Advertisers Get On Board As IPC Unleashes Nuts
IPC has secured a number of high-profile advertising partners for the £8 million launch of its new men’s lifestyle magazine, Nuts, which is being trialed among one million potential readers from today.
The title, which has been in development since November 2002, hits the news-stands next week with a mix of sport, news, television and women designed to attract male readers ahead of the launch of Emap’s eagerly awaited Zoo Weekly (see IPC Launches Nuts To Crack Men’s Magazine Market).
IPC has secured a range of marketing alliances with AOL UK, FX TV and Blockbuster to support the launch edition of Nuts, which claims to be the first weekly general interest title for men to hit the market.
The first of these deals will see AOL UK provide launch advertising for the magazine on its homepage. A series of joint content partnerships between the two Time Warner brands have also been arranged to run throughout 2004.
A further agreement with Fox television’s FX TV will see Nuts sponsor the channel’s flagship entertainment show, Mind of a Married Man, for its debut season. The US sitcom focuses on how married men can survive modern times and follows the exploits of three male friends.
Finally, a deal brokered by Walker Media will see free issues of Nuts distributed throughout Blockbuster video stores during its trial week. The initial activity will be supported in-store with point of sale promotion and further distribution deals throughout 2004.
Commenting on the activity, IPC Ignite’s marketing director, Nial McKinney, said: “Despite having to work under a cloak of secrecy, we have got an extremely strong roster of partners for our launch. I have no doubt that through these innovative partnerships and our strong marketing strategy, the Nuts launch will be one of the campaigns of they year.”
The launch of Nuts will also be backed by an extensive multi-million pound television advertising campaign that begins on Saturday. The spots, created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, will feature women struggling to complete various manual tasks as the men in their lives read the new magazine.
The launches from IPC and Emap represent a first for the men’s lifestyle sector, which has previously only consisted of monthly titles. However, if Nuts and Zoo Weekly prove successful the format is sure to be copied by other publishers.
Nik Vyas, associated director of press at ZenithOptimedia, said: “If Nuts brings in sufficient numbers IPC will have an easy sell on their hands. Young men are notoriously difficult to reach through any medium, so if they’re able to provide access to that particular audience on a weekly basis, advertisers will definitely find a place for it on their schedules.”
However, the title will still face tough competition from Emap, which is understood to have appointed advertising agency NMI to handle the launch campaign for Zoo Weekly, due to go head to head with Nuts later this month (see New Emap Men’s Magazine To Be Called Zoo Weekly).
Vyas added: IPC has got a bit of catching up to do with Emap’s Zoo though in terms of getting agencies on board. Emap have been talking to agencies for a number of months now and people’s understanding, empathy and support is therefore much greater at the moment.”
The lad’s mag sector has experienced something of a rocky ride over recent years and has come down to earth with a bang following its rapid rise to notoriety in the late nineties. Emap’s market leading FHM still sells over 600,000 copies a month, but the latest ABC results revealed declines for a number of key titles including IPC’s Loaded and Dennis Publishing’s Maxim.
IPC Media: 0870 4445000 www.ipcmedia.com
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