IMC 2010: "Making magazines is like making babies; they need good genes"--Nicholas Brett

The sixth edition of the Indian Magazine Congress (IMC), organized by the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM), commenced yesterday in Mumbai. An impressive list of speakers, including the who's who from the publication world, was in attendance on the first day.

Early in the day, Nicholas Brett, editor-in-chief and deputy managing director, BBC Worldwide Magazines, delivered the keynote address on 'How magazine titles can successfully become global'.

Brett advised, "The consumer should be at the heart of everything. If you're making a magazine for family and friends, it will turn out to be a disaster." Also, a lot of research has to go into the making of a magazine. A magazine also has to be able to make money.

Coming to their latest publication, Lonely Planet, he said, "Making magazines is like making babies; they need good genes. Lonely Planet had really good genes from Tony and Maureen Wheeler. It was launched in 1973, after the couple had travelled extensively and realised there weren't enough informative travel guides. They came out with their first book about Asia on a shoestring budget."

Now, years later, 500 titles have been launched under the Lonely Planet brand; and there's a Lonely Planet TV programme as well. It has even been named the most influential travel brand in the world.

"Mapping the Lonely Planet magazine on a chart, it was more aspirational, practical and skewed towards the 'whys' of travel, we stuck with themes; while a magazine like the Conde Nast Traveler is more 'destination-oriented'," said Brett.

Brett shared that in the UK, in less than 22 months, Lonely Planet has become the largest paid-for travel magazine. It has in fact, grown the UK travel magazine market by over 17 per cent. It sells about 22,000 copies on newsstands and has approximately 30,000 active subscribers in this market. The magazine has won a slew of awards, such as the Consumer Travel Publication of the Year.

The brand has seen success in the international arena as well. It currently has nine international editions, apart from the UK edition. "The target was to launch 15 editions in five years, but we've already rolled out 10 in 22 months," said Brett.

He also shared a few lessons that were learnt during and after the launch of the magazine. These included the importance of covers and the use of right photographs, and the importance of adding value, such as introducing the mini guides. The third lesson was to have the right editorial mix, something that was inspirational as well as informative, where travel secrets are shared. Also, "keeping it current" was very important. Brett pointed out that Lonely Planet has over 200 writers on the road at all times, sending back information.

Lesson four was "don't patronize" - make bespoke editions for each country and put consumers at the heart of it, a good example of this being how the magazine was launched in India.

In India, Lonely Planet was launched in February this year under World Wide Media (WWM), a 50:50 joint venture of BBC and the Times of India, which was set up in 2004.

Brett shared that India was chosen as a market for launch, because it was learnt that Indians are travelling and spending much more now than before. It is estimated that by 2020, the average Indian will spend US $30 billion on travel.

Lonely Planet Magazine India was tailored to suit the needs and "palate" of Indian readers. For example, a section called 'Fancy a Curry?' in the guides and features informs readers about where they could find a good Indian meal in the featured foreign location. Also, the section, '5 Easy Trips' was modified from the international '10 Easy Trips', as the Indian traveller is a little less spontaneous and thus requires more planning.

While international content was accessible to Lonely Planet India, the team wanted to give these places an Indian perspective. Hence, these were fine-tuned to Indian sensibilities. For example, the feature on Hong Kong was written from a family perspective, since most Indians travel with family. Similarly, New York was written about from a fresh view -- while most Europeans travellers have been there before, it's a first-time trip for many Indians.

Lonely Planet Magazine India has been voted as the most preferred travel magazine in six months. In a research conducted by IRS (Indian Readership Survey), 39 per cent of travel magazine readers voted Lonely Planet Magazine India as their most preferred travel magazine. The total awareness of the brand is at a high of 72 per cent.

A massive awareness campaign was executed for the launch. Brett reveals, "We have spent more on marketing Lonely Planet in India than ever before."

He added, "Readers love it; the magazine and tailored content has been greatly appreciated. In fact, our study reveals that it directly influenced travel for 59 per cent of our audience, while 74 per cent of them would recommend the magazine to others."

Brett ended his presentation by quipping, "When you make a baby, you want to make another," indicating the launch of the next title from the BBC Worldwide Magazines kitty in the Indian market. This is 'BBC Knowledge', which is scheduled for launch in November.