Ad Age questions why print media brands have struggled to gain a foothold in the digital realm. The reasons vary, but it appears one print brand has it figured out.
Complex magazine, where Complex.com is an important part of the brand footprint, has just formed partnerships with the independent blogs Nice Kicks, Nah Right, Bastardly and SlamXHype. Each deploys classic internet irreverence and subject expertise to attract and maintain its audience. Complex could have tried building similar blogs on its own site, but it didn’t see as much upside.
“When you have an opportunity to get in bed with and partner with people who are pure and organic as possible, especially in the trend marketplace, it’d be insane to reinvent the wheel,” said Rich Antoniello, publisher of Complex. “Also you can’t just decide, ‘We’re going to be pure and organic.'”
Here’s the sidebar that each blog runs, gluing themselves to the print entity:
