• by Larry Dobrow , May 4, 2004

When Jungle Media Group (JMG) swooped in late Monday to purchase Savoy and Savoy Professional for the paltry sum of $375,000, the move took the publishing world somewhat by surprise. After all, suitors like Time Inc. and Essence Communications were said to be preparing bids, and JMG was mostly known for its business and law titles.

Speaking a day after icing the deal, JMG co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jon Housman shrugs when he's told of the initial reaction. "We've been publishing Savoy Professional with [former Savoy parent Vanguarde Media] for a year or so," he says. "I can't see how it makes any less sense for us than for anybody else, really."

Initially, JMG was hoping to facilitate other bids and continue to co- publish Savoy Professional with whatever company won the Savoy derby. But when it became clear that such an arrangement wasn't going to present itself, JMG jumped in with a late bid.

Is JMG is the right parent for a respected, established lifestyle brand like Savoy? On the positive side, JMG has established and grown a handful of titles, including Jungle and Jungle Law, during an unfavorable economic climate for publications. Similarly, its experience with Savoy Professional--which continued to publish during Vanguarde's bankruptcy-- likely gives the company a certain comfort level with the Savoy brand.

On the other hand, Savoy becomes JMG's first lifestyle title. While the company's other publications boast a sizable lifestyle component, Savoy is an entirely differently animal. In addition, changes to the magazine probably won't go over especially well with its loyal subscriber base. Considering that JMG closed the deal less than 48 hours ago, Housman can't offer much in the way of plans for Savoy. Yet he allows that he'd like to have the mag publishing again before the year is out. "There's some people we want to hire and some key advertisers we want to consult with, but everything we've heard so far makes me believe that [Savoy] is something the market wanted to see back."

Despite Vanguarde's troubles in 2003--last December, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Keith Clinkscales told MediaPost that the bankruptcy filing was less a reflection of advertiser or reader response than a commentary on the difficulty of raising cash during tough economic times--Housman is optimistic. "If you look at the advertiser and readership momentum Savoy had in 2003, it was quite strong," he stresses. "[Vanguarde] ran into some financial problems that were separate from its magazines." The fate of Vanguarde's other titles (Heart & Soul, a health and beauty title for black women, and Honey, a style and entertainment magazine for younger black women) remains unclear.

Media pros seem split on JMG's acquisition of Savoy. Although MediaVest Vice President, Associate Media Director Jim Donohue believes the purchase represents "a little bit of a leap" for JMG, he thinks Savoy can be resuscitated. "They're not starting from scratch, which is important," he says. "They're in a good niche. Advertisers and marketers who want to go after the upper-income African-American segment are still going to be very interested."

Asked what he'd want to hear if a JMG rep showed up in his office, Donohue responds: "I'd like to see them be very transparent about how they're going to build circulation, their promotion and marketing plans, everything. To me, that would say, 'hey, we're aboveboard--it's not going to happen again."

Other pundits question whether the Savoy brand is quite as strong as its boosters claim. Told about JMG's acquisition of the title, one magazine consultant paused for a second, then asked: "Is that the magazine up in Boston?" Added a print specialist at a NYC firm: "I truly haven't heard of that magazine at all." So, in addition to assuring advertisers that Savoy's second go-round will proceed differently than its first, JMG could also have a brand-building exercise on its hands.