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takes helm at Mademoiselle
Sex-me-up treatment for troubled title
When Elizabeth Crow last week abruptly announced her resignation as editor of Mademoiselle, parent Conde Nast announced that Crow's replacement would be named within a week, thus all but confirming rumors that Crow's days had been numbered.
Now it turns out Crow jumped upon learning that Conde Nast editorial director James Truman had been back in his native UK shopping her job to Mandi Norwood, editor of the British edition of Cosmopolitan.
The choice of Norwood clearly spells the future of Mademoiselle, and it won't be in the direction of what dress to wear on a first date. The 35-year-old editor is widely credited with out-Gurleying Helen Gurley Brown in making the No. 1 UK women's title a recipe for sexual mischief.
But is it the right direction for Mademoiselle, insiders wonder? While the magazine has suffered a slump in ad pages of late, as well as a lag in circulation, old Mlle. hands believe Conde Nast is putting at risk an established franchise--Mlle. was long the magazine for the thinking young woman--to follow the trend of the moment in a move that will all but ensure the further blurring of the magazine's identity.
Curious about Norwood and the UK magazine scene, Media Life asked British correspondent Simon Bond to fill us in. Here's his report:
As late as this weekend some doubted that 35-year-old Cosmopolitan editor Mandi Norwood would actually jump ship to Conde Nast's Mademoiselle magazine. Just last Christmas, Norwood looked set to leave Cosmo for competitor Marie Claire, only to be tempted back in the eleventh hour by a huge pay rise.
Clearly, this time Cosmo has not matched the $500,000 salary reportedly on offer from Conde Nast (plus car and clothing allowance). It also appears the "detail" of her recently signed "unbreakable" three-year contract has evaporated.
So what can American women look forward to from the new girl in town?
Norwood promises to bring Mademoiselle what she likes to think of as the same educational, informative and above all responsible approach to sex that placed Cosmopolitan in the No.1 slot for women's magazines in the UK. A glance at recent cover lines should indicate what she has in mind: "Your In-Bed Behaviour Sex-Plained" and "Come On, Feel The Boys!" (a handy readers' guide to, well, hand jobs).
However, U.S. readers should realize that Norwood is not leaving with the goldfish bowl of UK magazine publishing in the ruddiest of health, for all the press given of late to the rise of the lad titles such as FHM.
For one, Cosmo, though tops in its field, has definitely missed Norwood's hands-on editing since she was promoted upstairs as editor-in-chief to spent her time on brand extension projects. One competitor has described Cosmo as "old hat and very early 80s."
Moreover, Cosmo is hardly the only magazine in a slump; the latest half-yearly ABC circulation audit figures reveal a decline in year-on-year circulation across every women's title. One must wonder then, if sex is such a sure-fire seller, might it have run its course?
The slump is being put down to market saturation, and few industry insiders believe that the sector can sustain much more growth, let alone more new launches. A symptom of the problem is the proliferation of cover-mounted freebies, an expensive way of grabbing a quick readership high. One recent new launch had cover give-aways on an unprecedented first three issues.
Yet the British magazine business remains one of the most aggressive in the world. Publishers like National Magazines cater for every life stage between puberty and menopause, taking readers from their late-teenage "freedom' years" (Company) to twenties (Cosmopolitan) to early thirties (She) to 35-50 (Good Housekeeping). When Good Housekeeping was launched there were only seven titles in its category, today there are 28. On top of this there are also more newspaper supplements, TV and radio stations and internet usage to compete with.
However, saturation does not seem to touch everyone in the same way. Celebrity photo-spread magazine OK! managed a satisfying 92.9 percent ABC rise for its special issue covering the wedding of Manchester United's David Beckham to Posh Spice. Special issues attract a large number of "'one-off" readers--some of whom may stick with the magazine--that turn the edition into a sales event in its own right.
Norwood is undoubtedly drawing up her battle plans to bring the best of British magazine marketing to the U.S. with special issues, cover mounting and sex, lots and lots of sex. Women of America should prepare themselves for the ride.
-Simon Bond writes from outside London.