Anyone who’s ever launched a new magazine understands the sheer daunting volume of work involved. So imagine doing this, and succeeding, from your dorm room in college.
Serene Guen did just that, launching a beautifully artistic and editorially creative print title called Suitcase Magazine . Bloomberg TV’s Carol Massar interviewed Guen about the magazine, asking how she sets her product apart from the huge amount of information already out there.
“One of the biggest challenges for a small magazine is getting people to recognize our worth,” says Guen, adding, “Quantity does not equal quality for us.”
The interview is fascinating, in part because of Guen’s obvious youth combined with her intelligence, and her passion for the idea, which shows all over her face. Recently named one of the “25 Under 25 Most Influential Londoners,” her ideas certainly resonate with a wide audience.
“We’re the first travel and fashion magazine for young people. And we make sure, because we’re print, that we’re almost an extension of online. We’ve spent the hours you don’t want spend…curating the content, to make this product that you want to keep. It has this high artistic value that you’ll want to keep on your shelf for years and years to come.”
Perhaps most surprisingly is Guen’s wise-beyond-her-years understanding of why print is the perfect vehicle for this kind of magazine. Originally launching as a digital magazine, the publisher found that the online format was not the right choice for them.
“We actually put our second issue on Issuu, and we found that the format wasn’t quite right for us. We chose a print magazine after months and months of deliberation, because we are a more artistic product.”
The magazine also has a website presence, and they are in development for a tablet edition. Suitcase circulates globally across all seven continents.
Watch the full video here on Bloomberg TV.
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