Bespoke Magazines

I just saw this pretty interesting concept that was executed by Cunning Agency and HSBC for their Premier branding. The idea was to offer travelers coming through Heathrow Airport in London and chance to essentially make their own magazine. There were a number of articles to choose from, and each person can pick their favorites and the order they come in and have the magazine bound right there in the airport. The concept and execution does look great, but of course in the large scope it's probably not ideal - especially for publishers. The thing with a printed magazine is that it is becoming more of an art and the composition of the articles and pages and how they are laid out and order are what make it particularly special. For the most part, you can pick and choose the information you want already thanks to the Internet. So taking away a lot of the artistic influence and execution of a printed magazine is something I wouldn't recommend. But they aren't trying to do it long term, and I think for the concept 2-week period, it looks great.

Check the video below for more info.

Comments

[Kimleestar]

oooooooooooooooooh cooooool!!!

[greenjeans]

I see what you're saying though, even with blogs, it's more about the overall insight it gives to the author that keeps them really interesting...although it would be fun to play editor in chief

[nkwu]

Interesting - but about the scope issues - it's not that far from being feasible.

I mean even companies like Victorias Secret do custom catalogues in the states based on the demographics of who they are selling to. I was at a talk with Steven Shepard and he observed that in his own home 3 different females received distinctly different victorias secret catalogues. The products might have been the same, but the product shots varied and the pricing varied. I wouldn't be surprised if print media had to change in this direction ("custom" magazines based on data gathered on their reader used to automatically create a magazine)

I do, however agree with your recommendation to not take away from the influence/execution of a printed magazine - but maybe there's a compromise in the future?