How to Build a Media Brand that Works

“Always, always do your own thing.”

That’s rule number one of Skift’s Rafat Ali when it comes to building a reliable media brand. An unabashed fanboy of Monocle magazine, Ali offers ten rules to brand by in this post in Medium.

“Everything I have learned about media branding is in large part from Monocle, and its sensibility around its packaging, eclecticness, and contrarianism,” Ali notes.

Much of it comes down to knowing who you are, who your audience is, and obsessing over the details. And he feels Monocle is a perfect example to follow. He’s right; as Monocle celebrates its ten year, they have created a curiously tactile media world around their brand. And they did by knowing who they are and what they aimed to be.

“It really doesn’t matter what media insidery snobs think of you. Media type’s perception of Tyler Brule has had no bearing on what Monocle has become,” Ali notes.

Another great example of this kind of brand awareness and commitment comes from Porter magazine, the print vehicle for Net-a-Porter.

“In the rapidly changing magazine market PORTER’s performance is even more remarkable – demonstrating its continued relevance and unique appeal,” notes this press release that confirms their 6% growth year on year.

Editor-in-Chief Lucy Yeomans explains, “At PORTER, we have always aimed to be 100 percent on the side of our ‘woman.’ This informs the way we tackle every single story, be it a feature or fashion shoot, to the type of events and brand extensions we offer, such as the recent launch of PORTER’s Incredible Women Talks, and it is wonderful to see this approach yielding such a positive result.

“This sense of helpfulness and offering a service to our woman is further enhanced by the shopping technology that powers our digital edition, and allows readers to buy or find with ease every product they see and love on the printed page,” Yeomans continues.

For a media brand to grow and thrive in the modern landscape, we believe it all comes back to trust, the one thing publishers have that can’t be copied. It’s earned, over time, by staying true to your brand and your readers.

It’s great to see these two examples of this idea in action.