Whenever a new magazine claims it's about to do something no other magazine has done, we all get skeptical, especially advertisers. There's usually a pretty good reason why others didn't make it.
   Enter Co-Ed magazine, which launches in early January with hopes of convincing advertisers that it can deliver readers with a national publication devoted to college life.
  It could take more than a good college try. After all, if a national college magazine were such a great idea, wouldn't one or many already be thriving, both in attracting readers and advertisers?
   Brian Liebler, Co-Ed's marketing manager, says Co-Ed will succeed through its unique strategy.
   "Basically, we have no competition. There's nobody in this space doing it the way we're going to do it," says Liebler.
   The difference, Liebler says, is that Co-Ed is adopting an integrated communications strategy. That's fancy talk for having a print magazine, a web site with expanded content, and plenty of sponsorship opportunities through giveaways, contests and campus events.
   Co-Ed promises advertisers access to students' opinions, via polls and discussion forums, as well as what Liebler calls a one-stop shop for finding campus marketing opportunities. 
   In the past, advertisers hoping to reach college kids through promotions and events had to cut individual deals on dozens of campuses. With Co-Ed, Liebler says, advertisers will be able to reach many campuses and secure multiple event sponsorships in one buy.
  "You're bombarding the 18- to 24-year-old college crowd in all the key points," says Liebler.
   That will include print and online--the Co-Ed title and companion web site--but also postings at retail locations, such as campus bookstores.
  But what about the reader? 
   For Co-Ed to work, college kids must actually read it. It can't be a giveaway or a throw-away publication of the sort that have littered campuses for years but are seldom picked up. How do you put out a magazine with broad appeal to students across America? These are kids who may be deeply involved in life on their own campus but don't care a whit what's happening elsewhere.
   Liebler's answer: Give them a magazine modeled after publications that have already been a hit with college-aged readers, one in particular. Give them Maxim.
   "What we're doing is creating a general-interest magazine that rivals Maxim in size and style," says Liebler.
   Yet it won't be racy in the way Maxim is racy.
   "It's not as racy because of the student participation and endorsements," he explains.  "We need to reflect the reality of college life but we need to do it in a respectable way."
   He says the title will have wide appeal because today's college students want to know what their peers across the country are up to. Or that was one of the conclusions he came away with when 25 student interns at Syracuse University gathered to brainstorm Co-Ed's prototype. Says Liebler: "They felt like they were living in a vacuum." 
    Typically, national college publications have  been free, often bundled in with campus newspapers and eventually scattered through student unions, dorms and cafeterias as is so much litter.
  Instead of following that model, Co-Ed will start as a quarterly publication available on newsstands at 500 independent college bookstores and 900 Barnes & Noble college bookstore affiliates for $3.99. With a projected initial press run of 300,000, the launch issue will include 146 pages of content and 25 to 30 ad pages. The magazine will occupy racks near retailers' checkout counters and impulse-buy areas with high foot traffic.
   In addition to celebrity news, music reviews, college sports and service-oriented pieces about the best spring break party spots, Co-Ed will spotlight four schools per issue. Liebler hopes students will jump at the chance to submit their work for print. 
   He also says "vanity" aspects of the site, like chances to rate and evaluate other students' work, will draw students. Student journalism, cartoons and photography from each school will accompany features about campus life on everything from bizarre annual traditions to haunted dorm rooms. There will also be contests to find the hottest girls on each featured campus.
   If this is sounding like the perfect plug for the positive side of college life, it's supposed to. High school students are also a large part of Co-Ed's intended audience.
   "This is a perfect publication for them so see what's going on around the country," Liebler says.
   High school students may even be more dedicated readers in the long run. To them, college is still an intriguing mystery filled with tales of drama and untold freedoms. If Co-Ed can reach high school juniors and seniors applying to colleges, visiting campuses and making admissions choices, they may be able to keep those readers over the next four years.
   But therein lies another problem facing Co-Ed. While many magazines build customer loyalty over many years, Co-Ed has six years at most with its target audience. 
   But Liebler sees this as an advantage.
   "We have this six-year audience that constantly renews itself," he says. And high turnover among readers means more eyeballs for advertisers in the long run.
   What's more, those eyeballs are pretty much guaranteed to belong to someone in the 16-to-24 age group. That means advertisers can spend dollars on a highly targeted audience instead of placing ads in national publications for 18-34-year-olds whose readership only partially matches the target audience.
   Outside of Christianity Today's Campus Life magazine, Co-Ed will have few rivals. Some other magazines partially overlap with Co-Ed's mission. The Next Step offers high school students and their parents information about campus life and post-high school options. MBA Jungle and JD Jungle reach business and law school students.
   With any luck, Liebler says, Co-Ed will change how advertisers view the college market. 
   "It's exciting to think that a year from now, ad agencies could consider custom-tailoring their ads to reach colleges," he says. "It's a great time for advertisers to reach out. College students are willing to experiment and try new products."