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Though times may be hard right now in the publishing industry, Condé Nast’s stylish mom-targeted Cookie is proving to be recession-resistant so far under the helm of president/publisher Carolyn Kremins. Not only did Cookie  register an 11% increase in ad revenue in 2008 versus 2007, according to min data, but almost 30% of the publication’s 2008 ad pages came from new advertisers, running the gamut from Oreos and Campbell Soup to GAP and Van Cleef & Arpels. In any economic environment, this would be an impressive feat; in a difficult economy, it’s doubly so, and it’s largely attributable to Kremins’ sales expertise and ability to inspire her staff to do their best every day.
No Position Great or Small
Unlike other VIPs who communicate in silos and lead by delegating, Kremins derives great joy—minus the condescension—from involving all of her staff, including sales assistants and interns, in brainstorming/strategizing sessions. When it comes to winning an account or honing a presentation, everyone has a say. And the door is always open to staff, whose accomplishments Kremins is the first to honor, reinforcing her self-appointed role as a true cheerleader to her salespersons.
“She never loses sight of the fact that in everything she does, she is a partner,” says Cookie’s fashion director Deborah Knudsen, who has worked with Kremins for 11 years at magazines that include Maxim and The Week. “Carolyn is a truly unique leader whose success can be measured in part by the continued success of those around her.”
The Creative Touch
In addition to acting as a positive driver of success to her sales team, Kremins has extended her creative side to the Cookie brand. Her ability as both wordsmith and idea packager led to the launch of the “Word of Mom” program in 2008, which gave readers an opportunity to talk about their favorite products. “[The initiative] gave new advertisers from Ikea to Tiffany a Cookie mom’s ‘seal of approval’ and a new platform to talk to these women,” says Knudsen. “The proof is in the pudding, and in its first year, the Cookie ‘Word of Mom’ seal is now being used in national advertising campaigns from Lexus (featured in Martha Stewart Living) to a special in-book advertising section from Pantene.”
Other notable highlights of Kremins’ efforts are:
• Business/finance ad pages (i.e. Citi, American Express, Visa, MasterCard) almost doubled in 2008, up 87%;
• Food category rose to 23% in 2008;
• With advertisers such as DKNY and Uggs, the fashion/retail category has been Cookie’s biggest category, with paging up 14%; and,
• Ad pages in the beauty/health category generated growth from new advertisers like P&G and Avon, resulting in an increase of 33%.
Industry Seer
Like any sales pundit, Kremins has been a clever—and prescient—observer of the advertising/marketing trends in her industry. Early in 2008, before the recession began to take hold of corporate America, Kremins developed a recession-survival booklet entitled Bright Ideas, which listed best practices from top marketers who had performed well in tough times.
“Carolyn understood that her role was one of an expert who would be called upon to shed light on what consumers really want right now so marketers across the board could proactively respond to the marketplace,” says Knudsen. “It was this type of thinking that has kept Cookie as a constant performer during a time when ad spending has slumped across the board.”
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Andrew Amil, Publisher, WeightWatchers Magazine: No job is too small for Andrew Amil, who maintains a reputation for conducting sales calls on every level. His high-spirited attitude drove WeightWatchers to acquire 52 new advertisers in 2008. His determination continues to be rewarded; so far this year WeightWatchers is tracking 14% ahead in advertising revenue over the same period in 2008.
Risa Crandall, VP/Publisher, Scholastic Parents Media: Since 2005, Risa Crandall has made huge advances in augmenting Scholastic brand awareness. In addition to generating appearances on The Today Show and coverage in The New York Times and Crain’s, Crandall has proved instrumental in forging partnerships with Nestle, Kraft and Kellogg’s.
Ronan Gardiner, Associate VP/Associate Publisher, Men’s Health: Working coast-to-coast and executing a hands-on approach to all matters, Ronan Gardiner has combined his immense knowledge of the advertising industry with a creative business approach to make Men’s Health an advertiser-friendly publication. In 2007, he spearheaded a drive that resulted in the largest revenue and page gains in the magazine’s 20-year history.
Karen Kovacs, Associate Publisher, People: Karen Kovacs manages a team of 57 members in both print and digital sales, the digital side of which boasted an ad growth four times the industry average in 2008, growing 48% year over year. Kovacs also ushered in an integrated advertising program with Target that received more than 2 million unique visitors and 8 million page views for the custom-made shopping widget.
Greg Licciardi, Publisher, Audubon: When he joined Audubon in 2006, Greg Licciardi brought with him a series of changes that restructured the publication’s sales approach. His initiatives included custom multi-platform advertising solutions and new online advertising partnerships with Nikon and Sony. Audubon’s 2007 advertising revenue increased 38% over 2006; 2008 continued the trend, rising another 20%.
Kevin Martinez, Associate Publisher, Harper’s Bazaar: Kevin Martinez takes his role as a mentor as seriously as his role as a salesman; for the former, he received the MPA’s Mentor of the Year award in 2008. Under his tutelage, his team members have developed professionally and sales have grown along with them. Over the past five years, Martinez has seen his beauty category and fashion category grow 52% and 54%, respectively.
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