• by Larry Dobrow , September 5, 2003

Brent Alexander is aware that there are reams of paper devoted every month to publications that attempt to capture "a slice of the south." He's also aware that national advertisers aren't exactly throwing dollars at these magazines, and that novice publishers often learn the business the hard way.

That said, the long-time political consultant is convinced that he can make South, a 50,000-circ, bimonthly title that marks his first foray into the world of publishing, a rare regional success. "There is a place in the market for a publication like this," he says earnestly. "Magazines like Southern Living and Southern Accents and Veranda have branded the south from a shelter standpoint. We're going to do it from a lifestyle and entertainment standpoint."

With a tagline of "defining the popular culture," the publication aims to be for the southern lifestyle what the other three titles are for southern home design. Of course, that could be the primary obstacle to its success: Southern Living et al. contain more than their share of lifestyle content, and there's already a host of state magazines providing a similar mix of home and lifestyle elements.

Alexander stresses that South is editorially distinct, at least in theory, and a quick look at the first issue more or less bears him out. While the mag's mini-profile on actress Sela Ward and recipes for dishes like Catfish Courtbouillon wouldn't feel out of place in any number of South's competitors, the magazine's look at new University of Alabama head football coach Mike Shula and a "where is he now?" deconstruction of former WorldCom chief executive officer (and Mississippi denizen) Bernie Ebbers are more incisive than the usual regional-mag fare.

Whether advertisers will be able to see the distinction, however, is open to debate. Twenty-seven of the launch issue's 100 pages are devoted to ads, which exceeds Alexander's initial projection of a 20/80 split and leads him to believe that South is on the right path. "To me, the response from the ad community says that this is an attractive concept for them," he says.

South's debut issue is heavy on regional advertisers (AmSouth Wealth Management, the Rainbow Hotel Casino, Tillery Dental Clinics) but entirely devoid of national companies with a strong southeastern presence (say, Cingular). And while it's hard to believe that Alexander would turn down Procter & Gamble if the company came calling, he insists that he hopes to grow South's circulation before making a concerted push for national advertisers. "I want to get up to 100,000 before specifically trying to do this," he says. As for specific ad categories, Alexander is surprised by the strong early interest from medical specialists, regional banks and casinos, and hopes to push deeper into home furnishings, liquor and luxury goods.

While Alexander's plans for South are ambitious, he seems to be hedging his bets in the short-term. He describes the magazine's setup as "a neat bootstrap model" and half-jokingly says that he "has this thing budgeted down to the smallest paper clip." To find the readers in South's target demographic (60-70% female, average household income in excess of $100,000, history of purchasing magazines), Alexander has devised what he calls a "fairly sophisticated controlled circulation model. Over time, we'll be using the magazine itself as a direct mail piece to convert subscribers to paid subscribers."

Alexander is optimistic that the November/December issue of South will break even, going so far as to promise that he will "reinvest every cent we make" in the magazine. And unlike many pie-eyed first-time publishers, he seems to have a solid grasp of the challenges that lie ahead, especially the inevitable concerns about balancing large national advertisers with the regional ones that will necessarily fuel the magazine's growth (a state-specific ad marketplace is a possibility a few issues down the road). "We'll have issues related to growth, just like everybody else," he concedes. "But hopefully there won't be any real surprises."

The magazine hits newsstands on September 23 and will be available in 13 southeastern states.