• by Michael Shields , October 25, 2004

Bauer Publishing is promoting timeliness over originality with its newest magazine launch.

Life and Style Weekly, which Bauer says is the first weekly style magazine, will debut on newsstands on November 1. Like many Bauer titles, the magazine will target impulsive newsstand shoppers, and will be priced at $1.99 per issue.

The new title, geared toward women in their 20s and 30s, will contain a blend of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle editorial intertwined with celebrity news. Unlike Bauer's gossip-heavy In Touch Weekly, Life and Style's tone "will be very positive, respectful, and upbeat," said General Manager Mark Pasetsky.

Pasetsky promises a very chic-looking product, designed for a quick read. "The magazine will be very fast-paced, with a clean, elegant design," he said.

While celebrity coverage and shopping are hardly new territory for publishers--as evidenced by the success of titles such as US Weekly, People, Lucky, and seemingly every other women's magazine--Lee says that Life and Style's frequency provides the new magazine with a distinct advantage for readers and advertisers.

"Personally, I am thrilled that there are monthlies out there dedicated to shopping," said Publisher Lee Rosenbaum. "But I don't think that magazines take a month to read."

Instead, according to Rosenbaum, readers want style information on an ongoing basis.

"Trends don't wait for monthlies," he said. "To think you can cover [new fashion trends] with a two-month lead time is just absurd."

Given that logic, Rosenbaum feels that Life and Style can claim being the first of its kind. "It's certainly not a crowded field in the weekly space," he said.

Of course, Bauer has demonstrated that copycat concepts can work. For example, In Touch Weekly has grown to a 900,000-circulation title in just two years, on the heels of popular US Weekly as well as others.

Like many current shopping titles, Life and Style will offer readers lots of pictures of celebrities, along with commentary on the success of their look as well as information on where readers can achieve this look on various budgets.

Yet one point of differentiation for this concept will be Life and Style's emphasis on driving readers/shoppers to its Web site, www.lifeandstyleweeklymag.com--and ultimately to retailer's sites, which should appeal to ROI-focused advertisers.

"From a retailer perspective, these readers don't want to hear that something is not in stock," said Pasetsky, who claims that monthly magazines often promote looks that are out of date or not yet available.

As for advertiser interest, the magazine's debut issue will feature Levis and NBC, although Rosenbaum acknowledges that many prominent brands are holding off, gauging the results of the launch.

"Is there a wait and see notion out there? Yeah," he said. "It's been just what I expected. Advertisers understand that this is different than a celebrity weekly with a different sensibility."