Esquire magazine has jazzed up its October cover in an effort to project a cutting-edge image and seduce newsstand buyers.
The issue, which will be released in September, features a flashing electronic display on its cover, which reads “The 21st century begins now.” Only 100,000 magazines out of Esquire‘s circulation of 720,000 will feature the electronic cover. It will be distributed solely to Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores, as well as select newsstands. Esquire worked with its newsstand distribution company and circulation department to place the cover at newsstands with the highest visibility.
“We’ve been trying to expand the boundaries of the print medium, working with Laura Reid [VP of production, Hearst] and all of Hearst manufacturing to find new and radical ways to use paper and related products to broaden what’s possible for Esquire to do,” David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire, said in an e-mail to DMNews. “I think that people who see this cover will be hard-pressed not to buy it, just out of curiosity.”
The special cover is part of Esquire‘s 75th anniversary celebration, which has been promoted in other issues this year with remakes of iconic Esquire covers. As part of the celebration, October’s issue will also feature Esquire‘s list of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century.
E Ink, a company that created technology used in Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader, helped Esquire create the cover. Ford will take advantage of the electronic issue with a full-page Ford Flex ad on the inside cover.
