Further Evidence: "Why Esquire Magazine Gets It"

The February Brooklyn Decker issue of Esquire Magazine that hit the newsstands this past year was not the smashing success that many, myself included,  thought it would be.  Still  the publisher rightly deserved props and kudos for being brave enough to test interactive features on the iPhone, in Barnes and Noble, and for the "Find the Esquire logo" feature throughout several US cities. In fact, Esquire gets kudos (at least from me) for continually trying stretch the limits of what they can do with their print edition. Beyond that, I give them props for their digital edition on the iPad.

This week, while searching the racks for my clients latest releases, Esquire's "Big Black Book" special caught my eye.

'Cause it's a "man" thing, it can't be a "little black book". But judging by the size of the, 'um, "package", this $9.95 SIP (Special Interest Publication, in case you ever wondered what SIP stood for) is a brand extension that is definitely worth the price.

While there's really nothing all that new about what Esquire is doing, and their "Big Black Book" is five years old, what really captured my interest here was their continued commitment to the production quality of the magazine, the continued desire to experiment with interesting and different covers, and the simple fact that never, ever, do they do the same thing twice.

Esquire "gets" it. That's why they are still around. That's why they are successful.

How are you trying to get "it"?

And, did you go to Mr. Magazine's ACT 2: Restart Your Engines conference this week?