New Work: Adweek
Advertising, like the media, has been undergoing a massive transformation in recent years. Audiences and consumers have splintered across countless platforms and niche markets. Advertising, media buying and brand building have been joined by new fields like branded content, social networks, guerrilla marketing and digital strategies. Monolithic agencies are diversifying into specialized divisions and boutique firms. To take all this in, advertising industry trade Adweek is consolidating its three titles—Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek—into one publication that launches today in a bold new format designed by Pentagram’s Luke Hayman.
In the early 1990s Adweek split into the three titles to serve different segments of the advertising community, distinctions that are increasingly murky today. (In recent months, the three titles have been sharing much of the same content.) The new Adweek is published by Prometheus Global Media, who purchased the title from Nielsen along with other trades like Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, which Prometheus reintroduced as a glossy monthly last fall. Prometheus is led by Richard Beckman, a long-time publishing executive who has a vision of transitioning Adweek from a trade magazine to a B-to-I, or “business to influencer,” title that targets thought leaders and consumers across industries, not just advertising. Adweek’s new editorial director of the new Adweek is Michael Wolff, the journalist, Vanity Fair columnist and media entrepreneur, who has a unique perspective on the changes in the industry. Wolff announced the unified Adweek in an open letter on the cover of last week’s issue, writing: “It’s time for one conversation, not separate ones.”
Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek prior to the consolidation and redesign.
Pentagram’s design for the new Adweek captures the fantastic energy of these changes in advertising. Like the new editorial tone, the design is punchy, entertaining and authoritative, inspired by the spirit of the magazine’s 1980s heyday and intended to set Adweek apart from Advertising Age, its main competitor. The designers worked closely with managing editor Hillary Frey, Executive Editor James Cooper and Digital Editor Nicholas Eckhart. The design of the magazine will be carried forth by Creative Director Nick Mrozowski. The website is also being relaunched with a new design by Area 17.
The redesigned Adweek has a larger tabloid format and is printed on higher quality paper to feel more like a consumer title, less like a trade publication. The relaunch introduces new sections and franchises alongside popular features resurrected from past iterations of the magazine. The front and back-of-book sections have been labeled “Front” and “Back.” (Truth in advertising.) Front includes Trending Topics, short news bits; Q&As with industry players; the magazine’s weekly columns; the revived “Accounts in Review” chart; and “Data Points,” a data visualization of a weekly topic. The Back section is filled out with fun features including “Perspective,” a then-and-now campaign comparison; “Portrait,” a quick sketch of an up-and-coming agency; party pictures; and “Information Diet,” a look at what a celebrity is reading or watching at the moment.
The magazine is buzzing with infographics—diagrams, charts, lists and statistics (marketing’s bread and butter)—and other visuals including branding comparisons, bits of classic advertising campaigns and an increased use of illustration. The redesign employs fonts from the Flama type family, designed by Feliciano Type Foundry; Flama Slab makes its debut with the redesign. Hoefler & Frere-Jones’ Chronicle Text is used for body text.
Project Team: Luke Hayman, partner-in-charge and designer; Rami Moghadam, designer.