Maxim India has relaunched its print magazine with the addition of an e-zine covermount CD. The men’s magazine reports that it is the first e-zine offered in an Indian publication.
The September 2007 issue of Maxim India, the first to come out since the lad magazine’s redesign, has refocused its editorial message, changed its packaging and upped its print order by 10,000 to 110,000.
The magazine has also upped its newsstand price to INR150 (US $3.72) – the second price increase since its launch in January 2006. Maxim was originally on newsstands for just INR60 (US $1.49).
“Magazine publishing in India has historically seen only the print version,” said Piyush Sharma, CEO and Publisher of Maxim India, in an e-mail interview. “Maxim made a departure [from print] after its launch nearly two years ago in India to amplify the brand through creation of published products, CDs and DVDs. EMaxim is the latest in such offerings.”
Maxim’s e-Zine is a readable CD-ROM. Its screen pages “flip” like those of the print magazine, but readers are also able to zoom in and out. The e-Zine features television commercials and videos as part of Maxim’s push to integrate its print and online media footprints.
The e-zine will be a regular feature of Maxim India. There are no advertisers in this first issue, but Sharma said that the next three issues have sold exclusive sponsorship deals to advertisers.
“We are moving toward an era where convergence of [media] is happening,” said Sharma. “And Maxim has scored a first by creating a new media delivery platform which addresses all distribution channels, including digital and hard copy magazine format, thereby exposing a larger and newer customer of the digital age to its content.”
Maxim India is modeled largely on the US version, which was recently purchased by Alpha Media Group. However, content is adapted to suit Indian audiences and sensibilities. Sharma said the magazine will become more “Indian-ised” in future issues.
Media Transasia publishes Maxim India under an exclusive license agreement. The company, based in Thailand, also publishes Indian Design and Interiors, Golf Style and Discover India, among others.
