Teen People and Cosmo Girl! were the type of magazines people immediately glommed onto when they were introduced a few years ago. Few magazines have experienced such success in such a short period of time. Sure, there was In Style and Oprah's O, but when was the last time a new teen magazine made such an impact?
There was Jump and Twist and, most recently, Teen Vogue, none of which left an impression on the highly valued 13 to 21 demographic. These magazines offered a hodgepodge of what 30-year-old editors assumed teenagers liked, offering stories filled with "grrrl" (the new, angst-filled, younger cousin to feminism) or photo spreads of rich daddy's girls carrying Prada purses and teetering on Jimmy Choo shoes to get to their homerooms.
But then Christina Ferrari, managing editor at Teen People, came along. Ferrari, formerly of YM magazine, knew that current teenagers were smarter than the other magazines thought. Her magazine, owned by Time Warner, was a more youth-driven version of its parent magazine, People. She kept the format the same, offering human interest stories focusing on ex-gang members and recovering anorexics, while offering tittilating soundbytes from the likes of Britney Spears and Puff Daddy. Nowadays, the magazine has a circulation of about 2 million--a dream-come-true for any publisher.
Another magazine in the highly desired teen market is Cosmo Girl!, a spin-off of one of the most popular women's magazines out there--Cosmopolitan. Atoosa Rubenstein, formerly an intern at the now-defunct Sassy magazine, helms this teen success for the publishing giant, Hearst. Offering a well-balanced mix of gossip, quizzes and relationship aricles, Rubenstein is highly involved in running this magazine. Many times, she'll be in her office until almost midnight, answering e-mails from readers and going over the minute details of the 'zine pre-press.
In a segment that is highly impressionable with plenty of money (i.e. allowances) to burn, these two novice magazines are doing good things in the field of teen magazines. And, in the end, Ferrari and Rubenstein know not to sell those impressionable teen readers with huge potentials short.
Go to www.teenpeople.com and www.cosmogirl.com to get a taste of these magazines.
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