Magazine of the Week

Welcome back, everyone!

moncl cvr

This week’s magazine is Monocle.

This title has a savvy info pitch about themselves which tops most of what I can say. Also, like many of the newer magazines, the editors use their taste level to sell what they display. They define Monocle, after all, as a “media brand, with its print, audio, and online elements. Not to mention our expanding retail network and online business.”

MONOCLE

This is a quirky title. It is a lifestyle magazine. It is lovingly and inclusively pointed away from the US and western Europe. It addresses global business and markets,  politics, art, dining and travel, entertainment, clothing. Everything a person of the world might need to be educated, polished, and cosmopolitan. Imagine Dwell+The Economist+Playboy (in its heyday, but without the sexism or eurocentrism) + Men’s Non No + a Ralph Lauren catalog all published in an elegant fine-print mish-mash of information. And the editorial is all advertising as well.

Monocle was designed by Tyler Brule, the man who founded Wallpaper, and launched in February 2007.  As the internet grew, so did the Monocle website. The title’s home base is London, but it has reporting bureaus and shops in New York, Tokyo, Toronto, Hong Kong, Zurich, Singapore, and Istanbul.

Master of the “advertorial”, the whole thing reads like an ad for high-end products that promote “fine living”. Pens, watches, shoes, and men’s bags are just some of the items that get the research-plus-merchandising spin. Gradually, the title has set up brick-and-mortar shops to sell the products it recommends along with it’s worldly image.

Being savvy with new media, it has used its website to put more image-conscious data out in the world. The radio station was begun in 2011 and the film archive a bit later. The publishers have generated several successful “lifestyle” books. The success of the first one, “The Monocle Guide to Better Living”, encouraged the publication of two more: “The Monocle Guide to Good Business”, and “The Monocle Guide to Cosy Homes”, as well as a series of travel guides.

The online “radio” station:

Monocle Radio

The online film archive:

Monocle Film

The National Review review of Monocle

Another article about Monocle as an overall brand

Enjoy!