Just a Poor Little Brand That Has Lost Its Way ... bah, bah, bah

Newsweek.  One of the world's great brands ... and one of the great examples of how to mismanage a brand.

Newsweek built its brand by focusing on its essential benefit:  it was, as the name implies, a news weekly.  Not a newspaper.  Not a celebrity magazine.  Just a magazine that thoughtfully featured news stories with a depth and perspective that isn't possible for daily newspapers or television news programs.

Like every other communications medium, Newsweek has bee n deeply affected by environmental change and new technology.  Twenty-four hour news channels and zillions of internet sites can get the news out in a way that was unthinkable when the Newsweek brand was born.  So, clearly, Newsweek had to change and adapt.  But in responding to change, Newsweek seems to have abandoned its brand and "thrown the baby out with the bathwater."

Rather than finding ways to enrich and evolve what the brand stands for (news analysis and news features), Newsweek began a desperate chase of circulation by trying to become something that is really inconsistent with its brand.  Consider the current cover ... a provocative (salacious?) photo of female model and asparagus promoting a story on the "101 best places to eat in the world."  Playboy does a better job with salacious photos ... and if I want a story on good eats I've got a variety of magazines to choose from including Saveur and Bon Apetit (which I already subscribe to).  People magazine does a better job on celebrity news.  Another story is "College Rankings."  US News and World Report is known for that.  Inside there are stories on celebrities, fashion, the media and more but no real news or analysis.

By trying to become something it isn't, Newsweek is becoming irrelevant. I let my subscription lapse, but they keep sending me the magazine.  I guess they're really desperate for circulation.