Most everyone out there knows Maxim for their scantily clad women gracing the pages of the magazine. It’s no wonder that it is the most successful modern men’s lifestyle publication in the country, with a paid circulation of about 2.6 million a year. With half-naked models and their sex appeal, it’s every teenage boy’s bible, but that might soon change. Ever since this past summer, after Quadrangle Capital Partners acquired Dennis Publishing, Inc., responsible for magazines such as Maxim, Stuff and Blender, and renamed the company Alpha Media Group Inc., Maxim has begun to undergo some changes. The first change deals with Maxim’s competitor, Stuff Magazine. After their launch in 1998, Stuff had their final issue last month. From now on, it can be found as a regular section in Maxim. According to Kent Brownridge, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Media Group Inc., “Stuff magazine is a clear and purposeful brand that will continue to reach its audience through Maxim.” In addition to that, though, stuffmagazine.com can still be found online, unaffected by these changes.
For Maxim’s December issue, Editorial Director, Jim Kaminsky, is going for a more sophisticated look. The re-design is striving for higher-end fashion pages, a more streamlined look, and will include a new how-to section. This classier look will hopefully attract more upscale advertisers, especially with high fashion and automobiles. Some of the magazine’s new clients appearing in the December issue include Diesel and Zune.
With other men’s lifestyle magazines, such as Men’s Health and GQ, incorporating luscious, half-naked models into advertisements and such, Maxim is having more and more trouble differentiating itself from the rest of the field. By making these changes, Kaminsky says that they’re going to bring Maxim back to its roots:
“Maxim is all about this young man’s lifestyle—humor, a smart, knowing tone, great service for 18 to 34, great journalism.”One thing that will remain the same is the classic Maxim cover model in an ever-enticing bikini of some sort, which will surely keep their readers coming back for more.
Works Cited
- http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/print/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003670919
- http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-sectors/media-publishing/42995.html
- http://gawker.com/news/get-stuffed/kent-brownridge-alpha-male-has-lad-mags-289729.php
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