Gap in the market
Posted by Chris @ 1:27 pm
I spent lunch today, amongst other things, in WHSmith. I was there looking for a magazine that doesn't exist. Now this at first might seem an odd thing to do, so I shall elaborate. Dawn is subscribed to Glamour magazine, and it is, like most womens mags, about fashion, lifestyle, horoscopes, celebs, agaony aunts, reals life stories, a smattering of men's secrets "revealed" and a famous celeb interview for the front cover. What I was looking for was the male version of this.
Now I'm sure this will cue a barrage of "but r u gay tho?" comments, however I'm serious, what is the equivalent male magazine. I've long been a reader, in my teenage and very early 20s, of FHM. It is a good read, but now I'm married and moving on in my life I'm a bit sick of every mens mag being full of half naked women to sell it to me. What I want is a magazine that is FHM, without the half naked women and emphasis on sex. Some interviews with women would be fine as long as the photography is tasteful. Sections on real life, interviews with interesting men, dvd reviews, film reviews (like Empire), gadget reviews (like T3), music reviews (like Q), food and drink, lifestyle, fashion. The sort of stuff relevant to men, but without having to read 5 different magazines (that go into too much detail) to get all the information I want to know. I did see one mag like this, called Dazed and Confused, but flicking through it I thought the layout was so pretentious and up itself, it wasn't right.
So there's the problem / gap in the market / challenge. Produce a magazine for young men who are fed up with "sex sells mags" that is filled with interesting stuff, and isn't stuck up its own arse. And if you know of such a magazine, let me know!!
4 Comments
Monday, January 16, 2006 2:21:00 pm
I thought GQ was supposed to be all of those things... or what about Men's Health? (I've never actually read either of them, so I don't know.)This comment posted by Tony Ruscoe
Monday, January 16, 2006 3:43:00 pm
Erm, now that fact that it doesnt exist should tell you something?!?!I.e theres no market for it?!?
Sex sells, fact. People aren't going to buy a magazine with a dreary cover that says "interview with jordan about her favourite cakes" or "bill gate's cooking tips" are they!?!?!?
But I agree it would be nice (not that I have time to read it) but I did notice this when I was trying to buy a mag to read on the train. I ended up getting Nuts purely on the grounds it was 1/2 price when I bought a normal paper, with which I couldnt read 1/2 of it on the train for fear of offending my fellow passengers
This comment posted by Anthony Main
Monday, January 16, 2006 8:14:00 pm
Cheers for the ideas, next time I'm in WHSmith I'll have a flick through and see what they are like.This comment posted by Chris
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 7:08:00 pm
There is nothing wrong with 'half naked women and emphasis on sex'.I've been married for 3 1/2 years and have a daughter but that does not mean I'm dead from the waste down.
FHM is still the mag for me. :-)
This comment posted by Christian Briddon
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