Le système Brûlé: de la presse à la pub

On connait le Tyler Brûlé éditeur de magazines. Ce que l'on sait moins, c'est que le fondateur de Wallpaper et du magazine Monocle a aussi son agence de communication. Interview en anglais par Mark Tungate pour Stratégies.

 

Perpetually unshaven, casually stylish and full of ideas, Monocle founder Tyler Brûlé is the model of the globetrotting media maven. He took time out at the George V in Paris to chat to Mark Tungate.

 

Tell me about Winkreative, your communications agency?

 

Tyler Brûlé. Wink was created when I was running Wallpaper. Brands told us they'd been showing fashion shoots from the magazine to their agencies and saying « Why can't you create something like this? » Then they came back to us and asked us for creative solutions. We also found that our small, agile editorial team could get the job done more quickly than a traditional agency [...]. When I sold Wallpaper to Time Inc, I wanted to take Wink with me. The negotiations went smoothly at first - then suddenly we won the Swissair rebranding. Time Inc quite rightly felt some of that money was theirs. Still, after some quite intense talks I walked away with the agency.

 

What's the relationship between Winkreative and your magazine Monocle?

 

They're based in the same building, but they're separate companies. However, there's obviously a lot of crossover. A great photographer who shows up at Monocle may end up working with the agency - and vice versa. Also, brands that advertise in Monocle occasionally become clients of Winkreative. The agency is about 30 people and the magazine is 45.

 

What kind of clients does Wink attract?

 

One typical client is the Japanese company Toto, which makes amazing high-tech spraying and blow-drying toilets. Our contact with Toto began with an article in the magazine. Then they approached us for advice about a PR company - and we suggested several names, including ourselves. We pitched for the account fair and square. Today they're our biggest full-service client. We've done print ads for them and we worked with Kuntzel & Deygas here in Paris on a film. Another big client at the moment is Italian publisher RCS (Rizzoli Corriere della Sera), for whom we're about to redesign the magazine Il Mondo.

 

How do you justify the lack of borders between advertising and editorial in Monocle?

 

That's not quite the case. Although we run ads that are very close in style to our editorial, they clearly have the brand's logo at the bottom of the page and the words Monocle x Japan Airlines, or whoever, at the top. Our readers clearly recognise that as a brand partnership. Similarly our Monocle-branded products are promoted in a section of their own, on different paper. I would also argue that our readers are extremely interested in brands.

 

In a way, you're offering a 360° service to brands. You even have a small Monocle shop near your offices in London.

 

Yes, we sell our Monocle branded goods there (luggage, diaries and so on). If a tiny Japanese company that makes wooden toys approaches us and asks to be in the shop, we welcome them. If it's a major global brand, we usually ask them to advertise in the magazine too.

 

How is the global financial crisis affecting you?

 

I won't say the crisis has been good for us, but it has enabled us to stand out - we've invested in quality journalism and a quality print product. And we've really worked hard to charge advertisers a premium for our website. We never promise advertisers a specific number of clicks: there's a rate for the site just as there is for the magazine. We're not in profit yet, but I believe we will be by the end of the year. Advertising in the October issue is 30% up on last year. All in all, things are going almost embarrassingly well.

 

How do you see the press evolving in the near future?

 

The media brands that will survive are the ones who have something different to say.