Incoming Marie Claire editor Nicky Briger believes it’s no longer about the print edition of a magazine, instead publishers need to sell “the whole brand” to readers and advertisers.
Yesterday’s announcement that Briger was to take over as editor of the famed fashion title could be regarded as a shock, Briger replacing founding editor Jackie Frank who appeared welded to the chair after a staggering 20 years in the job.
Briger – the current editor of WHO – told B&T the reaction to her appointment had “all been positive” in an industry well known for its cattiness. Briger actually began her career on Marie Claire in 1994. Following a six year-stint on the title, she moved to Pacific’s InStyle and ultimately to WHO.
“Marie Claire’s Australia’s number one fashion magazine, so with that comes a lot of cachet, a lot of responsibility; but I can’t wait to get started,” she said.
Briger said she has no immediate plans to markedly change the title. “You don’t have to fix what ain’t broke,” she said. “But of course you want to put your own little mark on it and, for me, that’s about tapping into the zeitgeist and appealing to a younger audience.”
The print edition still remains core of the business but for Briger it’s all about the brand. “My role will be to drive Marie Claire as a multi-platform powerhouse and that’s about pushing the editorial offering 360 degrees and seizing the whole print, TV, digital, cross-promotion opportunity so we can touch the consumer 24 hours a day. We know what social media can do for the brand, we know the consumer wants more of Marie Claire; the audience is demanding that from us.
“The whole digital aspect is just so exciting for the brand and you have no choice but to deliver that and it also opens up a whole lot of opportunities for your advertisers as well.”
Nor is Briger overly concerned about the current state of magazines that saw two high-end competitors – Grazia and Madison – close in 2013. “Again, it’s no longer about your print edition, these days it’s all about your brand. When your brand is strong everything flows from that,” she said.
And what are the core drivers for AB women under 40? “The key for our audience is celebrity, the stuff people talk about around the water cooler. And that leads onto politics, women’s issues, and then of course there’s fashion, there’s beauty; they remain key pillars for Marie Claire.”
Briger, however, agreed that magazine covers needed to work harder. It’s no longer about “sticking a photo of Angelina and Jen on the cover and hoping for a decent sale,” she said, “these days you have to tell a strong story too to get people to pick it up.”
Australia typically has had a dearth of A-listers willing to appear in magazines. Does that remain a problem?
“Yes, I’d agree with that,” Briger said. “And yes, more local covers is something I’d like to do more of. I don’t think there’s a lack of stars, but they’re often done in the same way. It’s about delivering them in a different light and that’s what gets people’s attention. The great thing about shooting your own local cover is you control the cover, you control the shoot, you control the video online, you control the PR, and that’s just so important.”
As for Marie Claire’s immediate plans, Briger say the title’s twentieth anniversary in September is “going to be huge to drive readership, to engage with our clients and produce amazing content”. She said the magazine’s beauty awards – the Prix de Marie Claire – would be celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. While the one-off Marie Claire Man launched last year as a free print add-on would also be back again in 2015.
Briger’s official start date is yet to be finalised, while a search is now on to find her replacement at WHO.
