NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Amidst print media's, shall we say, challenging economical climate, magazine publishers are scrambling to retain subscribers and stop hemorrhaging ad pages while scrapping budgets. But four well-known print players are bucking the trend and expanding those budgets for new launches.
Niche Media, purveyors of more than 20 large format titles that celebrate luxury lifestyles in major cities across the country, is gearing up for the release of its latest venture, Michigan Avenue, in Chicago.
The Wall Street Journal's inaugural glossy iteration has already made its debut; Niche Media is preparing for its latest title rollout on Monday; Us Weekly is planning a quarterly spinoff of its supermarket staple; and Hearst is getting into the epicurean game.
Successful categories
While these releases might not signal a resurrection of print, that they're being released at all is a positive sign. But the strategy seems to be to target categories that have demonstrated vibrant ad-page growth. For instance, three of the rollouts, such as Rupert Murdoch's WSJ, plan to rely heavily on fashion advertisers. Niche Media, purveyors of more than 20 large format titles that celebrate luxury lifestyles in major cities across the country, is gearing up for the release of its latest venture, Michigan Avenue, in Chicago.
Michigan Avenue's first issue features a sizeable 360 pages, 160 of which are ad pages from Aston Martin, Dom Perignon, Harry Winston and the like. Niche Media CEO Jason Binn said the magazine has already grossed more than $3 million in advertising within a six-month period, and stands as the property's largest launch to date.
"It's been a business model that's been growing every year," Mr. Binn said regarding the lifestyle category. "We're staying on its course."
Niche Media has steadily introduced at least one new magazine a year over the past eight years, including its New York brand, Gotham, in 2001, Los Angeles Confidential in 2002 and titles for Atlanta, Las Vegas and Miami, among others. And while its contemporaries are shearing expenditures, Niche Media has expanded its headquarters, to a 50,000-square-foot space.
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