Vogel Burda ties up with media 2 media to relaunch CHIP

Good news for CHIP enthusiasts. The magazine will be back on the stands in India early next year. In an email message to agencyfaqs!, Christoph Pitz, international project manager, Vogel Burda, said, "media 2 media is the new partner for CHIP in India." However, Pitz refused to commit on the date of relaunch. All he said was "CHIP will come back in the market the minute we have designed the best magazine ever." Surprisingly, top executives at media 2 media declined to comment on the development.

CHIP will come back with a bang. "My dream last night was that CHIP was everywhere: on big outdoor posters, at every station, at schools, at universities, at the newsstands, even in the shops. It was in the newspapers, on the radio, on the TV and the Internet," said Pitz referring to the relaunch. On a more serious note he added, "The relaunch of CHIP will be on the level of a professional market introduction."

The prospective owners of CHIP have already launched a hunt for key personnel. Only recently there was an ad in the Ascent, The Times Of India supplement on appointments. The company was looking for a CEO, a chief editor and senior marketing professionals. The ad spoke a lot except the name of the Indian partner. As it turned out, media 2 media, the media division of Excel Infotech (part of Amtek Auto), is the chosen one. Currently media 2 media has two magazines Mag.net and Zing. While Mag.net is an ‘Internet lifestyle magazine', Zing is a fashion magazine.

The comeback of CHIP was just a matter of time. "India is definitely among the three/four most important future markets on CHIP's world map. While we had no profits coming in from our India operations, our engagement in India is for important strategic reasons - to build and develop the CHIP brand internationally."

While Pitz did not speak about the exact nature of the tie-up with media 2 media, he did emphasise the company plans to give it a real good shot this time. The CHIP India team will be supported and trained in editorial, marketing services and communication by its German counterpart. The India CHIP is expected to be closer to the ‘innovations' of the international CHIP network. Yes there will be new features, new sections, new tools, and "… significant differences and advantages vis-a-vis Digit, PC Quest etc", added Pitz. The pricing strategy of CHIP is not clear. Pitz indicated that it would not be less than before and added, "The new CHIP will be worth each rupee."

Despite the preparations, CHIP's second coming is going to be mite difficult given its sudden disappearance from the market and the legal wrangling that followed. Add to that its earlier Indian partner Jasubhai Digital Media has launched a new magazine Digit, which is supposed to be an answer to CHIP. Pitz does not seem to agree on that. "We will tackle this by a multimedia campaign to convince people. Further I think a lot of people are still missing CHIP."

Vogel Burda is banking on its long experience in handling international alliances. "We have affiliates in more than 20 international markets. And it's not unusual to fall out with one partner … By the way, it was the first time that we have changed a partnership for an international CHIP edition," said Pitz. Vogel Burda is ready to put all that behind. The priority now is to be the "top magazine for all interested in computing".

© agencyfaqs! 2001

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