House style

Friday 31st August 2001


	House & Garden 'is a magazine that is proud to be full of New Zealanders ... ... these are our people and that feels good' - Kate Coughlan (above) 'There is outstanding work being produced in New Zealand of international quality' - Tracey Strange (right)

INL magazines House & Garden and Style are leading the charge as the magazine market undergoes a (slight) resurgence. NICK SMITH discovers the secret of their success

NZ House & Garden editor Kate Coughlan is dismissive of the so-called resurgence in the local magazine market.

She said that overall there is insufficient significant growth to justify the optimism of some in the industry.

Not so for her publication, House & Garden, which recorded not only 13% growth in readership to a whopping 569,000 but also a 13.8% increase in circulation to 75,556.

"We are so proud of our figures in such a tough market," she said. "We've outperformed the market."

The "we" includes fellow INL editor Tracey Strange, who has overseen a dramatic repositioning of Style as an out-and-out fashion title.

Style was once a lifestyle magazine, predominantly aimed at men and "filled with boats and cars and houses," Ms Strange said.

She took over nearly five years ago after it was bought by INL and started to move the magazine into more women's territory.

When INL launched the ill-fated and much-missed Grace magazine, the decision was made to relaunch Style as a pure fashion title, taking on the ACP rival, Fashion Quarterly.

While FQ still dominates with readership of 214,000, Ms Strange confidently predicts a sea-change. While FQ experienced static or negative growth, Style is on the up.

Only 5000 in circulation separates the two titles and Style's 17% growth in readership to 94,000 is set to continue, she said.

"Circulation might have gone up but readership takes a little while to show it."

The new issue is 40 pages bigger than the winter edition and advertising revenues are 40% up on budget, she said.

All this has been achieved without "a huge $250,000 advertising campaign," adds her colleague Ms Coughlan.

Ms Strange attributes much of the magazine's success to fashion editor Cecilie Geary, who was poached from FQ last year.

"She wrote the original Benson & Hedges script for the fashion show years ago - she really knows her stuff," she said.

Style is now a major sponsor of fashion week and "to be in that position means you have made it as a fashion magazine."

An example of the magazine's influence is that New York photographer Remi Rebillard and expatriate make-up artist Liam Dunn provided a spread free in the latest issue, simply so the pair's work could be showcased in a high-quality title, she said.

"I got a phone call from an agent in Sydney ... who wanted to know what it would it take to get [his] photographers in [my] book."

Asked to nominate three qualities of the magazine responsible for its success, Ms Strange plumped for the quality of its images, the clothing and the New Zealand content.

"At Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, they have budgets I couldn't begin to think about. There is outstanding work being produced in New Zealand of international quality."

Ms Coughlan also attributes a large portion of the success of Style and House & Garden to the quality of paper, which she insists is the best used in New Zealand magazines.

By inference, it is the high production values that allow the photographers, artists and writers to shine.

Ms Coughlan is that rarity in the bitchy world of print journalism: an editor about whom it is hard to find a freelance writer to say a bad word.

She is known for her loyalty to staff, enthusiasm for the job and encouragement of writers - "I want you to know [insert journalist's name] that I love your writing."

In an industry where some publishers are so stingy that staff have to pay for their own Christmas party, Ms Coughlan has invited staff and freelancers into her own home to celebrate.

It is this style of leadership that perhaps contributes to the warm tone and inclusiveness of the magazine. It also helps that the magazine is aimed at all New Zealanders, not just the Auckland market.

"In a population of 3.8 million people, to have nearly 570,000 New Zealanders read it in a month ... that is extraordinary," she said. "This magazine has reached unprecedented market penetration for a premium brand."

She stresses the international quality and the local content as the key behind House & Garden's success.

"This is a magazine that is proud to be full of New Zealanders, the way they are decorating their houses, the architecture, the quality of artwork, the structure of their gardens ... these are our people and that feels good."

Ms Coughlan is now also responsible for new INL title On Holiday, which she is confident will match House & Garden's success.

October's On Holiday will feature 228 pages, with advertising demand having driven the magazine from 196 to 212 pages.

"It's incredible to be putting out 500 pages of magazine in a one-month cycle."

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