FIVE MINUTES
While other brands that Sansiri has invested in gallop toward the unconventional future, Monocle still proudly However, today, Monocle about how he has brought about the success of one of the
HOW DID YOU MOULD THIS ‘COOL’ IMAGE FOR MONOCLE?
We obviously had a bit of a legacy because we had done Wallpaper [magazine] before and there was a number of people now at Mono
cle who I worked with at Wallpaper — we’ve been together for a very long time. Maybe the image we’ve managed to cultivate was because we’ve chosen to be a little more mysterious and quiet, and we’re off of social media. It’s like, ‘Oh,
Monocle’s a bit standoffish’, and I think that has been deliberate for us. We don’t want to be out there shouting like everybody else. I think that allows us to stand out, and it’s been an interesting differentiator for us, as well. Monocle’s not for everybody, and we’re not trying to be for everybody. It is definitely a niche product, but the good thing is the world is our market. We do one edition for the whole world.
WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU THINK THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY COULD DO BETTER?
A lot of newspaper businesses all over the world forgot what they were [supposed] to do, and their connection with the cities and connection with the people has evaporated. Too many companies downgraded the value of news, and so the whole model of trying to do everything for free clearly has not worked. And the great rush to digital without really considering what is the business model, while also removing copies of the newspaper from the street and taking copies away from the advertisers, has left many companies in an impossible position at this point. And I’m not sure how that can be dialled back, either — I’m not sure if there’s a way back for a lot of newspapers.
WHAT IS A CRUCIAL GAME-CHANGER FOR MEDIA COMPANIES?
I think the media has forgotten the value of the physical. Any of these devices [points to phone] — they don’t say anything about consumption habits. But if I look at your bag, that says more about you. I think we’ve sort of forgotten about the importance of brand. We talk about brand everyday — everything is about it and yet the media companies, I don’t think, think about them. Many don’t think about the power of their brand value. They think about audience and data but I’m not sure how much they consider their own mark or logo and how much power that has in the marketplace.
SO YOU DON’T THINK PRINT IS A SUNSET INDUSTRY?
No. I mean, I can see it for us every day, and it’s still where the money is. Now, there’s money in print because I believe in that. If I go to you as an advertiser, and I say, ‘Well, we’ve got this magazine and website and we’re doing this and that’, but there’s no confidence when I’m talking about my physical product, why would I advertise in it? And why would I read it? If you as a publisher don’t feel confident about it, then of course it’s a sunset business. But [it’s different] if you as a consumer are thinking, ‘Oh my god, these people are putting this investment in the paper and the physicality of the product. They make it easy to find, too — I just might pick it up’. And that’s what works for us — we’ve just posted our highest circulation figures.