• by Michael Shields , September 24, 2004

Here's what you won't find in the soon-to-launch women's magazine Tango. "You won't see articles here on 'how to please a man,'" says founder and CEO Andrea Miller.

It's clear from that comment that Miller doesn't believe that many current women's magazines serve women well when it comes to dispensing relationship advice. That is something that she expects Tango--a new relationship-focused book directed at sophisticated, well-educated women--to excel at.

"Think 'Sex and the City' in print, with more gravitas," she says.

Tango, which launches on February 1, 2005, will be dedicated to advising women on the complexities of modern relationships. Because women are marrying later and are far more career-driven, relationships have gained importance--yet are tougher to manage than ever, says Miller.

"Relationships have changed dramatically in the past 30 years," she says. Women have much more economic independence. They can afford to be alone. They have that much more career responsibility, and professional stress."

Tango will explore all the cultural implications of modern dating trends. "The divorce rate is still hovering around 50 percent," says Miller. "Relationships are also less and less conventional, with more cross-cultural and cross-religious [couples forming]."

"Online dating is also revolutionizing the way people are going about the dating phenomenon," she says. "It's fascinating."

The new magazine will not be strictly an advice manual. Plans for the debut issue include a feature on "America's most romantic cities," plus personal essays, columns on finance, and a feature on guys' perspectives on couples moving in together.

So how is this information different than what other women's magazines offer? To explain, Miller uses the example of shopping-bible Lucky: "You would think people could buy shoes before, but Lucky came out and made it easier."

In fact, the concept for Tango has been researched for several years, including a recent direct mail test with Time Warner's Synapse that yielded a very high response rate.

"It offered proof that there really is a gap in the market," Miller says. "It is an extremely strong concept."

To deliver on that concept, Tango has amassed some solid talent. Elise O'Shaughnessy, a former executive editor at Vanity Fair, will be editor in chief, and Ellen Abramowitz, former publisher of Seventeen and Teen, will serve as publisher.

Respected relationship experts will also regularly contribute, including Dr. Pepper Schwartz, a relationship and sex specialist and frequent guest on "The Today Show" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show"; and Dr. Harville Hendrix, a relationship therapist and best-selling author of "Getting the Love You Want" and "Keeping the Love You Find." The editorial will be "considerably more contemporary than other titles," says Miller.

Tango will start out promising a 100,000 rate base, publishing four times in 2005 with a $4.99 cover price. But Miller plans to grow quickly--hoping for 6-10 issues in 2006 while tripling the rate base.

Business-wise, Tango has already signed on some high-end advertisers, including Gucci and Brioni. Miller expects fashion and beauty to be core categories, with financial services, travel, and liquor also being naturals for the book's educated and affluent target audience (median age of 32).

To bolster its marketing power, Tango has also initiated partnerships with leading online dating service perfectmatch.com and Newsweek.