title (circ 85,000), which recently won an ASME award for photography.

Folio: What inspired you to branch out from a successful bar and restaurant career to enter magazine publishing?

McDonald: To tell the truth, Desert Living began as a fun creative project that I wanted to do after seeing interesting niche downtown books like Paper and the original Details. If you look at the emphasis that New York City restaurants put on entertainment and design, it carries over from a content standpoint. When you look at the convergence of design, food and fashion in City, you see we're trying to distill it all into one package with phenomenal visuals.

Folio: Elaborate on the similarities.

McDonald: You have your menu and you develop it. It's similar to an editorial package. I'm constantly reevaluating because the reader or customer needs to come back. It plays into brand building. You have to constantly look for your weak element and say, "It's not really selling. What can we do to better elevate our product?"

Folio: Tell us about the business side of City.

McDonald: We're coming very close to being in the black. We ask $8,800 a page for ads. It's not going to go up but it's about sticking a little closer to the rate.

Folio: How do you get the books in front of people?

McDonald: In NYC, it's primarily through Hudson News. Outside, you're dealing with bookstores like Barnes & Noble, BookStar and Borders and upscale supermarkets.

Folio: Would you like to increase the circulation?

McDonald: There's potential to expand, but right now we want to increase the draw and visibility. We're looking at programs that will put us in more airports as well. Ultimately, it would be great to have it up to about 120,000. The investment that it would take to make it 250,000, with your fulfillment houses and buying subs, is very expensive and there's no other way to get to that level. But it's not necessary. It's a premium product so you don't have to worry about going after that mass.

Folio: Is City predominantly a visual title?

McDonald: City is definitely a visual title. I'm not looking to do long-winded or controversial pieces. We're trying to distill content on restaurants, hotels and travel to give people a level of intelligence. The editor is like the concierge, whose service differs if it's at the Claridge Hotel or the Marriott Marquis with 900 rooms.

Folio: Do you plan to focus more on the editorial?

McDonald: I'm probably going to hire an executive editor. I'm getting more aggressive with it. But even with photographers, I'm not interested in using marquee names because the tier just below can push the envelope without the ego. They're not top-line superstars but they produce amazing work. You collaborate but don't control it. It's no different than if I had meddled with Marc Newsom's $5 million design of Lever House.

Folio: Your other title, Desert Living has an individual look. Have you noticed a visual similarity with a lot of the regional books?

McDonald: There must be one master art director out there on regional books because there are about 40 magazines that really do look alike. I think that's why we've gotten a lot of national advertisers: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Max Mara, etc., for fashion and home. The home component is a very substantial idea in those markets. This year, that book went into the black as well.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

ADVERTISING & SALES

At Time4 Outdoors, Mark St. Germain has been promoted to western advertising director from western sales manager. Michael Cassidy, associate publisher/director of sporting goods sales, adds eastern advertising director to his title...Time magazine has promoted Charlie Kammerer to eastern advertising director; Damian Slattery to sales development director...Doug Perkul has been named corporate accounts director at Spin. He was previously national accounts manager for Tribune Media...Allure magazine announces the following new hires: Lily Amado, formerly in international fashion sales at The New York Times, has been named international fashion manager, and James D'Adamo, formerly advertising director at Fitness, has been named American fashion director.