The uber-fabulous Marcy Blum wrote a fantastic post yesterday about this week’s untimely closing of Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. Her commentary on the value of what Brides puts out relative to Modern Bride is wonderfully insightful, as is the emotion (read devastation) that is behind her words. I too am not knowledgeable (or pompous) enough to say that I understand why the magazines folded or the impact the Internet had on their businesses. People much wiser than I have expounded on why there is simply not enough value provided to advertisers in a magazine versus their online counterparts. Remember, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride are not alone when it comes to creative space magazine closings: there is Domino, Blueprint, Oprah at Home just to name three. What I can talk about is what I think today’s successful media companies are going to have to do in order to survive in the long term. To paraphrase Seth Godin, it will be about creating a dialogue with consumers and capturing their (and advertisers) business in as a function of that dialogue.
It overstates the obvious that The Knot is who media companies are looking to as today’s paradigm, especially since it is making money. However, no disrespect to the unbelievable job David and Carley do, but even that comparison misses the point. The Knot at heart is still an advertising business and predicated on the number of eyeballs providing targeted value to advertisers. Its extraordinary content is meant to capture those eyeballs and the community they have created is meant to make sure they stay there.
What The Knot is not though is a validator. More to the point, they are not a validator tailored to the specific customer – not only who is the best, but who is the best for the SPECIFIC customer. They are all about providing tools for the bride (and they are incredible tools), but not so much about working with the bride as to how to best use those tools. And, even more to the point, they are not an incubator for vendors who advertise with them – if you are the best with 10 customers and they can help you get to 100, what will happen then. It is axiomatic that growing too fast is as risky as not growing fast enough.
Modern Bride and Elegant Bride died because they became unprofitable as advertising dwindled. They are evidence of the struggles that confront the magazine business as the paradigm shifts. Brides Magazine may remain as the paragon of wedding style. We might still listen because Millie and Co. are so fantastic …. for a while. But in the end, if consumers don’t have a chance to have a CONVERSATION with the tastemakers, someone will come along that provides THAT platform and take all the money with them. In that sense ONLY, it would not be The Knot I would be worried about if I were Conde Nast, it would be The Bridal Bar.
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Southern Weddings is another one I think Conde Nast needs to watch out for. The girls at SW are doing an amazing job engaging with their readers as well as potential advertisers.
Great article Sean! It was shocking and yet not shocking to hear the news of the closings. We have a pretty great discussion of magazine vs. blogs over on BackStage if you are interested.
http://backstage.stylemepretty.com/blogging/bye-bye-glossies/
Hi Sean, so great to hear your perspective on all of this. We could not agree more that success in the wedding industry is all about relationships and community. When we launched Junebug Weddings 3 years ago our vision was to promote only the most talented and passionate professionals available so that brides could trust our recommendations, even though that meant turning down advertising dollars. Many with much more experience than we had thought our business model was far too exclusive but we’re seeing now more than ever that both brides and businesses are looking for information and advertising that fits their personal needs and perspectives. That said, we’re really sorry to see these beautiful magazines go and are surprised at how quickly it’s happening. Can’t wait to hear more thoughts from you and others in Las Vegas.
Great insight Sean, but I have to disagree. Companies like The Bridal Bar, StudioWed, Atlanta Wedding Loft, etc while fantastic at their niche, still need avenues to drive traffic to their locations…. hence the media. Truly face to face interaction cannot be beat whether it is a bridal show or boutique type setting, but we can’t discredit the reach that companies like The Knot bring to those type venues. I think it was incredibly smart for Conde Nast to streamline their content from three publications and increase circulation of the strongest brand. Their trimming the fat when they need to so they can survive beyond our current economic conditions. Yes, it’s pushed some people out of the playing field, but made much more room for start up medias… like myself. In the words of Seth Godin, “The real growth and development and the foundations for the next era are laid during the chaotic times, the times that come after the leaders have stumbled…….The next golden age of journalism, of communications, of fashion, of car design–those are being established now, in a moment when it’s not so crowded at the top.”
Heather —
Thank you very much for your comment. Do really appreciate your thoughts. I am actually not arguing that content drives traffic — either to a Bridal Bar or to Atlanta Occasions. Nor am I arguing about whether the Internet will put print out of business. My point is that we are at the brink of a new era of communication enabled by today’s technology. Think about us having this conversation 10 years ago — not impossible, but incredibly difficult. Now we are at the stage where almost any form of communication is both instantaneous and free. We are also at the point of information overload. Not only is it not possible to read every wedding blog out there, it is probably not possible to read every wedding blog focused on blue weddings. History has taught us that when there is too much (or too little) information, we look to experts to help us sift through it to find what WE are looking for. It starts with peer to peer and morphs into expert advice. The difference today is the ability for anyone to talk BACK to the expert and start a dialogue if the expert is willing to engage in the dialogue. Content will always be king and magazines will not die. However, if all the fabulous editorial is only to provide traffic valuable to advertisers that is a static model which I am not sure is sustainable by itself in a dynamic world.
WOW! Sean I am truly, truly humbled and elated that you have included Bridal Bar in a conversation with these incredible media brands that I have grown up with and loved. (I’m also pretty embarrassed it took me this long to get caught up on my blog reading!!) I love both yours and Marcy’s posts on this subject and I think that “this economy” is the brush fire clearing way for the new models – startups that will come from this but not startups in the same traditional and currently suffering format.
We were fortunate that enhancing value and personalizing the experience for both the event professional and the bride was at the core of what we built in the beginning. Let’s hope those values are expanded upon with the companies new and old (mine included) as the market forces us to be better at what we do, provide more value for the money, and compete on plains we haven’t in the past. The best thing about what’s going on is we’re all going to be more creative in our businesses because the market demands it; and the industry and consumer will benefit from it in the end (and it’s fun to be energized to think outside the box again)! But I’m also sad to see those books close. I love so many of the people at Modern Bride and Elegant Bride who have supported me over the years and we as an industry need to reach out and support them (hire them if we can!) I also believe in the value and the need for bridal magazines to remain so hoping they will all land somewhere bigger and better after this! Love this conversation Sean (thanks for including me), and love how you like to stir the pot!
100% agreed with Harmony- love this conversation and you stirring the pot this week at Engage. You never cease to challenge me and make me think outside my self-imposed box. This conversation has spurred us to really look hard at what brides/advertisers want and try to deliver in new fresh ways. We’re completely redoing the Southern Weddings site by year’s end with this conversation in mind. Thank you thank you for this post and your priceless words at Engage! (and thanks to Clark for the kind words above. Grateful and humbled)
I think it’s always important to remember the generational age of the target market. There is a huge societal shift happening in emerging culture, and people in their 20’s are at the forefront of that. I first got on the internet after I had my first child. These girls first got on the internet in 3rd grade. They are just hard wired differently than those of us with…ahem…. a few more years under our belts. It’s not that dialogue with industry is something they want that’s “different”, it’s all they know. If you can’t speak to a client in her language, she walks. While the economy seems tough right now, it’s also a beautiful time to be creative about growing ourselves as an industry and expanding beyond our comfort zones into new horizons.