Sunset searches for some of its old shine - Sunset magazine

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 15, 1994 by Erika Isler

In the four years since Sunset Publishing Corp. was acquired by Time Warner from Lane Publishing for $225 million, the flagship magazine has gone through two presidents and two publishers, and lost more than 300 ad pages. Now, however, Time Inc. executives are hoping that a new infusion of top talent and a plan to bring Sunset Publishing's magazine and book operations closer together will mark the dawn of a new era for the venerable publication.

Sunset, the monthly magazine of Western living, is focused on travel, home improvements, food, gardening and outdoor living. Just four years shy of its 100th anniversary, the publication boasts a circulation of 1.5 million, with six regional versions (covering the Pacific Northwest, northern California, the Central Valley, southern California, Orange County and San Diego) and a national edition. In addition, Sunset Books publishes more than 200 different titles, ranging from Sunset's All-Time Favorite Recipes to Sunset's Basic Gardening Illustrated. In prior years, the two divisions operated autonomously, almost as separate companies. Now, the opportunities for advertisers interested in custom publishing programs are much more apparent. This month, for example, the book division introduced 400,000 copies of Starbucks Passion for Coffee, a cookbook developed in tandem with the Seattle-based national coffeehouse chain and Sunset advertiser.

In 1994, a number of Time Inc. veterans have landed at Sunset's Menlo Park, California, offices. Steve Seabolt, who had been regional ad sales vice president for Time Inc. in Los Angeles, stepped into the publisher's role in January, replacing Bob Lydon, who had served as publishing director for one year. Seabolt reports to Sunset Publishing Corp. president and CEO and TIV vice president Robin Wolaner. In May, Seabolt brought in Southern Accents vice president and publisher Anthony Glaves, naming him vice president and associate publisher. In July, Gralla Publications veteran Jenny LeCoq joined Sunset as sales development director.

This past summer, Seabolt engineered a new marketing-representative program to heighten Sunset's exposure outside the West. Essentially, the program is designed to bring Sunset reps together with the Western managers of non-Western-based companies. The idea behind the plan is that those who are familiar with the region and with Sunset's approach are more likely to be receptive to a sales pitch - and to then carry that message to other decision-makers within their companies. With three marketing reps on board to target new business and strengthen ties with current advertisers, Sunset executives hope the program will clearly articulate the advantages of the Western market to the rest of the country. "Not only are the Western regional managers for Midwest- and East-based companies a source of marketing input for us," Seabolt explains, "we can also tailor our solutions toward their objectives. It's a very effective strategy."

Marginal performance

Sunset could certainly use a few of those. California's troubled economy, coupled with the turnover at the magazine's top sales post, has taken a toll on the title's ad performance. In 1993, ad pages declined 7.8 percent, to 1,182 from 1,283 the previous year, according to Publishers Information Bureau. And through June '94, the publication had dropped 15.1 percent, to 544, from the same period in '93.

One of the difficulties facing Sunset and many other regionals is a hesitancy on the part of media planners. When advertisers pinch every last penny in their budgets, Sunset often becomes a "marginal book," says one West Coast media executive.

Still, the magazine's top brass are optimistic about the rest of the year, saying they expect to equal last year's ad-page total. The July issue, they note - with 70 ad pages, or two more than for the same month last year - was the first one this year in which both ad pages and ad revenue exceeded the comparable '93 issue. "We're selling the importance and the uniqueness of the region," says Seabolt. "People in the West think and live differently than the rest of the country."

That sell appears to be working better on the circulation side, with Sunset showing a 4.8 percent jump in the first half of '94 over the same period last year (to 1,496,631 from 1,428,725), most of that coming from subscriptions, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Traces of transition

Notes Bill Lane, retired co-chairman of Lane Publishing Co. and former publisher of Sunset: "There was a difficult period in going from a family business to being part of a large company, but the advertisers appear to be adjusting."

As Lane points out, many of the problems Sunset has encountered can be traced to the period after the June 1990 acquisition. "There was no clearly articulated strategy," recalls one insider. "Yet there was this fabulous relationship with the readers of Sunset, and a lot of potential for programs with advertisers."

Adds another executive familiar with the deal: "When Time Warner walked in, the management level was nothing but a shell." Many long-time Lane employees had opted for retirement when the deal with Time Warner was finalized. And those executives who decided to stay on, according to people familiar with the situation, didn't quite know how to work with their new corporate owners.