European fashion magazine

Bold launch for WorldStyle - but will advertisers buy? - fashion magazine, distributed as Sunday newspaper insert

Bold launch for Worldstyle--but will advertisers buy? | A new quarterly fashion magazine will soon turn to newspaper carriers for one of the largest circulation start-ups in publishing. On August 28, World-Style will reach a guaranteed 3.3 million homes as a Sunday newspaper insert.

As it sets out, WorldStyle appears to have the cards stacked against it. Sunday insert magazines have seen ad pages dwindle over the last several years. What's more, agencies bristle at the thought of free circulation--especially for a fashion magazine.

Worldstyle is modeled after the successful semiannual New York Times Magazine Fashion of the Times. The Times, however, is the exception in the Sunday magazine picture, says David Lehmkuhl, senior vice president and group media director, NW Ayer Inc. "Its success is more or less because of who the publisher is."

WorldStyle must prove it addresses a substantial demand beyond that met by Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Lear's and others, Lehmkuhl concludes.

Selective blanket coverage

WorldStyle executives believe they can overcome such objections by virtue of their circulation. They trumpet the glossy standard-format Sunday insert as the largest consumer magazine launch ever, reaching the affluent women of the top 25 markets in the country.

Within those markets, WorldStyle has selected only upscale neighborhoods--with household incomes greater than $25,000--for distribution. This audience of home owners, says president and chief executive Morton Bailey, is slightly older (median age 36.5) and wealthier (median income $41,950) than the audience to which most fashion magazines cater. WorldStyle also hits them on the day they have the most time to read.

WorldStyle editorial will reflect that mature demographic profile, balancing high style with real-life dressing and classic design, says editor in chief Catherine Sabino. "World Style will be edited for a specific taste level rather than a specific age or demographic," says Sabino, who has been a beauty and fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar Italia and contributing style editor for European Travel & Life.

The magazine apparently has some agencies convinced. Bailey expects some 45 paid pages in the first issue, which is scheduled for 72 pages total. About a third will come from a single advertiser, who, at press time, had tentatively agreed to purchase 75 pages in the first four quarterly issues. A four-color page costs $52,200.

Unproven distribution

The concept of free newspaper distribution, however, remains relatively unproven. Many metropolitan Sunday magazines have had difficulty atrracting advertising, despite the attempts of many to upgrade to a standard magazine format. Parade and USA Weekend both lost pages in 1987, 4.4 percent and 19.6 percent respectively.

Beyond that, the advertising community has worked hard at forcing publishers to play by such rules as providing paying audiences, audits and audience research. It's unfair to other magazines, says Lehmkuhl, for agencies "to turn around and reward those who operate outside of that set of ground rules."

On the plus side, newspaper distribution allows WorldStyle to bypass most of the major circulation expenses associated with start-ups, contends circulation consultant E. Daniel Capell. The magazine has not had to rent lists, send out mailings or process responses. Nor will it need the services of fulfillment houses, postal handlers or wholesalers. Magazines will be trucked on pallets directly from the printing plant to the newspapers. WorldStyle, Inc., will pay the newspapers an undisclosed insertion fee.

"It's another example of finding a way to address the real issue facing magazines today: the lack of new business sources," Capell claims.

WorldStyle also bypasses expensive postal costs and can guarantee that it will hit all 3.3 million homes on the same day. This enables advertisers to coordinate retail marketing programs tied to the magazine.

WorldStyle is not alone in its plans. When Penthouse International reintroduces Saturday Review late this year, it may be distributed as a Sunday newspaper insert.

WorldStyle is headed by Theodore van de Kamp, who spent more than two years developing the project before securing capital from the Aegis Fund of Lexington, Massachusetts. The amount was not disclosed, but the fund is the majority stockholder.

PHOTO : As a newspaper insert, WorldStyle will have extraordinary reach among middle-aged suburban women. Advertisers, though, may balk at the distribution method.