Mr. Magazine

Today we present two more 7 questions and answers from our interviews with the editors and publishers of the 30 Most Notable Launches. The interviews will be published based on the alphabetical order of the names of the magazines. Today’s magazines are Bond and Condé Nast Portfolio. To read a short profile about each of the aforementioned magazines just click on the magazine name. We have asked the editors or publishers to answer the same 7 questions. Click here to read part one, here to read part two and here to read our interview with Tyler Brule of Monocle magazine, our first international notable launch of the year. What follows are today’s two notables:

Lynn Tsutsumi of Bond magazine answered our questions…

1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today’s marketplace?

Bond has succeeded in crossing all borders to be the first “exclusively inclusive” wedding magazine on the market to date. Bond appeals to the hip, urban, modern couple, both gay and straight and of all ethnicities. Bond encourages couples to think outside of the very narrow wedding box and to plan their ceremony and reception as an expression of their lifestyle.

2. Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?

The concept of Bond was very new and difficult for people to visualize prior to its launch. Most people have a very traditional view of what weddings are supposed to be like and Bond was breaking the mold. We had to put out a complete magazine with our Issue Zero just to show how it could be done.

3. What was the most pleasant surprise?

The most pleasant surprise was the acceptance and embracement of the Bond concept from all over the world. We get comments daily from people from all walks of life saying, “It’s about time!” There has been absolutely no controversy about representing gay and straight weddings together. We feel like we are on the right track and our audience has been waiting for Bond.

4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?

Bond’s biggest challenge right now is letting the world it exists without a big marketing department.

5. Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it human? Describe that human being.

Bond in human form is intelligent, beautiful, multi-cultural and passionate. It is a unifier, not a divider. It is global, forthright and pioneering: a gay Barack Obama.

6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do you offer to someone wanting to start a new magazine?

Make sure to have someone with a business background on your team.

7. Finish this sentence: in 2011 your magazine will be…

In 2011 Bond and bondmag.net will be the ultimate resource and visual guide for modern weddings around the world. Bond will be the standard for non-traditional weddings.

David Carey of Condé Nast Portfolio answered our questions:

1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today’s marketplace?

Portfolio has energized a sector of the publishing business that many had thought was moribund. By introducing a print magazine that made sense in the context of how people consume information these days, we’ve been able to deliver a new experience for readers. Building both the magazine and website simultaneously, we were able to demonstrate that “new media” can be print as well as digital.

2. Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?

While the launch was intensely covered by the media, we were pleasantly surprised how quickly this new media brand was included in the small collection of mainstream business media. Just a few months into its existence, CNP quickly joined a short list of publications founded a long time ago. Add cultural reference pints like a quote on “Meet the Press” and we felt we weren’t just the new kid on the block, but part of the club.

3. What was the biggest pleasant surprise?

Given how fast business moves, some people at first couldn’t understand how a monthly magazine would work. But by collecting a diverse portfolio of stories each month, we’ve been able to demonstrate that deeply reported narrative journalism with big picture perspective has the ability to put today’s and tomorrow’s headlines into context.

4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?

While we did little to generate it, we benefited from a tremendous amount of media attention as one of the most high profile new launches in years. And that has helped us build great momentum with both advertisers and readers. Maintaining that excitement as the magazine matures and establishing the unique benefits of the product in the marketplace will be our biggest challenge in the coming year.

5. Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it
human? Describe that human being.

The embodiment of CNP would be a forward-thinking entrepreneur. The type of executive who might build a great brand from the ground up, take it public and then start all over in an entirely different industry. A man or woman who enjoys the intellectual challenge of business and who also savors the game of it.

6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do you have to someone wanting to start a new magazine?

Do your homework and stay close to both your readers and advertisers. When we set out to develop CNP, we had a clear idea of the opportunity. But we invited both potential advertising partners and readers into the process. Intensive focus groups and research both pre-publication and between our first two issues yielded vital feedback that proved integral in shaping the product you see today.

7. Finish this sentence: In 2011 your magazine will be…

Continuing to explore the business stories of today. By then the technology may have evolved a bit since our launch and some yet-to-be-formulated brands may be shaping the economic conversation, but CNP will be delving deeply into the people and phenomena driving business.

Today we present two more 7 questions and answers from our interviews with the editors and publishers of the 30 Most Notable Launches. The interviews will be published based on the alphabetical order of the names of the magazines. Today’s magazines are Aromatherapy Thymes and Artful Blogging. To read a short profile about each of the aforementioned magazines just click on the magazine name. We have asked the editors or publishers to answer the same 7 questions. Click here to read part one and here to read our interview with Tyler Brule of Monocle magazine, our first international notable launch of the year. What follows are today’s two notables:

Patricia Carol Brooks of Aromatherapy Thymes answered our questions:

1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today’s marketplace?
Our goal of taking an alternative health magazine and making it mainstream and commercial which is atypical for an alternative health magazine that usually has a niche market.

2. Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?
Surprisingly, we were able to assemble, research and collect informative articles of interest, but finding quality photographs and photographers to match the articles was an initial hurdle. Because the intent was to present the science and show the true beauty and art of aromatherapy.

3. What was the most pleasant surprise?
That so many people were interested in aromatherapy and enthusiastic that we presented aromatherapy in a down-to-earth and artistic style.

4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?
The two biggest challenges are, maintaining the integrity of the essential oil trade through informative articles and staying in contact with essential oil distillers in the U.S and abroad and coordinating the distribution channels for our market.

5. Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it human? Describe that human being.
Humble, compassionate, artistic like Degas, and poetic like Henry David Thoreau.

6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do you offer to someone wanting to start a new magazine?
Do your homework by learning the publishing industry and most important find your readers and do you best to give them a publication no one else can and listen to them.

7. Finish this sentence: in 2011 your magazine will be…
Recognized worldwide as a reliable reference for aromatherapy and a publication that brought the distilling, trade, sell and distribution of essential oils to forefront.

Staci Dumoski of Artful Blogging answered our questions:

1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today’s marketplace?

Artful Blogging has breached the barrier between the print and online worlds. There’s a lot of talk about the decline of print as people turn to electronic means for news and entertainment, but we’ve turned that digital awareness to our advantage by offering contributors and readers something concrete that they can hold on to, kind of a “best of the best” of what they might find online. It lends a sense of permanence to the ephemeral virtual world. I hope it makes people realize it doesn’t have to be one or the other — print and digital media can help each other grow.

2. Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?

Simply conveying to contributors, distributors and buyers what we are trying to accomplish, and getting them to believe that people really would spend money for content they’d already seen online.

3. What was the most pleasant surprise?

How beautiful the magazine is to look out. With dozens of artists representing all different art forms, it had the potential to be a real visual hodge-podge. But instead it’s turned out to be something of a visual masterpiece! That, and the response of our readers, who were buzzing about it on their blogs before it even hit the stands.

4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?

The Internet is always changing, and we have to stay responsive to that change by adapting to what’s going on in the online community. We don’t want to bore our readers by getting stuck in a rut.

5. Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it human? Describe that human being.

Exactly the kind of person you’d like to have over for tea and conversation. Or rather, a whole room full of those people — kind, colorful, generous, and inspiring.

6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do you offer to someone wanting to start a new magazine?

Don’t underestimate the importance of your visual impact. As enamored as I personally am of the inspirational stories our contributors tell, our #1 reader response is always about how gorgeous the publication is.

7. Finish this sentence: in 2011 your magazine will be…

…a completely different creature than it is now. More than that, I can’t say, because who knows what the Internet will look like five years from now? For sure we’ll be right there on the edge, helping all our artful readers keep track of the digital realm.

Starting today and for the next ten days we will be publishing our interviews with the editors and publishers of the 30 Most Notable Launches. The interviews will be published based on the alphabetical order of the names of the magazines. Today’s magazines are 0-60, American Driver and Antenna. To read a short profile about each of the aforementioned magazines just click on the magazine name. We have asked the editors or publishers to answer the same 7 questions. Yesterday we’ve published our first one with Tyler Brule of Monocle, our first ever International Notable Launch of the Year. Here are the first three of the American magazines.

Brian Scotto of 0 – 60 magazine answered our questions:

1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today’s marketplace?

The concept for 0-60 was to redefine the American car magazine, but actually translating the ideas we had in our head to the page was the difficult part. 0-60 is the magazine we wanted to read, something that fills the void between the mainstream and enthusiast titles and focuses on stories that take a different approach, where the writing, photography and design all play an equal role. That said, our greatest accomplishment has been finding a publisher, editorial team and art department who were all wiling to take the risk and challenge each other to make 0-60 what it is.

2. Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?

With an audience that is captivated by the immediacy of the Internet, we needed to create a modern print magazine that complemented the material found on the Web instead of trying to compete with it. 0-60 needed to be a print evolution. Quite simply, we just had to do it better than everyone else. We’ve spent weeks working on just one page.

3. What was the most pleasant surprise?

Rarely can you make everyone happy, but we’ve received glowing responses from automakers, advertisers and readers alike. Usually, to please one you must upset the other. Readers constantly tell us that 0-60 fits them perfectly, and obviously reaching that target audience delights the advertisers and automakers, too.

4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?

The automotive publishing world is cluttered; however, 0-60’s unique mission has allowed us to overcome this and stand out to the industry, plus convince new readers who have become disenchanted by the current crop of car mags to come back to the newsstand.

5. Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it human. Describe that human being.

It’s my best friend; the guy I talk cars with. He shares my passion, my interests and my style. He gets it.

6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do you offer to someone wanting to start a new magazine?

Prepare for a struggle—there’s no room left in the print world for half measures and “me too magazines.” Your product must be clearly differentiated from the others sharing shelf space. But while hard work and sleepless nights should be rewarded, you also need to have an excellent relationship with distributors, wholesalers and retailers. At the end of the day, magazines need to sell.

7. Finish this sentence: In 2011 your magazine will be…

…ranked amongst the big “buff” books like Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Road & Track, but still be as unique and progressive as it is today.

Timothy Miller of American Driver magazine answered our questions:

1) What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today’s marketplace?

“American Driver” being mentioned first and in the same sentence with “Robb Report,” “Cigar Aficionado,” and “Automobile” magazines by an advertising media buyer.

2) Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?

All the “no,” “not interested” and “that’ll never work” comments.

3) What was the biggest surprise?

The warm handshakes and bright smiles from the car owners, car collectors and automotive enthusiasts we meet from around the country and the eagerness with which they open up their homes, garages and businesses to our staff and readers.

4) What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?

Building and increasing the advertising, marketing and promotional value for our advertisers in creative, ground-breaking and measurable ways while also incorporating new, innovative ideas into our editorial mix.

5) Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it human? Describe that human being.

That human being would be Jay Leno – an affable, successful, entertaining and intelligent car nut.

6) The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do you offer to someone wanting to start a new magazine?

Step One: Read as many magazines as you can in your neighborhood bookstore. Buy your top five favorites and determine your motivation for those purchases.
Step Two: Purchase and read Samir’s “Guide to New Magazines.”
Step Three: Read Samir’s “Guide to New Magazines” five more times and then donate it to a college.
Step Four: Beg and borrow $2 to $6 million and call me in the morning.

7) Finish this sentence: In 2011, your magazine will be…

In 2011, “American Driver” will be the brand most requested, recognized and welcomed by those influential automotive enthusiasts enjoying the luxury lifestyle.

Dennis Page of Antenna magazine answered our questions:

1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today’s marketplace?

Creating a magazine that is “art” in itself.

2. Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?

Photographing the entire magazine with original photography (no stock, no pickup,
no jpegs).

3. What was the biggest pleasant surprise?

Women’s Wear Daily gave us an out-of-the box glowing review, as though it was a Conde Nast launch.

4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?

Trying to get the respect from high level advertisers that only Conde Nast can command.

5. Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it human?
Describe that human being.

It’s a collabo of James Bond from Undefeated and Holden Caufield from “The Catcher in the Rye”.

6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do
you offer to someone wanting to start a new magazine?

Make sure there is a real audience. Don’t create a magazine just for advertisers.

7. Finish this sentence: In 2011, your magazine will be….

…..a brand marketing “think tank.”