For many, the closure of Lucky Magazine is a sign of the times. For those being laid off, it probably comes as much as a shock as it doesn’t. But no matter which way you slice the pie, Lucky Magazine didn’t even get a chance to print it’s first quarterly issue. Apparently, the digital team behind LuckyShops.com is safe, at least for now. It’s more clear than ever that Conde Nast is shifting to focusing on its core products, namely Vogue, the recent Internet smash Vanity Fair and other top magazines like GQ, while making content plus commerce the new play online with LuckyShops and Style.com. Somehow, Conde Nast has to compete with Hearst and their platforms such as ShopBazaar.
However, for many a publicist and digital marketer align, the closure of Lucky’s print magazine has a much wider implication. Worse yet for small brands and entrepreneurs who are not as savvy when it comes to building their digital presence and pitching quality publications, the Lucky closure can be a real pain, especially if they have been working with the Lucky team over the years to develop their brand.
While there are no doubt industry wide repercussions ( and now discussions ) as a result of this closure, it also brings a bevy of new opportunities. Here are some tips on how to turn an rather unfortunate situation into a very positive one and have your brand come out the winner as a result.
Be Aware of Where the Staffers Go
Photo Credit: Ashley Chang
When Editor in Chief turned Chief Creative Director Evy Chen resigned in April, many looked upon this as a bad omen for Lucky Group, which was formed less than nine months prior. However if you read between the lines, Eva’s talent is still very valuable at Conde Nast, as she is definitely a Consulting Editor at Lucky ( well maybe Luckyshops now ). Pay attention to where other editors like Lynette Pone McIntyre, the former Fashion Market Director, Noelle Sciacca, the former Market Editor, the former Senior Accessories Editor Melissa Lum as well as former Beauty Director, Jean Godfrey June end up.
Broaden Your Brand Discovery Channels
Photo Credit: rawinformationgroup.com
A good publicist will see the closure at Lucky as an opportunity to pitch closely related magazines such as Allure or Trending NY with more creative mentions of exclusive content. As an entrepreneur, you should react similarly. While the past staffers are searching for new opportunities and the powerhouse publications are preparing to stack up on super editorial talent, smaller yet similar publications ( especially regional ones ) are sure to see increased volume of pitches. Think InStyle, Seventeen or even sites like Stylelist, so long as they fit your audience. Trending NY is a great find to ( albeit a localized option to New Yorkers ).
Monitor New PR Opportunities
For the next two to three weeks, Lucky will be a part of the conversation in the publishing and fashion worlds alike. This means they will likely be mentioned in comparison to similar brands ( like the aforementioned ), their staffers will be mentioned in regards to new opportunities, competitors and rivals will swoop in the capture the attention of whatever market remains and all sort of allegories and references will occur across a number of different industries. Now would be a great time to create a Twitter List of all the staffers you can find ( most post really personal updates but brands like WWD or Fashionista will mention them when relevant, resulting in a very informative retweet ), as well as Lucky and similar magazines. Of course Google Alerts will suffice as well but sentiment tools like Topsy and even IceRocket are useful too.
Leverage Relevant Influencers
Photo Credit: alex-closet.com
Leveraging influencers is probably already part of the strategy for most small brands, but a closure of a well known publication might spike the interest of many in working with influencers who command similar audiences, although it may not be the same size as Lucky Magazine ( 442K Twitter Followers and counting ). However, working with the right influencers could drive sales while not requiring the editor relationships or even necessarily the shiny new product typically required to pitch a shopping magazine like Lucky. A great place to start would be influencers who leverage ShopStyle or LiketoKnowIt ( just search the hashtags on Instagram to find them ), as they are likely to target millennial audiences akin to Lucky just like Alexandra above.
Featured Image: Kelly in the City
