It’s no surprise that a market with 3.2 million residents and enough affluence to stretch from its 50 miles of coastline to enclaves ranging from Mediterranean look-alikes to horse country would have a few fancy lifestyle magazines.
It is a surprise of sorts that the bevy of magazines around these parts goes well beyond a few. And that the number is growing, even in an era when print publications—especially those that count on a hip flair for their appeal—are sometimes assumed to have passed into the realm of passé.
Consider recent upstart Pacific Coast, the latest entry that aims to bring an OC slant to the Southern California lifestyle genre.
Another surprise: The field is poised to take on new contours, with long-standing Orange Coast magazine up for sale, suggesting a pending shift in the landscape and keeping publishers on their toes.
Most of the publications are privately held, and none of them will talk about revenue or earnings. The one publication that’s part of a publicly traded company is just as mysterious, since its parent doesn’t break out financials for individual titles.
They all manage to pedal along, though, suggesting there’s enough eyeballs and advertising dollars to go around, at least for now.
Priorities for the handful of magazines in the lifestyle category include differentiating themselves from the competition, giving advertisers multiple platforms, and engaging more with the community they serve, both digitally and in-person.
One form of differentiation is distribution models, which vary between paid subscriptions—Orange Coast stands alone on that distinction—and free direct mailing to upscale demographics, which Modern Luxury Orange County and Bask use. Coast does direct distribution to homes in coastal OC, while other titles leave copies for free at retail shops and restaurants in the area.
Differentiation also shows up as the titles occupy various segments—city-regional, luxury lifestyle, and sponsored titles that rely on a main advertiser to underwrite production.
The city-regional segment includes Orange Coast; Coast, the Orange County Register’s flagship magazine; and Costa Mesa-based Locale.
The luxury segment includes Modern Luxury Orange County, part of a national group with headquarters in Atlanta; Newport Beach-based Bask Magazine, a quarterly that’s also sponsored, with Newport Beach-based Surterre Properties as chief backer.
Pacific Coast claims a slice of several segments, with two covers for each issue, one a nod to an icon and another that’s meant to evoke luxury. It’s also sponsored, with Stanfield Real Estate of HÔM Sotheby’s International Realty providing support.
Here’s a breakdown:
Regional Magazines
Orange Coast
Notable: OC’s original lifestyle magazine
Started: 1974
Circulation/Distribution: 20,706 paid subscribers. Also available at newsstands, hotels and offices.
Orange Coast Publisher Christopher Schulz said the magazine’s strongest selling point is just that—selling. It’s the only lifestyle magazine with a “paid, requested and audited readership,” he said.
He calls the OC lifestyle magazine market “absurdly crowded,” though he said Orange Coast’s newsstand sales remain strong.
“On a national basis, only 25% of all magazines placed on the newsstand are actually purchased by readers,” he said. “Orange Coast has a newsstand sell-through of more than 40%. Not only is this significantly higher than most other magazines, our sell-through percentage has actually increased in the past year from 37% in 2015 to more than 40% in 2016.”
Ad categories include retail, restaurants, health and wellness, home decor and travel.
Schulz reiterated the intention he made public in September to buy the magazine from parent company Emmis Communications Corp. in Indianapolis.
Chief Executive and controlling shareholder Jeff Smulyan planned an ultimately unsuccessful effort to take the company private and started selling Emmis’ six regional magazines to finance that. Emmis doesn’t break out financial data of individual magazines.
Schulz said he continues to talk to a lot of people in the area in hopes of putting a deal together. He said he doesn’t anticipate changes to the magazine, no matter who the new owner may be.
“With this magazine, we are absolutely full speed ahead,” he said. “We continue to work as hard and diligently as we ever have, and if anything, are looking to expand into some new products next year.”
The new rollouts include a dining-related publication to further capitalize on one of Orange Coast’s core coverage areas.
Schulz also plans to expand into new digital opportunities and grow the company’s custom publishing portfolio.
“We’d like to get new custom publishing deals with both private-sector and public-sector partners, including tourism-related and private-sector destinations,” he said.
Coast
Notable: Celebrated 25th anniversary last year
Started: 1991 as 16-page community newspaper, The Coaster
Circulation/Distribution: 51,500, distributed monthly to homeowners in coastal OC and luxury hotels
Magazine siblings including OC Family and Southland Golf
Editor Samantha Dunn came on board in May and set out to reinvigorate Coast’s online presence after former Orange County Register owners Eric Spitz and Aaron Kushner took a print-first approach in stark contrast to new owner, Denver-based Digital First Media, which operates the publication as part of its Southern California News Group.
Local content distinguishes Coast from some competitors, said Digital First Media Vice President and General Manager Henry Williamson.
“Coast handpicks and continually evaluates its distribution to ensure a quality reader for advertisers,” he said. “But in addition to having quality distribution, the editorial (content) has to have substance and draw readers in to maximize the return for advertisers.”
Kedric Francis, the editorial director for Southern California News Group’s Custom Content team, said he’s “encouraged by the direction Sam Dunn is taking Coast.”
“She and the SCNG team have put out some strong issues recently,” he said.
Francis also is a former executive editor and current contributor to Coast and the founding editor of Firebrand Media’s Montage magazine.
Locale
Notable: Began operations in a garage
Started: 2010
Circulation/Distribution: Distributes magazines for free in handpicked, mostly coastal locations, such as Daphne’s California Greek restaurants, Nekter Juice Bars and select markets, coffee shops and boutiques. Publications plus inserts, add up to about 500,000 publications per year.
Founder and Publisher Erik Hale started Locale in his garage about seven years ago. He differentiates the magazine by its heavy focus on social media and plenty of content—25 stories in every issue.
“So even with 100 pages of advertising, we’ll still have more content than ads,” he said.
Locale has advertisers from every segment, including retail, banking, casinos and restaurants, though it focuses on selling partnerships instead of advertising, Hale said.
“Our partners generally utilize our print, social, web and events to promote their businesses. … Our focus on digital and social has allowed us to easily transition partner [revenue] from traditional sources to new and developing social and digital platforms.”
The entire magazine portfolio—which also produces print or digital content or both to serve the San Diego, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and San Francisco markets—has 41,000 Instagram followers and 40,000 Facebook followers, a personal effort of Hale’s. He said its website posts fresh content daily, in addition to the quarterly print publication.
Locale hosts events to engage with its communities, holding more than 40 last year across the state, Hale said.
City Magazines
There also are two city magazines in Laguna Beach-based Firebrand Media’s portfolio. One is Laguna Beach Magazine, launched in 2007. It’s delivered free to 10,200 single-family homes in Laguna Beach and is also delivered in bulk to hotels and the majority of its retail partners.
Newport Beach Magazine launched in 2009. It’s delivered for free to approximately 16,000 homes, and, like its sister publication, is delivered in bulk through hotels in Newport and the majority of its retail partners.
Modern Luxury Orange County
Notable: Called Modern Luxury Riviera Orange County until the name changed in September 2015
Circulation/Distribution: 40,000-plus (144,000 with readership)
Michael Dickey, the national president of Modern Luxury, could not be reached for comment by press time.
Francis, the founding editor-in-chief of its predecessor, Riviera, said the OC magazine is one of the portfolio’s best.
“I think Modern Luxury Orange County is still one of the strongest of that company’s publications nationwide,” he said. “The model we developed while I was there under former ownership is still the best model, with shared content, distribution by mail, and event marketing, all held to a really high standard.”
Sponsored Magazines
Pacific Coast
Notable: New kid on the block
Circulation/Distribution: Free to single-family homes from Huntington Beach to San Clemente.
The first issue of Pacific Coast was published this past fall and featured two different cover images, a format that will be continued in the future, Steve Zepezauer said.
One is “more of a classic, iconic cover” relating to each issue’s feature story about a Southern California figure or company, and the other illustrates “more of a luxury lifestyle,” he said.
Pacific Coast already has hosted one event and is planning an entire series this year that will allow readers and advertisers to interact “with the iconic personalities and brands we cover in the magazine,” Zepezauer said.
The biggest challenge Firebrand’s magazine portfolio is facing is finding ways to provide multiple avenues for advertisers, since advertising is “dynamic, fluid and constantly changing,” he said.
“So for us, the key as a publisher is to help our client partners innovate and create content that will enable them to connect with key audiences in meaningful ways.”
The magazines have a “fairly balanced portfolio of advertisers” in segments including retail, hospitality and restaurants, he added.
Bask Magazine
Started: 2010
Notable: Co-founder and Publisher, Jolie Adams, who co-founded the Riviera Magazines in both Orange County and San Diego. She was also associate publisher of M Magazine, a luxury real estate magazine focused on Orange County.
Distribution: As of 2010, Bask reaches more than 150,000 readers in coastal Orange County, Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe via direct mail, at boutiques, retailers, and restaurants and on newsstands.
