Supposedly the first South African retail store title to be tailored exclusively to men, Edgars Club Man is being mailed to 200&nmsp;000 male Edgars Club members this month (October 2010), which should make it the biggest men's publication in South Africa over the pre-Christmas period. The editor is Adam Cooke, formerly of Men's Health and Men's Health Living, and assistant editor is Vicky Hunter of GQ fame.
Comments Andrew Nunneley, NMP's publishing director, "Edgars Club has massive reach. It's mailed to 950 000 people every month and some 200 000 of them are men. When we tested the market with a men's supplement earlier in the year, Edgars registered record return on investment (ROI) numbers, which prompted us to trial a once-off stand-alone magazine exclusively for men."
"Fill a gap"
Nunneley adds that the publication is expected to "fill a gap" in the local men's magazine market as it is distributed at no charge to Edgars Club members and content is tailor-made to align with SA men's interests, aspirations and style.
"By segmenting the Club audience in this way, we are able to be more relevant to more people," he explains.
According to Nunneley, the launch aligns with the pre-Christmas period and should garner positive returns for advertisers and Edgars. "With a circulation of 200 000, over and above being a good read for Club members, the magazine is also a powerful business tool that enables Edgars and our advertisers to engage a significant number of consumers just ahead of the traditional festive season."
Schoeman, who held the reins of Finesse since 2004, now becomes the brand director for Finesse and Soul magazines. Finesse caters for women over 30, addressing all aspects of their lives: personal growth; relationships, health and beauty, career; home and spiritual wellbeing.
Originally an actress (sexy club manager Anke in 7de Laan and psychologist Fransie in Song vir Katryn), the 30-year-old Van Huyssteen joined Carpe Diem Media earlier this year as digital media manager of www.voelgoed.co.za.
Her past experience also includes having opened her own theatre and bookstore, Babbelbox, in Pretoria, where she "did everything from running the business and doing the finances to marketing, script writing and acting". Without that experience, she believes, she "would never be able to cope with the production of a magazine".
"Marhette has taken our online department to new heights," explains Coenie Schoeman, head of Carpe Diem Media. "She embodies all that Finesse is about and has the editorial vision needed to build on the success the magazine has enjoyed in recent years."
Van Huyssteen's first edition will be the December issue, available in stores on 8 November. Apart from the everyday challenges facing the editor of a national magazine, two new Finesse initiatives will also keep her occupied: a digital version of the title and an online shop.
She also intends to make major changes to the magazine over time, but not without readers' input, and believes that actors and magazines share one important goal: to captivate their audience in a fresh and creative way.
