• by Larry Dobrow , August 26, 2003

A few months ago, The New York Times published a story about the "metrosexual," a male species of consumer whose shopping habits put even the most covetous trophy wife to shame. The term itself, of course, was nothing new. According to wordspy.com, English writer Mark Simpson introduced it in the 1990s, and he further defined it thusly in a July 2002 Salon.com article: "The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis - because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference."

When the venerable NYT picked up on the craze, however, marketers officially added "metrosexual" to their stable of buzzwords - a development monitored very closely by Details vice president and publisher Bill Wackermann. "I think the words that the Times used were 'they are every marketer's dream,'" he says. "Well, that's what we've been preaching for the last three years. Our entire magazine speaks to that guy."

Perhaps, then, one might partially credit metrosexuals for Details' emergence from publishing purgatory. A non-factor editorially and as a marketing entity only a few short years ago, the title has surged in recent years. The most recent Publishers Information Bureau data notes that Details grew its ad pages (by 37%) and its ad revenue (by nearly 47%, to $19.2 million) during the first seven months of 2003. And while Details sold fewer than one-tenth as many copies as Maxim did on the newsstand during the first six months of 2003, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation the magazine has surged 4.5% in single-copy sales during the first half of the year, a percentage gain that trumps all of the laddie books as well as Sports Illustrated and GQ.

Details' peers in the men's-magazine category don't give the magazine much respect - a commonly heard refrain is that they don't have any idea who it's written for - but Wackermann doesn't seem to mind the barbs. "When we relaunched, it was at the height of Maxim and the laddie-book craziness," he recalls. "When we told people what we planned to do, they thought we were crazy - 'You're only going to put guys on the cover? You're going to talk about 401(k) plans and art exhibits?' Nobody thought male readers cared about anything except girls in wet t-shirts."

Clearly Details views the metrosexual hype as a validation of its editorial and marketing direction. The concept isn't especially hard to grasp - a style bible for guys who are beyond their barfly prime but not yet ready to retire to a cabin in Montana - but publishers have been unable to replicate that formula in magazine form. Nobody's claiming that Details has unlocked the equation just yet, but few other publications seem to have made more significant headway.

The average Details reader is 31 and lives in and around metropolitan areas (86% of its readership). Boasting an average household income of $121,000 - the most affluent audience for any consumer magazine, Wackermann claims - that reader cares deeply about products and branding. "'The black-collar guy' is what we call him," Wackermann says. "He's independent, opinionated and not afraid to take chances. He travels a lot. He doesn't watch much TV. I'm sure that he reads the newspaper, but I don't know any other magazine besides ours that he reads."

The overall consumption habits of the Details reader are considerably easier to discern than his media-consumption ones. It's no surprise, then, when Wackermann identifies the usual suspects - fashion, cars and high-end liquor - as primary ad targets. He's optimistic about new clients in technology (Canon) and financial services (American Express), and has targeted luxury goods as a prime growth area. "Rolex, that's a brand that belongs on the pages of Details," he adds. "I'd love to carry more Chrysler business, but their strategy has been family-focused."

While Wackermann defines Details' competitive set as "any men's magazine, in general," he doesn't seem to concern himself much with laddie books or male-skewing titles like Sports Illustrated or Rolling Stone. "We look pretty much where you'd expect: GQ, Men's Health, Esquire," he says. "I think what we're seeing is companies realizing the extent of the laddie market. It's just a segment that delivers a certain customer, one that's younger and less affluent."

Wackermann is also one of the few publishing sorts who isn't completely mourning the recession. "When the economy slowed down, companies had to focus on the customers who were actually purchasing their products," he explains. "I think we benefited from that, because we're an efficient buy. I mean, if you're a fashion company, what are you doing in Men's Health? A guy reads that because he wants to work out, not because he wants to look good."

In the months ahead, Details will continue its fashion focus with the launch of Vitals, a spin-off shopping magazine for men set to debut in March 2004. Wackermann doesn't plan on boosting the magazine's circulation beyond the current 400,000 ("You always hear one million as the magic number, but I'm not sure there are one million of our readers out there"), but does hope to gain ground on GQ and Maxim, the only two men's magazines that have run more ad pages during 2003.

"And that's with us having two less issues per year. Don't forget that," Ackermann stresses. "There won't be any growth for growth's sake, but I do see things pressing forward."