The Skinny

In this paper we describe a disruptive strategy to make the Condé Nast print magazines more appealing to millennials.

We propose a platform - TILT - that empowers millennial readers to vote on content that they like and make it a part of a fast growing brand’s transition to a larger market.

When enough users vote on articles from an upcoming Vanity Fair issue and they are matched to Soul Cycle, then those users can pick up a copy of Vanity Fair at Soul Cycle. This helps Soul Cycle transition from a spinning company to a health and wellness company.

Several popular brands publish print magazines as a tool to engage their community and a marketing tool.

Grow by Facebook, Here by Away, Airbnbmag by Airbnb, Woolly by Casper, Asos by Asos and so on.

These brands publish magazines for two main reasons.

1. In today’s deluge of online content, print is considered as a more authentic and trusted content source to engage their community.

2. These fast growing companies are constantly trying to broaden their platforms. Away is positioning itself not as a luggage company, but as a travel platform. Casper is stepping up from being a mattress company to a wellness platform. A print magazine fits perfectly in this growth plan.

Publishing is a hard business - especially for brands which are focusing on growing their core business. Building a quality editorial and creative team and infrastructure are hard. Marketing a new magazine and growing a reader base is a distraction from focusing on the brand’s core user base.

Brands are better served by partnering with a media company like Condé Nast instead which has deep expertise in publishing.

TILT is a community engagement platform that enables younger users to get access to magazines with content that interests them, while they are interacting with their favorite brands.

First access to headlines

Users of TILT get first access to headlines of articles in the upcoming issues of the different Condé Nast magazines. The users can vote on the articles they like based on their interest, their local flavor and the magazine/writer.

Millennials’ favorite brands

Online fashion brands, direct to consumer startups, modern wellness companies and other fast growing brands that are appealing to millennials participate in TILT. The users select the brands that they like and use in their daily lives.

Magazines = Rewards

When a certain number of TILT users vote on headlines from one of the Condé Nast magazines, that magazine “tilts” and an algorithm matches that magazine with a brand based on a few factors:

1. Number of TILT users who have indicated affinity to the brand

2. Accessibility of the brand to TILT users

3. The lift that the brand can get from users associating the Condé Nast magazine content with the brand

Soul Cycle creates a campaign with Condé Nast and when Vanity Fair “tilts” towards Soul Cycle, Soul Cycle buys copies of the upcoming Vanity Fair magazine issue and makes them available to TILT users in Soul Cycle.

Lyft sends a message to their driver community to make the New Yorker available in Lyft cars when the New Yorker “tilts” towards Lyft.

WeWork creates a campaign that ensures they buy copies of the upcoming Wired magazine issue and make them available to their users when the Wired “tilts” towards WeWork.

Feedback on content areas

TILT users can see an overview of what content engages them while at the same time, Condé Nast gets feedback up front on articles that are exciting to users across their different magazines, content areas and geographies.

Lift in brand value

Participating brands get two significant benefits:

1. Brand lift - Sweetgreen can transition from a salad company to a food and health brand; Everlane can have a larger voice in shaping fashion; Lyft can offer engaging rides to users rather than just cheap transit.

2. Customer acquisition - TILT brings foot traffic into fashion stores, new users for food startups, helps transit companies retain users and much more.

In order to make print magazines more appealing to millennials we have to create a seamless experience between users, magazines and brands.

TILT achieves this by putting the users in control of choosing what they want to read, while at the same time enabling brands to grow in the eyes of their customers.