Foodie Obsessed

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Announces Strategic Plans for Blueprint and Martha Stewart Weddings

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. today announced strategic plans for two of its publications for 2008. Going forward, the company will produce Blueprint as focused special interest issues within the home category, which it will introduce to brides-to-be through its established Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. Bluelines, the Blueprint blog, will continue and the company anticipates growing Blueprint digital content across its websites. Blueprint magazine will discontinue publishing on a stand-alone basis after the January/February 2008 issue.

MSLO also stated it plans to grow its overall Martha Stewart Weddings business by adding destination weddings issues and further developing its weddings website.

The moves enable MSLO to redirect a portion of its investment dollars into other high-potential digital media initiatives, expand its weddings franchise and create efficiencies in its Publishing business. There will be a reduction of personnel associated with the discontinuance of regular issues of Blueprint, but MSLO anticipates re-assigning a core team of employees to existing businesses and new projects.

Blueprint was a smart concept.  They were trying to gear it towards a younger audience to expand on brand loyalty.  The majority of Martha Stewart supporters have been around since the beginning, hence the problem.  How do you get new, young supporters for your brand?  

They have been trying to court youth without distancing those that brought the Martha Stewart Brand to the heights it is at today.  I thought that it was a little lame when the magazine was first announced, because besides a more “youthful” layout maybe some hipper decorating ideas and young models (as seen above),  it was basically the same thing as Martha Stewart Living.   The audience that they were trying to reach were busy reading Cosmo and articles about their orgasm, not on how to decorate their home for their next dinner party. 

So, in true brilliance they are focusing on who would want the  information they are offering and who fits the youth niche they need to stand the test of time….the answer: young brides. 

Quite a brilliant group they have over there at MSLO.  I guess that is why they get paid the big bucks.  Who ever came up with that brilliant idea deserves a very nice Christmas bonus in their stocking this year.