Hearst says it will invest in Esquire’s print magazine to enhance its luxury positioning by introducing a cleaner, more modern aesthetic, a bigger size format, better quality paper stock, increased paginations and new sections and contributors. From February 2019, Esquire will publish six issues a year and increase its cover price to £6.00.
Hearst will double Esquire’s marketing spend to ensure greater impact at point of sale and increase the focus on its dynamically-distributed copies to reach a tightly targeted, high-net-worth audience at culturally-relevant events, such as art and design fairs and exhibitions.
A refreshed Esquire.com/UK and social channels will increase coverage of luxury, style and culture content, reflecting the magazine’s positioning.
To coincide with the relaunch, say the publishers, the brand will unveil Esquire Evenings, a series of boutique event experiences across the capital, including supperclubs, speaker talks and masterclasses . Esquire Evenings will build on the success of Esquire’s event portfolio, which includes Esquire Townhouse, its annual four-day luxury brand experience, and Esquire Self-Made, a one-day entrepreneur-focused luxury summit, which launched earlier this year.
Esquire will also expand its series of product collaborations with luxury brands, ‘The Esquire Edit’ which launched earlier this year. The first capsule collection included collaborations with Lock & Co, Sunspel, CQP and Troubadour.
Alun Williams, Managing Director, Men’s Lifestyle, Hearst UK, says: “Esquire is a truly modern media brand, with an ecosystem spanning print, digital, events and branded products. These innovations are driven by our deep audience insight and designed to drive Esquire even further into the luxury market. The new look magazine celebrates the unique experience of luxury in print, the Esquire website will provide consumers with engaging content in a format to suit their everyday lives and the launch of Esquire Evenings is yet another example of bringing our brand to life, following the unparalleled success of The Esquire Townhouse”
Alex Bilmes, Editor-in-Chief of Esquire, says: “In a time of transformational change for media, it is right for Esquire itself to change to ensure we will be the men’s magazine brand of decades to come. The new look Esquire is a tightly focused, proudly niche, highly specialised product, made to the most exacting standards, for an audience of committed readers and consumers who demand only the best. Esquire does not seek to be all things to all men. Instead it seeks to mean a great deal to a specific, extremely influential group of men, and women, — worldly, sophisticated, literate, affluent, urbane — with a genuine interest in living well.”
The first issue of the new print edition will go on sale from February 2019.
