The premier issue of Afar launched this summer and its founder Greg Sullivan and co-founder Joe Diaz are working examples of our 2009 theme “No Guts, No Glory.”  They perceived a gap in the travel magazine market and against all odds launched a print-only publication whose website won’t be launched until next year. Yup, a new consumer, print-only magazine in 2009. Gotta love it.

Right up front they target people interested in experiential travel, those who go to new places to “connect you with the authentic essence of the place and its people, deepening your understanding of the world, its cultures, and yourself.” Their founders’ note talks about the spirit of this type of travel and the people who don’t want to “acquire places” but fold into the fabric of them. No more glitzy resorts, fab fountains in flagstone trimmed pools, and candelabras and gilded lobbies in tropical surroundings or golf-course-covered deserts.

They are targeting a psychographic and the advertisers might have a tough time grasping the concept but pick up a copy of the magazine and you’ll realize this is no Travel & Leisure. Their mission statement pretty much encapsulates the spirit of the publication and brings the “MINI lesson” of my earlier post closer to home in publishing. Michela O’Connor Abrams, President & Publisher of Dwell chairs their board of advisors and you can see the Dwell influence in the publication. It is well targeted, well designed and narrow and nichey…the kinds of things that aren’t for everyone but will bring a certain audience and marketer together to everyone’s content.

Self-funded, we’ll be watching and waiting to see how the property does in this environment and no matter what the outcome, there are great lessons for any publisher, starting w/ our mantra, no guts, no glory and marketing experiences and feelings around your content.

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