More magazine's March issue will introduce a new logo and the tagline, "For Women of Style & Substance," which replaces "Celebrating What's Next." Editor in chief Lesley Jane Seymour told
WWD: "The new logo is more stylish, modern and takes the magazine up to the level of its interior." Past issues were targeting women in their 40s; the new cover is designed to reach women of
any age.
This is very disappointing and difficult to understand. Why would MORE move into a red ocean strategy? They are the only quality publication for women over 40; they own the space. Do they really want to compete with Allure, Glamour, Marie Claire? They have been engaging in a lot reader research in the last few years that has made the publication much stronger and more focused. I'm shocked and I think their core reader will be as well.
I'm equally surprised, as I think to date MORE has done an exceptional job creating a quality publication that targets the over 40 woman. As a boomer woman and marketing professional, MORE has consistently been at the top of my reading list precisely because they have rocked this space for years now. I'm deeply disappointed in this change of strategy, and think they're going to look back on this with regret. This definitely opens the door to others with the clarity of vision regarding the over 40 woman.
More stood out as a brilliant example of appealing to ageless values while understanding where the power market is --
Without seeing their revenue numbers, one has to wonder if this is a market reality where ad revenues will not support the new realities of an 'older' marketplace or if there is simply a run to the young and familiar.
Marketing to how old the consumer (and those buying ad space) feels appears to be more important than appealing to how old they are -