InStyle recently ditched Rock Center for a swanky space downtown and welcomed a new publisher to boot. Enter Patrick Connors, a name you surely know from his tenures at Glamour, Lucky, and Men’s Fitness.
You joined back in August. How’s it going so far?
Really well! It’s an exciting time to be at the brand. I’m so happy to be working closely with [editor in chief] Ariel [Foxman], especially on our March redesign. We’re translating this into a great opportunity—LVMH is running a 14-page cover unit. This is the first time we’re doing anything of that nature.
Was there a learning curve?
Now that I’m at InStyle, people say, “But you’re from Men’s Fitness!” Actually, I worked at Glamour and Lucky, and I was in the women’s field for so long, so Men’s Fitness was almost the anomaly. But I was surprised to learn how affluent the InStyle reader is—we have the largest number of female readers with a household income of $100K or more—which makes us such a powerful force.
What’s your relationship with Ariel like?
When you have to talk to someone multiple times a day, you get to know each other quickly—it was speed dating! We’re true collaborators; he knows what our 27 million readers are talking about, and I translate that into advertiser opportunities.
How many times do you interact each day?
We’re e-mailing, texting…next, we’ll have to Snapchat. It’s nonstop!
What does Fashion Week look like for you?
After New York, we hit up London, Milan, and Paris…sometimes it feels like I’m my own satellite office. The new collections keep me energized, especially when so many top designers are changing or being replaced.
Kirsten Dunst, March 2016
How is the magazine tackling awards season?
We’ve gotten through the Golden Globes and our annual party, which were both firsts for me. Our annual Oscars viewing party is coming up, and we’re doing a “Girls’ Night In” party with Jimmy Choo.
How has your role as publisher transformed?
Now it’s different from just going on sales calls; it’s finding new opportunities, working with our video team at Time Inc., and creating new licensing agreements.
What’s your secret to staying in the game?
I look at the future. Before, we were always trying to chase the past, thinking, This advertiser used to run this many ad pages, how do we get them to do that? Instead, I’m thinking about how my brand is a solution to whatever challenges an advertiser has.
Any plans to expand into commerce?
It’s definitely on the horizon; we can’t go into too much detail. The InStyle reader has so much purchasing power, why wouldn’t we tap into that?
We hear the November issue was part of something new…
We launched virtual reality! We sent a virtual finder with the issue to our subscribers, which gave a behind-the-scenes look at the cover shoot with Drew Barrymore. We took that to the Golden Globes, filming our party, the red carpet, and inside. That launches February 18 on instyle.com.
What other ways are you expanding into digital?
We’ve had amazing growth in 2015, and we’re at 5.1 million uniques. We’re also looking into how to build native, or sponsored—whatever word is being used today. And we’re focusing on our InStyle studios, where our in-house team writes the script, does the filming, for customized marketing opportunities.
And social media—do you have a favorite app?
I love Instagram! For the shows, Twitter is better because you can update constantly. It’s like having a bunch of kids—one week, one is a favorite and the next it’s another!
What’s your sense of style?
My outfit is pretty simple—I’m a Prada kind of guy, so I don’t veer much from my uniform.
And how about the new office on Liberty Street?
I love the open space. I wouldn’t say it was an easy adjustment…people weren’t used to noise. But it’s a great way to collaborate. And we have beautiful sunsets—New Jersey never looked so good!
Any other news to report?
With our November issue, we launched the InStyle Awards at the Getty in L.A. We had celebrity guests, including Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow. It was a great way for me to start. The tricky part is how to succeed that next year. We’re continuing to build several franchises as we move forward.
