New magazines square off for readers

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): The appearance of several new fashion/lifestyle magazines may be the opening salvo in an impending media war in the Indonesian market.

Indonesian Bazaar was launched in extravagant fashion on May 31 at the Dharmawangsa in South Jakarta. Local magazine a+ made its debut the week before.

They join dewi, Kosmopolitan and neo- in the local market.

Which ones will stand the heat and rise to the top? How long will it take before one collapses? They are the questions on the minds of magazine readers and publishers.

An editor in chief of a women's magazine acknowledged the emergence of competitors was a challenge, with local magazines up against seasoned international rivals.

"Certainly, the international brand and image of magazines like Kosmopolitan and Bazaar will secure advertising from multinational companies," she said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Both Bazaar and Cosmopolitan have been in existence for more than a century. Bazaar (formerly Harper's Bazar) was established in 1867, and the additional "a" in Bazaar was added in 1932. Cosmopolitan made its debut in the late 19th century.

"However, they also need time to fully understand the local market," the editor said, an implicit suggestion that her magazine was in synch with what local readers want.

She said the Bazaar launching revealed a lack of familiarity with the audience. The fashion show and musical performances were too long and the stage too low, she added, and the guests could not enjoy the performance.

A producer of a leading Indonesian Internet portal said the local magazines offered something different.

"Personally, I would prefer a+ or dewi to Kosmopolitan or Bazaar. If I wanted to buy Cosmo, I would rather buy the international version and not the local one."

Indeed, for English-proficient readers, there would be no reason other than availability for buying Kosmopolitan; the U.S. or English Cosmopolitan would be a better read than the Indonesian version.

There is a lot to be lost in translation. "Sex guides in the English version of Cosmo will become tips for a better marriage in the Indonesian version," she added.

Bazaar and Kosmopolitan are owned by the same holding company (credited in the magazine as the MRA Group, the initials standing for Mugi Rekso Abadi) and both led by editor-in-chief Dian Soedarjo, who comes from a family which is very much in the franchise business. Although in the West the target market of the two magazines might not be same, in Indonesia they will certainly appeal to similar consumers. It seems inevitable that the two magazines will be competing against each other.

The local content of Kosmopolitan, with a number of local contributors, is approximately 15 percent. The rest, even the articles on fashion, health and sex, are mainly translations. In Bazaar, there is a fashion feature on Indonesian design and an article about a personality based in Indonesia. With art direction by fashion designer Biyan Wanaatmadja, who is creative consultant of the magazine, the two articles comprise the 15 percent local content of the magazine. Bazaar, with virtually no local contributors at this time, is operating with a skeleton staff.

It is evidence that international magazines pay little attention to local issues, and hence offer almost no challenge or added value to their local staff. A number of editors have already resigned from Bazaar following its launch.

In contrast, the two latest hip local magazines, neo- and a+ depend on the creativity of their editors. One does not have to be able to read Indonesian to be dazzled by the appearance of the two magazines. To be frank, you would not be missing much if you could read the text; the magazines are clearly betting on their cool design and graphics to hook readers, while content is secondary.

Neo-, already out for a couple of months now, is the most visually stimulating. Borrowing the look of The Face and Wallpaper, it comes close to the two magazines in appearance, but lags far behind in content. It is bilingual, designed to be flipped over for the respective English and Indonesian versions.

Yet, content is not so important as long as there is a hype.

The question is not whether neo- will be able to sustain the hype, but how long it will take before it is gone for good. Many believe that it will not be long before neo- is no longer considered new. Its own readers will become used to the fad and the magazine, which sells for a pricey Rp 30,000, will become banal.

People are already fed up.

"There is absolutely no content," is a typical comment from those who have seen and tried to read the copious magazine. More specifically, critical readers complain that the magazine is overdoing its effort to become the trend-setter and they are appalled by the patronizing attitude.

A+, on the other hand, is much less exciting. That is the least that can be said of the first edition. The cover shows two models in an awkward pose resembling silly cyborg-like characters in all those millennia ads. Where have they been the last five months? Was the magazine supposed to be launched last January? The lighting reminds us of corny bridal photographs; is it supposed to be 1980s retro or something?

Yet the picture does fit with the edition's main topic of fashion weak, discussed in an article by editor in chief Samuel Mulia, formerly fashion editor of Dewi magazine. It makes for a rather interesting article, but it seems to be an odd choice for a first issue.

Other than that, the magazine is fine. It has clean modern graphics which are appealing and the articles are accompanied by interesting photographs. Although graphically it is not as flashy as neo-, a+ is produced according to high artistic and aesthetic standards as well. It is also comparatively cheaper at Rp 19,900.

In addition, a+ has already lined-up contributors to write interesting articles about people, places, events and happenings closer to home. The writers are excited about the future of the magazine. If it can continue to beef up its local content and present it using cool modern visuals, then it has a good chance of holding its own.

Who knows who will win the battle at this point. Remember the expression: "Think globally, act locally", or is it "Think locally, act globally"? Whatever it is, the player with the best comprehension of the local market will emerge the winner.

It might just happen that the magazine run by the anonymous editor in chief mentioned earlier will come out on top. On the other hand, we also have to remember that the local market and society are constantly changing.