media channels; magazines: Let's Hear It for the Boys

American Demographics, August, 2000

A new magazine tries to attract hard-to-reach males.

A decade ago, when conventional wisdom dictated that guys would run screaming from a lifestyle service magazine created just for them, Rodale Inc. proved the masses wrong. Way wrong. The publishing company's launch of Men's Health not only showed that guys are interested in more than just sports, music, and gadgets, it helped bust open an entirely new market of adult male readers. Today, Men's Health is a category leader that boasts a circulation of 1.6 million readers.

Now, Rodale is girding for Round Two.

This time, the Emmaus, Pennsylvania-based company has its sights set on an even more elusive audience: male teens. This month, Rodale introduces MH-18, a Men's Health service-oriented spin-off, to attract the hard-to-reach adolescent male. It's a challenging feat considering the idea for a boys' lifestyle magazine has failed at least once before, and that today's newsstand is already woefully cluttered. In 1999 alone, nearly 900 new titles vied for the attention of readers. But Rodale executives are undaunted, convinced they have the right recipe to reach this fickle demographic. Says Jeff Csatari, editor of MH-18, "It's a gamble because nobody's done it right before. But I think now is the time."

He just may be right. In recent years, the teen market's explosion, in terms of size and spending power, has certainly captured marketers' attention. The sheer number of teens - those aged 12 to 19 - has risen 15.5 percent since 1990, to 32 million. By the end of the decade, the teen population is projected to swell to 34 million. The burst has forced businesses to rethink the adolescent market. How could they not? The average 13- to 17-year-old today has 51 percent more pocket money than a comparable youth in 1995, according to the 1999 Roper Youth Report.

In particular, tech-savvy teen males, who earn and spend more than their female counterparts, (and comprise 51 percent of the total U.S. teen population), are fast becoming an attractive market all of their own. On average, teen boys earn approximately $88 per week compared with the $75 teen girls make, according to Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU). And 69.9 percent of teen males have a savings or checking account, while 16.2 percent own a credit card or have access to one in a parent's name.

"It's a hugely untapped market, especially in print," says Jeanne Whalen, vice president of marketing of netgen, which has created the new netgenCard, a money card for teens to use for online shopping. Adds Marisa Thalberg, vice president of global advertising at Unilever Cosmetics International/Calvin Klein Cosmetics, "People are establishing their brand loyalties as young as 10 or 12, so you're kind of missing the boat if you aren't starting a little younger these days." (Unilever is an advertiser in Men's Health and is eyeing MH-18 as well.)

Rodale's new entry, aimed at the nation's 12.1 million boys aged 13 to 17, debuts in late August with a guaranteed circulation of 125,000, and a 350,000 newsstand distribution. The company will publish two issues this year and plans six more in 2001. Using the tone of a knowledgeable older brother, MH-18 will offer insight and guidance on the hazardous high school years. The magazine aims to help young men "get strong, be smart, look good, have fun." Adds advertising director Steve Bruman: "And get the girl."

First, though, Rodale has to help teen boys "get" the lifestyle magazine concept. Advising male teens on exfoliating, accessorizing, and pimple-proofing their skin is hardly an easy task. Certainly, today's teen is more brand and fashion-conscious than his predecessor, but even so, some observers aren't convinced the idea will sell. "I don't think teen boys want to be told what to do, how to act, or how to dress," says J. Eric Bethel, senior vice president, associate director of Optimedia U.S. (formerly DeWitt Media).

Indeed, when the concept was tried before, it didn't exactly fly. In the early 1990s, the publishers of Sassy, a controversial magazine for teen girls, attempted to give teen boys the latest in music, sports, and gadgets as well as teach them how to dress, and get a date, all in one magazine. Dirt, which launched as a quarterly, folded after only a handful of issues. "Dirt had the best execution imaginable, but it didn't have a point of reference," says Fran Richards, editorial director of Times Mirror magazine's new TransWorld Stance, a sports-lifestyle hybrid magazine aimed at 16- to 21-year-old guys interested in skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing, and the culture surrounding these sports. "No one had a reason why they had to buy it every month. The traditional female model of service-only magazines won't work for boys. I don't think the boys want that." (Richards calls TransWorld Stance - which has its fair share of both edit and ad pages devoted to clothes, music, entertainment, gadgets, and gear - a "broader interest niche magazine.")

In fact, teen males have long been regarded as specialist readers with very specific interests - particularly music, sports, and video gaming. To target them through print, marketers have often had to rely on adult-focused magazines that have high teen readership, such as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Spin, and Vibe - potentially expensive buys when trying to target a much more narrow audience.