Launching free weekly magazine, Paperboy
Paperboy launched in late 2016 as a free weekly celebrating Auckland's music, art, food, fashion and urban culture, aimed squarely at a younger readership. As then food editor at Metro magazine, Jeremy Hansen asked me to take on food for Paperboy too. That meant building the section from scratch, publishing at an intense weekly pace, while juggling a bi-monthly magazine. It was a boot camp in editorial discipline. Over some 50 issues I coordinated a great many photographers, writers and illustrators to bring to life a much-loved publication.
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Was a new discipline that required great organisation and forward-planning to pull off. I came up with repeatable and imaginative formats and worked with a whole host of writers, illustrators, photographers, videographers and more.
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Advertising was the backbone of our free weekly publication, and working with Bauer’s ad team I conceived of and produced campaigns for brands such as Coca-Cola and Nudie Jeans. This involved both writing and art directing photoshoots.
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Before we launched we conducted formal focus groups with agencies and ran a number of test formats, constantly iterating to improve on brand connection. It was an excellent, hands-on introduction to the discipline of market research.
Paperboy in numbers
100K copies distributed a week
45% awareness across Auckland
82% said Paperboy connected them with their city
8/10 reader likeability
25-45 years old – target audience
Source: Bauer Media Survey
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The beast that was never fed: managing a weekly section required next level organisation to coordinate sources, writers, photographers, illustrators and subeditors.
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Despite the hectic workload, I still relished the chance to write features myself.
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Regular advertising partnerships, like this one with Coca Cola, saw me art direct content, in this instance including an in-house shoot.
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A weekly publication gave us freedom to explore formats, like this numbered spread showcasing interior features.
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A feature I wrote for the culture section of the magazine.
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“Alice is wonderful to work with - diligent, passionate about her subject area, always thinking rigorously and originally. And she writes beautifully, too. I'm very happy to recommend her to any worthy employer.”
Paperboy editor, Jeremy Hansen
We created companion social video content to our main food pieces, like this blind-folded pizza taste-test.
Where possible, we repurposed content for one publication for the other, like this bar snack shoot I conceived with art director Jess Allen.
