A new Babe on the block

Marí Lategan, Media24 Women's Magazines' publisher, says the decision to launch True Love Babe was a natural progression as "the True Love main book has matured to accommodate the focus-group-researched needs of a mid-twenties and older reader." As the title has evolved to cater to the black female 'quarterlifer', this has left a gap for a magazine that addresses a younger reader's coming-of-age issues.

"True Love Babe fills a void in the current marketplace as there is simply no other title on the racks that specifically caters to the needs of young, black women in SA today. The Babe reader is someone who lives in two different worlds - on the one hand, her traditional upbringing and heritage, while on the other she is fast moving towards a modern society very different to what her parents experienced and are accustomed to. True Love Babe will provide her with the tools to be active and successful in this world she lives in," explains Lategan.

Reader characteristics

Editor Matshikiza says that her readers are young women who are intensely inspirational, deeply interested in relationships and emotional well-being, under pressure to conform to fashionable beauty ideals, optimistic about their future, and plugged into technology and the world. The Babe woman loves fashion, shopping, labels, music and mobility. True Love Babe will therefore cater to all of these characteristics and interests in its editorial mix.

Marí Lategan, Media24 Women’s Magazines’ publisher

Commenting on the appointment of Matshikiza as editor, Lategan says that "Vuyo is 100% our target market and knows that audience intimately. She talks the talk, looks the part, knows the demands that our readers face and is in touch with this world. Our readers will be able to completely identify with her."

Three crucial areas

The core content of True Love Babe will cover three crucial areas of a young woman's life, labelled by the magazine as Superbabe, Innerbabe and Realbabe.

With Superbabe, the emphasis will be on fashion and beauty. Content will range from red-carpet trend reporting to local street style. With reliable and empathetic content relating to emotional and sexual well-being, the Innerbabe section will offer advice on relationships (with boys, friends, family and society) in an interactive context. Realbabe will feature reliable information about issues and challenges affecting trainee adults, as well as the skills to deal with them.

"Although there are similarities between True Love main brand and True Love Babe, these target markets are clearly different from one another," notes Lategan. "The launch issue of Babe features international superstar Beyoncé on the cover, whereas True Love only ever showcases local icons," she says.

Lategan believes that the new title won't cannibalise sales of True Love main brand. "Also, True Love is building circulation strength at the moment so any transference of loyalty from younger readers will be compensated by sales to older readers coming to the mother brand."

Perfect launch timing

The timing surrounding the launch of True Love Babe is perfect according to Lategan, who says that the role of magazines has changed during the last couple of years.

"Consumers are far more selective with what they purchase as they are faced with a wide variety of choices. Magazines have therefore become far more targeted to cater for specific needs and aspirations, communicating to specific audiences. True Love Babe fits this international trend by providing solutions to a very specific market," she says.

Lategan concludes by saying that she believes that the launch of Babe will be a great success story. "True Love Babe is the right idea at the right time. Advertisers seem to agree as we've already had an overwhelmingly positive response from them, clearly indicating the need for this title."

The launch issue will hit the streets in mid-August and will retail for R15.95.