A wicked interview

What made you decide to launch a magazine for teenage girls?
We realised that there was a huge gap in the market for a glossy girlie teenage read. We did research with over 750 girls in the target market and the following became apparent:
1) the European mags they were reading were expensive, largely irrelevent, i.e. the fashion is out of sync and only available at TopShop in Oxford Street and 2) the content was too risque and 3) they were crying out for a local magazine that catered for their express needs of fashion, beauty, boys, feelings and serious girl issues like sex, aids, pregnancy drugs etc.

What considerations went into the choice of the name 'wicked' and the A5-format size of the mag?

We thought 'wicked' was a very cool title because of its associations with cheeky, edgy, daring, fun... all girls and women secretly want to be wicked, also it is a cool buzzword in teenspeak meaning cool, fantastic, awesome etc. We backed this up with research and researched the name against 4 other choices: 'Gloss', 'Flirt', '6Teen', and 'Me'. Wicked came out top every time by a very, very large margin. Also they loved the smaller handbag/schoolbag size and think it cute, funny and sexy and less clumsy than other titles.

What topics/issues are covered in wicked?

Our tag line ALL ABOUT A GIRL says it all and we base the magazine around the four main pillars of Fun, Fashion, Friends and Feelings. But what is clever about wicked (well, we think) is that we appeal to their every mood by operating on three psychological levels. We found that the girls have three personalities - the one they show to their school friends, the one they show to their parents and the third personality that is the REAL them, that appears when they are alone in their bedroom. The wicked experience floats in and out of these three zones so that whatever they are feeling, there is always something relevant to read in wicked. The Girls LOVE wicked, the only complaint we get is that it ISN'T fortnightly.

Please introduce us to the editorial team. How do they stay up to date with teenage trends and fashions?

Annabel Cunningham, Editor - (24) dynamic, young, talented, opinionated and a real gurl. She quit her Masters degree in Journalism to take the wicked hotseat.
Cristal Smith, Art Director - (24) Late of 'Out There' and 'Elle Decor' magazines, she is a real new talent to be reckoned with and has already made her mark on wicked.
Carin Smith, Fashion Editor - (23) She used to design for the hip Vertigo label, now doing sensational styling for the fashion-conscious teenager. (ie ALL of them).
Kamillah Jardien, Features Assistant - (20) Loud and lively she is the engine room of the mag and knows everything about everything and everybody teens need to know about. And she's a brilliant writer and ideas person.
Julia Hare, Editorial Assistant - (21) Newest recruit from Durbanville Hills, she's blonde, bubbly and fashionable and bringing hot new ideas to the wicked mix.

We have over 850 "Wicked Angels" who we use as a focus group and to regularly talk to to find out about trends, tastes, and opinions. We are researching and monitoring the core target market ie 14-17 year olds on a daily basis and we get at least 1,000 communications a week by e-mail and snail mail. We have over 1,000 subscribers and an SMS data base of over 5,000 girls who WANT to be told when the next issue is out. We are about to launch our wicked 'e-zine' which will go directly to a further 2,000 eager-beaverettes.

How well is wicked selling? Where is it distributed?

Wicked is a rocket. It generally sells out in the first two weeks of sale, and it has grown from an initial sale of 8,400 to our latest figure of 23,612 (in fourteen issues!) which was the December issue. For our double Jan-Feb 2004 issue we printed a whopping 40,000 copies and are expecting to sell over 30,000. We are distributed at all major centres but the biggest sale is in Gauteng and Pretoria with Cape Town and Durban next. We are in all the major retailers- CNA, Clicks, Woolworths, Pick'n'Pay, Spar, Shoprite-Checkers, Engen stores etc, and we are THE ONLY (repeat ONLY) magazine on sale at trendy YDE stores.

What is the pass-on readership? And how do you determine it?

We have just completed a thorough research survey with our subscribers and the pass on rate is estimated at four/five girls per issue. The other interesting factor is that most girls claim that at least two boys also read it.

It's been said that the market for youth magazines has remained largely untapped, and that this is because most of the titles are modelled on overseas publications and don't reflect South African culture enough. What are your views?

Not true. Each of the emerging teen magazines reflects a sector of the teen market relevant to South Africa. The good news is that SA is producing local teen magazines of an international standard. What's refreshing is that race is no longer an issue among the teens. We are witnessing the first generation of black children to pass through the education system and what's coming through is that all the teenagers are practically the same in terms of their dreams and aspirations, their needs, their fears and their icons.

What is your future vision for wicked? Have you considered establishing a web presence?

We feel that the wicked brand is a strong one and we aim to be hitting the 40,000 circ mark by the end of this year and reaching a steady 50-60,000 in 2005. We have considered a web presence and will be announcing something exciting by mid-year.