mmm 4

m mmm4 Conversations about publishing and media

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Welcome It’s my great pleasure to welcome you to mmm. In these pages, you’ll get an update on where we are and how we see the next phase of our development as Luxembourg’s leading independent media company.

These are times of change, as we all know, and here is no exception.

I have taken the reins at Maison Moderne at a time of great opportunity and excitement. Rest assured, though, that some things will stay the same; our unwavering commitment to quality journalism and our consistently high levels of customer service will remain the bedrock of this business.

Maison Moderne has never stood still, and in 2018, we will continue to innovate in order to bring the highest quality products to our customers and our readers.

You can expect to see more from us in the use of technology as an enabler, bringing advertisers and audiences closer together in smart and meaningful interactions. We’ll be doing more in the international arena, working with existing and new partners. Here at home, our flagship brands Paperjam and Delano have just been recognised as online daily press by the government, and our domestic growth is set to continue as we build on our already strong position.

Our challenger mentality remains, but our ambition continues to drive us toward a leadership position.

I wish you an inspiring 2018!

Richard Karacian CEO and Partner

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Art imitating life: the continued relevance of magazines We live in a crazy, noisy world overwhelmed by clickbait and fake news. But, rather than signalling the end of magazines, our hyper-connected, always-on lives offer great opportunity for creative editors and art directors. J A A P B I E M A N S , the blogger and cover addict behind Coverjunkie.com, in conversation with S T E V E N G R E G O R .

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PORTRAITS AND REPORTAGE BY MONIEK WASSENAAR

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Coverjunkie A celebration of creative magazine covers & their ace designers———Mag junkie & art director, Jaap Biemans, Volkskrant Magazine, Amsterdam. www.coverjunkie.com

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cover

23 september 2017 - nr 843

het drankdilemma

een heel nummer over onze favoriete verslaving

Kroegtijger Midas Dekkers

betreurt de teloorgang van het bruine café

PAG 10

Bestaat een gezonde borrel?

(wetenschappers zijn er al uit)

PAG 18

Toe vader, drink toch weer

verslag van een jaar zonder drank

PAG 34

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There’s been a boom in independent magazines over the past decade.

Is this a golden era for indie magazines?

The indies have heart and soul. I admire how they set their own rules and they deserve all the support possible. I think it’s exciting to see them on Coverjunkie next to the big-budget magazines; it’s great to notice the differences. But not all indies are created equal, their design would benefit from some critical review.

Many indies are walking the same walk.

Also, a magazine is more than its cover.

The design inside—and the navigation— is also important. Many indies live in a minimalist world. Personally, I think the goal should not be to create something that just looks minimal; you have to take the reader on an adventure through your magazine. Guide them in a natural way. A magazine is an organic thing, right? Remember that Steve Jobs’ line: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

You’re right. Another criticism of indie magazines is that many are design over substance. They’re perfect for getting social media likes but as magazines and editorial products, they fall short.

Do you agree with this observation?

Big yes. Let me give you an example that rings true for a lot of indies.

Recently, I was asked to help judge indie magazine covers for the Stack Awards.

I received a big box that contained the best stuff around… indeed, best holiday present ever! Anyway, there’s a magazine called Drift. I’d seen it before, on Instagram and Twitter, but I didn’t know what it was about. Its covers are super minimal: no sub-headline, no trigger, beautiful— but random—images on its covers.

Then, I found out it was about the culture of coffee. Now, coffee is my biggest hobby (I’m the proud owner of a Faema President), but why have I never bought this magazine? That sums it up, if you ask me. I understand the need to stand out from the more commercial magazines, but hey, why do you wanna be discreet about what you’re about? Drift’s content is superb, by the way.

Many big magazines—which follow the traditional conventions of cover design—are losing readers and struggling financially. Even Condé Nast in New York is shuttering titles and laying off staff. How can magazines better compete with online and social media?

There should not be competition between the platforms. Print and digital need to work together; each platform can make the other one stronger. Some people choose online, some choose print.

Distribution numbers have fallen, publishers need to get used to that.

These numbers are not coming back, so adjust your business model. But don’t make the mistake to cut the creativity.

Creativity is the only thing to stand out with.

Print will never disappear. Personally, I believe in a re-valuation of print.

The future of digital is print, ha! I’d have been dismissed as a dinosaur if I’d said that five years ago, but more and more people are slowly rediscovering the joys of print. I worked for a very successful magazine in Amsterdam, but it buried itself when management decided to shut down the printed magazine and go online only. Instantly, they turned themselves into a fucking website, like every other one.

It was not distinctive anymore, and it went from being one of the top three titles in the country to number 25 or something.

Not a wise decision from the so-called visionaries at the time.

It’s a shame. I find it frustrating.

I’ve published an independent magazine; believe me, I understand how hard it is to find your audience. Why do so many publishers self-sabotage with covers that give little or no clue as to what they’re about? Sure, they want to stand out from the mainstream. I get that. But there are conventions to magazine cover design that exist for very good reasons.

Yes, but the rules are there to be broken.

At least that’s what I’m looking for when I’m designing. But, yes, the conventions should never be forgotten! Seduce the reader, give your cover impact, confront, and create emotion.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though.

I believe a number of large mainstream magazines have upped their game in recent years, and I think this is a response to some influential and successful indies. One mainstream magazine comes to mind: the American edition of Condé Nast Traveler has published some great covers recently

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Coverjunkie: “Indies are free spirits; it’s great to see them influence the larger mainstream titles. Their influence goes deeper than just the cover—content-wise they’re king.”

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OCTOBER 29, 2017

“Trump covers are definitely getting more and more radical,” Biemans says. His personal favourites include The Washington Post Magazine cover from 2016 (below) and the C41 cover from 2017 (top left).

Date Lab: Joie de vivre to spare 4

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Or: 38 ways to get beyond the day-to-day upheavals of American politics in 2017— and actually fix our fractured democracy. P.7

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1 The Washington Post Magazine • January 1, 2014

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Photo: Big Style

that feel more indie. Can you think of any other mainstream magazines that have become more indie in their thinking?

Indies are free spirits; it’s great to see them influence the larger mainstream titles. Their influence goes deeper than just the cover—content-wise they’re king.

Newsstand competition is less important nowadays so indies are able to take more space, pretty exciting if you ask me.

I adore Condé Nast Traveler, it’s lush.

It was redesigned by Caleb Bennett, he did a great job. I see the indie design influence on the mainstream’s so-called subscriber-only covers. Have you seen any of these lately? US Esquire is killing it these days. Oh boy, Esquire is doing an amazing job all over the world.

Could you imagine that ten years ago?

Check the brilliant UK edition; the Spanish, the Russian, all on a mission.

You’re right, Jaap. Each international edition of Esquire is not only in competition with other men’s magazines, they’re also in competition with each other. Creatively, each edition has upped its game.

It’s exciting to watch. In the UK, Empire magazine is producing some exciting subscriber-only covers… with special inks, finishes, and paper stocks.

Really, there are so many good magazines around. The newsstands are packed with ace design, much more than ten years ago. That subscribers-only approach is utilising higher quality paper in the best way possible; they contain the sweetest designs and at the same time they contain a special emotion for the subscribers because they’re getting something special that’s not for sale on the newsstands.

True. It’s about magazines becoming exclusive again.

What about all the Trump covers?

The American president has dominated the news weeklies, and monthlies too.

Cuban-born American illustrator Edel Rodriguez has become the go-to illustrator for powerful, attentiongrabbing Trump covers. His work is especially popular on the Coverjunkie Instagram feed. Which of his covers are your favourites?

Edel is on fire. I respect his crusade.

I remember seeing his first melted Trump illustration on the cover of Time

Illustrator Edel Rodriguez has pushed the boundaries when it comes to shocking Trump covers.

“Edel is on fire,” says Biemans.

(22 August 2016); it was spectacular.

And they published a follow-up cover a month or so later (24 October 2016) with an even more melted Trump!

That’s something that rarely happens, and I applaud them for it. But, maybe, my favourite Edel cover is the issue of Der Spiegel showing Trump’s head as a fiery orange meteor ploughing toward Earth (12 November 2016).

So crazy, it’s frightening.

I spoke with Edel by email recently and he told me his “America First” Der Spiegel cover (1 February 2017) is their best-selling issue ever. His artwork is working the newsstands big time; it’s great to see this happening.

Of course, there have also been plenty of attention-grabbing Trump covers not illustrated by Edel. Which of these stand out as your favourites?

Wasn’t this the ultimate year for creatives? Trump covers are definitely getting more and more radical. I’m not a fan of being provocative for the sake of it. Designing covers should be about communicating the content visually.

And trying to be creative at the same time, it’s not easy to challenge the reader.

I love it when magazines contain some greater social awareness. There’s more to being an ace magazine than catching advertisers and showing fancy clothes.

My all-time favourite Trump cover was published in 2016, designed by the great guys at The Washington Post Magazine (7 February 2016). The cover carried impact, it’s a super close-up photograph of Trump’s pursed lips… lots of pink flesh.

His mouth looks like an ass.

The photograph is by Mark Peterson.

My favourite Trump cover from 2017 was published by Italian contemporary photography magazine C41.

The cut paper collage feels so tactile.

OK, enough about Trump.

Congratulations are in order.

You’ve been running the Coverjunkie website for nearly ten years! It’s the main creative source for art directors and editors.

How have covers changed in that time?

Can you pinpoint any specific trends?

Oh yes, cover design has definitely changed in that time! People’s brains are more used to images because of the thousands—millions!—of visuals we

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encounter each day. We’ve learned to consume more sophisticated images; our brains can decode visuals in a way that wasn’t possible ten years ago.

For example, I designed a cover 15 years ago and it became the worst selling issue of the year, by far.

The whole cover was drawn as a cartoon, including the logo. The hand-drawn logo was very close to the original but simply nobody recognised it on the newsstands. Nowadays, we see bespoke hand-drawn logos regularly, and our brains don’t get overheated.

So yeah, incorporating the logo into the artwork is a trend you rarely saw ten years ago. Art director Rodrigo Sanchez from Metropoli in Spain is doing the best job with this. Split-run covers has been another popular trend, but maybe that’s a bit over now. We mentioned subscriber covers earlier, that’s a growing trend I like a lot. Oh, what about chalkboardwritten covers? Ha ha. My mailbox is exploding with submissions of handwritten chalkboard covers.

Ha ha. Some trends run and run.

Maybe it’s time for the chalkboard cover trend to take a break. Is the Coverjunkie Instagram feed more popular than the Coverjunkie website nowadays?

Instagram is pretty ace and suits Coverjunkie like a glove. But the Coverjunkie website is still the backbone.

Due to some recent technical problems with the website, I’ve focused on Instagram. I’ve wanted to keep it under the radar while the technical issues are fixed, but it still contains much more content than the social platforms.

The Coverjunkie website is my own little block party for cover lovers.

Never bet on one social platform, they can change, morph, and fall out of favour at any moment.

How important do you think Instagram is for promoting covers?

It’s the cover that makes a magazine visible and gives it an edge or a charm.

I think it’s very important for magazines to show their goods on Instagram.

A cover creates expectations.

Sometimes, I’m sent covers a week before the printed magazine is actually on the shelves; it helps build curiosity and excitement.

I agree with you about the importance of Instagram and social platforms in helping promote magazines. I do worry, however, that printed magazines are being reduced to small JPEGs on smartphones. I worry that they don’t really encourage people to buy the magazine. I worry that people don’t visit newsstands anymore.

Maybe I worry too much. Ha ha.

Ha ha, yes, that’s a scary thought.

I still like visiting newsstands a lot.

In Amsterdam, we have this crazy small place packed with magazines, Athenaeum Newsstand, located right in the heart of the city. My favourite dream afternoon would be that they give me the key, nobody inside, and I can browse with some tunes and good espresso. Sit and enjoy all the amazing stuff from all over the world without being bothered.

That would be something.

But more seriously, of course people still wanna read. Quality magazines offer something trustworthy in this age of fake news.

“The First” is a cover

by Malika Favre—which would have been published, had Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in 2016 to become the first female U.S. president.

Let’s fast forward another ten years… do you think there will be fewer printed magazines?

Nope. I think there will be more magazines but with smaller circulation than now. More niche magazines, definitely. And some Saturday-only newspapers instead of daily newspapers.

New, more creative titles that intelligently target niche audiences is great news… and an exciting prediction. We should catch up again when Coverjunkie celebrates its 20th anniversary!

Lots to look forward too.

Ha ha, another ten years of giving shout-outs? Maybe! But I would love to collaborate. Coverjunkie has a large yet tightly defined audience, the collaboration possibilities are endless... especially if the right publisher came along.

Steven Gregor A London-based editorial designer and art director. He’s worked at Wired and Esquire and is the founder of Gym Class magazine.

He’s currently at the Guardian, working between the newspaper’s Guide, G2 and weekend supplements. @gymclassmag @WhatMonsterMag @FormFiftyFive

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Coverjunkie: “Really, there are so many good magazines around. The newsstands are packed with ace design, much more than ten years ago.�

Graphic design studio MuirMcNeil created 8,000 unique covers for issue 94 of Eye magazine using HP Mosaic software.

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At risk, how can Luxembourg improve its media landscape? and C É L I N E S C H A L L , authors of the Media Pluralism Monitor Luxembourg country report, in conversation with D U N C A N R O B E R T S .

RAPHAËL KIES

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PORTRAITS AND REPORTAGE BY JAN HANRION (MAISON MODERNE). SOURCE: MEDIA PLURALISM MONITOR (MPM) 2016

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In its latest country report on Luxembourg, Media Pluralism Monitor, which is a project of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, suggests that the grand duchy’s media landscape is at high risk, especially when it comes to market plurality and political independence.

University of Luxembourg political science researcher Raphaël Kies was first contacted in 2015 by the EUI, where he did his PhD. He started working with Kim Nommesch and was then joined by Céline Schall.

A specialist in media content rather than the way media works, Schall was doing her post-PhD research at the time.

The report was compiled from data collected between May and October 2016.

the conservative CSV is linked with Saint-Paul Luxembourg (which is owned 100% by the archdiocese of the Catholic church), and the OGBL (trade union association) has a majority share in Editpress, which subsequently supports the socialist LSAP. But if everyone knows about these links, doesn’t that negate, or at least weaken, the impact of any political bias displayed in the editorial policy of the media owned by these groups?

RK: In the print media, there are clear political ties. But there are two main groups controlling this, promoting just two types of political ideology. The others, the liberals and greens, don’t have the same support. If we finance the media to promote pluralism, then all different When you started taking part in the study, political tendencies should have were you surprised by your initial findings? a similar level of financing. For RTL, RK: I must admit I’m not an expert, which controls the audiovisual sector, I’m more interested in the evolution the political ties are not so strong, of public spaces, and obviously media, and especially online media, is a public space. We were very surprised by how technical the questions were. Not everyone is aware of the full extent of the law in the sector they are working in. But we Luxembourg, along with Bulgaria, discovered that there were no media is at “high risk” for market plurality in the MPM, which specialists in academia working in examined 28 EU member states Luxembourg, which was quite a surprise. as well as two candidate countries (Turkey and Montenegro).

So, we had to develop expertise in our first year, and now we feel a bit more comfortable with the issues. But still there are some issues that we find very complex.

CS: It’s a big investigation, and it’s difficult to find information in Luxembourg.

There are more than 200 questions, with new questions every year.

It’s very broad. Sometimes they ask us for a judgement and we don’t have the material to answer the question.

RK: The report is so much more than Low risk just about pluralism or political control Medium risk of the media, it also includes social High risk inclusion and other aspects.

CS: The question about ownership of the media, especially, is a very sensitive issue.

RK: I think some people are happy that we point this out. We are from academia, so we don’t represent any specific interest. Many people are aware it can be a problem.

because different parties are represented in parent company CLT/UFA, so it balances out. You could say that Maison Moderne promotes the liberal view of the economic sector, but it doesn’t benefit from public financing—well, only for its online media.

CS: And does everybody really

Europe: market plurality area

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Luxembourg is unique. There are clear ties between some political parties and institutions and media companies—

know that the press receives public financing or has these political ties?

Educated people know, yes. But people in the street? I’m not sure they know.

RK: And then there is the question of transparency of media ownership.

Media should publish details of their ownership structure each year, and the identity of anyone who owns more than a 25% share. But not all of them do.

CS: But the law regarding transparency of ownership is sometimes difficult to understand. What exactly is the ownership structure, and how far up the chain do we have to go? There are some questions open to interpretation.

RK: It’s fundamental to define the ownership structure, and it needs to be transparent. But sometimes ownership is very complex. In addition, how do you expect a reader to know that media are required to publish their ownership details? Maybe ALIA

[the Independent Luxembourgish RK: Indeed, the question is what is going Audiovisual Authority] could publish them? to happen online now? The new law on providing public financing should Luxembourg also scores a high risk actually be called “aide aux médias en regarding the concentration of, and cross- ligne” rather than “aide à la presse en media aspect, ownership. But with new ligne”. It’s not just traditional print media technology, isn’t cross-media ownership that receives support for their online now unavoidable, with print and digital content, but other media such as radio channels, including blogs and internet TV, being used to complement each other?

RK: In Luxembourg, like in many other countries, there is no law forbidding cross-media ownership, either vertically or horizontally. So the natural tendency for survival of news outlets is towards concentration.

CS: Luxembourg again has a problem with transparency. The major groups are present in several media sectors.

Now there is a new law providing public financing for online press. How will that shake up the media landscape?

Luxembourg: market plurality area 96% 92%

69%

High risk 56%

Medium risk

Transparency of media ownership

Media ownership concentration (horizontal)

Cross-media concentration of ownership and competition enforcement

Commercial and owner influence over editorial content

27%

Media viability Low risk

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or any news outlet that didn’t previously have a print media.

My fear is that this will only reinforce what is happening offline, online.

Because most of the media that have applied for this support, which is very small by the way, just €100,000, is already the big groups—Editpress and Saint-Paul.

In the wake of the recent departure of Luxemburger Wort editor-in-chief Jean-Lou Siweck, after criticism from chairman of the board, former cabinet minister Luc Frieden, that the newspaper had lost its centre-right identity, some journalists seemed to be defiantly declaring their independence from party influence. Do you think the new generation of journalists is taking a different stance to their predecessors?

RK: Yes, projects like Reporter are the novelty on the market. A crowdfunded project that is not in the system anymore. It was very brave [of Reporter

founders Christoph Bumb and Laurence we have in Luxembourg is the weekly Bervard] to leave the Wort and do this.

Lëtzebuerger Land. The problem They thought, “We’ve got a mission here.” is that even if politicians wanted to promote media plurality and quality, Is the success of Reporter, by surpassing they cannot. They can’t say they will their crowdfund target, an indication provide public financing only if you that there are readers who want more do investigative serious work. The criteria independence and investigative journalism? to get public financing—and €100,000 RK: Yes, I think they are saying they’ve is a lot for small media, it means being had enough of media repeating the able to employ one or two more same news. The only investigative journal journalists—is quantitative, as it is with the print media. I don’t see how we can improve quality.

CS: Maybe there could be qualitative studies involving audiences.

RK: The media will never accept someone from outside saying that is good journalism and that is bad journalism.

The people receiving the financing have no pressure to produce quality content.

Maybe we should also limit the number of media per group that receive financing. You can accumulate public financing for different titles and in different languages.

Luxembourg: political independence area

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71% High risk 63%

Medium risk

Low risk

Political control over the media outlets

Editorial autonomy

33%

33%

33%

Media and democratic electoral process

State regulation of resources and support to the media sector

Independence of public service media (PSM) governance and funding

One of the challenges of digital media is that readers can leave comments on the news outlet’s website or on social media.

RK: The people who write comments on social media or websites are sort of the new opinion leaders.

They represent 10% of the population, they are usually well-educated.

50% of readers read the comments— they are interested in knowing what other people think about a topic.

For example, during the referendum in 2015 [on voting for foreigners], the comments on RTL broadly reflected the same average division of opinions as the final referendum result. It’s much more representative than one would imagine.

CS: I like to quote Umberto Eco on this topic. He said: “Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community. Then they were quickly silenced, but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner.

It’s the invasion of the idiots.”

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What about the public service mission of RTL? Public service broadcasting everywhere is under pressure, not only financially, but also to maintain an independent editorial line free from government interference.

RK: I think we have to define what the public service should do in a place like Luxembourg.

CS: The first question is surely whether there should be a public service media?

Transparency of media ownership Luxembourg, along with Greece and the Czech Republic, were considered “high risk” in terms of transparency of media ownership in the MPM.

RK: If we decide there should be,

we have to ask, does it correspond to the needs of society? Considering that half the population is foreigners and a minority of the people here speak Luxembourgish. It’s a paradoxical situation.

Shouldn’t the public service be adapted to the multilingual structure of society in Luxembourg? That’s a big question.

CS: I think the notion of public service broadcasting should be a priority in discussions about media reform.

I have the impression that public service is thought of as for the people on the street.

For me, public service broadcasting should be for everyone. It should unite rather than be segmented. Maybe that’s a very French vision. But how you do that in Luxembourg is a big question.

RK: Indeed, there are not many countries that are comparable to Luxembourg with its linguistic mix. Luxembourg has always had to be inventive and imaginative, it could never copy/paste from another country.

Low risk Medium risk High risk

Duncan Roberts Duncan has been a journalist in Luxembourg for 25 years, reporting and commenting on political, social and cultural affairs. For the past seven years, he has been the editor-in-chief of Delano, the only English-language magazine in the grand duchy.

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Challenger today, leader tomorrow: our motto for the next years

PACKSHOTS PORTRAITS AND REPORTAGE BY JAN HANRION (MAISON MODERNE). PACKSHOTS BY PATRICIA PITSCH (MAISON MODERNE)

RICHARD KARACIAN,

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already well established in the media scene in Paris, arrived in Luxembourg in September last year to take the helm at Maison Moderne.

Here he reveals his plans and aspirations in conversation with B O Z T E M P L E - M O R R I S .

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Richard Karacian: “One thing is certain: I start from a very solid base, an ecosystem built around a brand with strong notoriety, unique in Europe. So in that sense, I’m very fortunate.”

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You’ve passed your first milestone, 100 days in the job! How are you finding it?

It’s been such an extraordinary couple of months, it’s hard to put into a single word or phrase—certainly inspiring, exciting, challenging—all of these and more.

Whilst I come with experience and plenty of ideas, I’m also learning so much, which is fantastic.

I’m really enjoying getting to know new people and places—actually I don’t know what I would do without my copy of the Paperjam Guide, the who’s who of business in Luxembourg!

Still, my focus, of course, is on fulfilling the mission for which I was recruited!

What was the first challenge you faced at Maison Moderne?

The world will not slow down for anyone.

I guess my initial challenge was to review quickly but thoroughly the internal and external environment without disrupting the existing work habits. It’s a careful balance which I’ve been trying to maintain since I took office.

One thing is certain: I start from a very solid base, an ecosystem built around a brand with strong notoriety, unique in Europe. So in that sense, I’m very fortunate. I’ve found a company whose fundamentals are sound and solidly anchored in its market segment.

Premium media brands, a great deal of sensitivity to differentiation and creativity, a strong and committed team, credibility and trust.

Is that what attracted you to this role?

To some extent, yes, but also the culture of the organisation. I love the brands but also the ambition, the values and the attitudes.

And, of course, the team. I’m very lucky there as well, to find a group of people who, at every level of the organisation, are so positively committed to their work and the contribution they make as individuals and as an organisation.

A range of Maison Moderne’s owned media brands.

You’ve worked with some of the most highly respected media titles. What did you make of Maison Moderne’s brands?

What’s really interesting about the brands is how they bring communities together and foster dialogue among them. Whether digital or on paper, they do much more than convey information:

they play a vital role in people’s personal and professional lives.

That’s very exciting.

Take Paperjam, for example, a twicedaily digital newspaper, supported by a monthly magazine, which includes strategic diversification segments.

Also a Business Club with 271 events, attracting 9,000 participants each year.

Put that together, and you see that Paperjam not only provides insight and information but is also a place of learning, meeting and exchange, a place that creates lasting links. It has no equivalent in Europe. A competitive advantage that the “me-too” try to reproduce but never match.

Elsewhere in our business, wherever you look, you can see “taylorised” editorial solutions. Is that a word? It is now.

I’m talking about made-to-measure magazines capable of bringing businesses into close proximity with their audiences, deepening customer relations over time, as well as newsletters that facilitate the transfer of knowledge between targeted professional communities.

The brands are highly effective.

For someone like me, who is so passionate about media, this is a fantastic place to be!

Behind the brands is an organisation offering a range of services. Will you be changing very much in the structure of the organisation?

We will continue to grow and this will bring change but no, I won’t be fixing what isn’t broken.

We have a highly experienced team providing services to businesses, including native advertising that allows companies to speak out by delivering rich content of direct interest to the reader, content that fits naturally into the medium without disruption and benefits from the reputation of our media partners. You won’t find a more customer-centric group of expert advisers—interlocutors who accompany our clients every step of the way, helping them achieve their goals.

This culture also exists in our design studio, which builds turnkey B-to-B content platforms integrating all the value architecture, enabling them to address their customers and communities.

The production values are high, as they

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A range of publications produced for clients by Maison Moderne’s Content Agency.

Staff numbers 1994-2017

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CEO Richard Karacian (second from left) with the rest of the Board of Executive Management: Francis Gasparotto (Director of Advertising Sales), Guido Krรถger (Director of the in-house native advertising Studio), and Etienne Velasti (CFO).

Turnover

12.4 11.5

*2017 projected, MM

9.9 7.2

ERIC CHENAL

2013

8.2

2014

2015

2016

2017*

103 84

90 93

69 70 60 42 24

49 39

29

'06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17

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need to be so that the content can cut through and make an impact.

So you continue to have your own brands, your contract brands, media buying and design studio. And they are the same but different?

In a manner of speaking, yes; we are four companies in one, operating under common values but each with its own specificity and skill. And while the notion of creating value for the customer dominates in every business line, the value proposition of each entity differs.

Exactly. Or if you want to stick with your roadmap analogy, then it’s “focus on the journey and you will arrive at the destination”.

So the internal culture has an important role to play.

Undoubtedly. Sustainable competitive advantage arises from the role that we each play as individuals and as a collective, remaining agile and innovative, but also taking the time to analyse our failures and successes.

I want every employee of Maison Moderne to be an opinion leader on our know-how.

Clearly this customer-centric culture Shared values are at the heart of this, is important to you. How is that best and direct participation in the longachieved and what do you see as term vision. When we have mutual your role in that? understanding of this meaning It’s achieved because it’s consistently followed through in every aspect of the and purpose, then we will be able business. Consequently, it’s a combination to overcome all obstacles! of many things, including internal culture Maybe it’s a cliché but it’s true to say that and processes but, importantly, it’s also our people are our most important assets.

It’s their expertise, experience and strategic. It’s the main strength of Maison Moderne that it has never taken attitude that drive value for our clients. for granted a successful positioning, constantly questioning itself and always What’s the next milestone? Do you have any specific targets you can share? moving forward with agility to offer Of course. This is about improving our the best to its customers. market position and continuing to grow.

That’s a belief that Mike [Koedinger] Maison Moderne celebrates its 25th and I share. Now that he has passed the torch to me, I become the guarantor anniversary in 2019, and we want of this promise and I will carry that torch to be able to raise a glass to a significantly increased turnover as far and for as long as possible! and to see ourselves in the top three media groups. Challenger today, In what direction? Do you have a roadmap for the future media industry? leader tomorrow. This will be our Moving further into digital products must motto for the next three years. be a high priority.

Finally, I have to ask, you’ve moved This has obviously been on everyone’s from Paris to Luxembourg—how are mind for a long time, and it’s certainly you finding it? the direction of travel.

The Luxembourgish community has It won’t surprise anyone to learn that welcomed me with such open arms, I intend to support and accelerate the with such warmth and kindness, it has digital transformation of the company.

Often when we talk about this issue, we been truly amazing—and I thank them think of the outside world, but personally for it. I’m very glad to have made I believe that we must begin with internal the decision to move here—you might transformation. That places us in a much expect me to say that, but it’s true! stronger position to address the question of transforming our business models and I know it is. Thank you, Richard. to propose innovative solutions to our customers. Digital first as a means, not as an ultimate goal to be achieved.

Boz Temple-Morris “Be the change that you want to see in the world.”

Boz lived in Luxembourg as Maison Moderne first established itself and has followed its journey closely after having returned to London, where he is a director and a creative consultant to organisations.

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Paperjam ecosystem Paperjam, the flagship brand of Maison Moderne, has become indispensable in the Luxembourg media landscape, a strength derived from its comprehensive, ever-expanding ecosystem comprised of print, digital and live.

Highly successful: a unique media ecosystem in Europe

the point of entry, readers and members can rapidly benefit from the value the entire ecosystem has to offer.

Paperjam has a remarkable footprint with its diversified products and the fact that it sits within a strong and stable set of omnichannel brands that are leaders in their market segments and which offer an enviable ROI for their advertisers.

Indeed, Maison Moderne and Paperjam are at the heart of business life in Luxembourg and an essential business partner for brands and institutions.

Whether print, digital or live, the brand continues to expand: Paperjam Club, for example, is the largest business networking community in Luxembourg, and it is still growing, with a comprehensive programme of inspirational networking and training events. And no matter

PRINT

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In addition to the Paperjam monthly magazine, Paperjam Plus is a monthly supplement focused on various themes important to the readers. The Paperjam Business Guide is also produced annually.

DIG ITAL

Paperjam.lu is the go-to economic and financial news website, publishing a twice-daily newsletter, digital dossiers and thematic newsletters. In addition, there is a mobile/tablet application, a website and an application devoted to the Paperjam Business Guide, as well as the job board Paperjam.jobs.

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Paperjam Club, the biggest business club in Luxembourg, serves as a platform for training and engagement, business networking and communication, helping businesses connect their brand among the country’s key decision-makers.

Website Monthly magazine + supplements

Twice-daily newsletter

Annual business guide

Social media

Mobile & tablet apps

Ecosystem

Digital business guide

Business Club networking talks

B2B digital features & marketing

Job board

Business Club training

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Luxembourg Prime minister Xavier Bettel was guest editor-in-chief for the September 2017 issue, which was also when the magazine's format was revamped.

Paperjam originally launched in 2000 as a monthly magazine, and today it boasts some 66,000 readers per issue.

The leading economic and financial publication in Luxembourg, Paperjam, has an established reputation not only as a premium and influential magazine among the country’s political and economic decision-makers, but also beyond: in 2016, for example, it was selected as Media Brand of the Year in Belgium.

As Luxembourg’s first independent economic and financial daily, Paperjam.lu has also developed as a powerful information distribution ecosystem since 2000. Indeed, over the years, Paperjam has become a “digital daily”: in addition to the website, a twice-daily newsletter is also sent to 33,000+ subscribers every morning and evening.

With the print, digital and live-events offering through Paperjam Club, readers come into direct contact with the trusted brand every day.

And the results have paid off: Paperjam was recently recognised by the government as a digital daily news outlet, receiving public funding as a result.

Over the years, Paperjam has broadly strengthened its presence and serves as a comprehensive ecosystem for distributing information, enabling it to reach thousands of key decisionmakers and influencers daily.

But no matter how it and its environment have evolved over the years, Paperjam’s core values have been consistent: to provide independent, quality journalism, and it has Luxembourg’s largest editorial team specialised in economics and business to do just that. No matter the channel, Paperjam is reader-centric and excels at great storytelling.

Strong community: the Club In the 10 years since it launched in 2008, Paperjam Club has become Luxembourg’s largest business club, with over 900 member companies. At the heart of Paperjam Club is business networking (some 270 events are planned in 2018), giving members a way to interact with like-minded communities and develop a deeper portfolio of professional contacts.

Paperjam Club also serves as a training and engagement platform, whereby companies encourage the development of their own human capital. In fact, Paperjam Club is a state-recognised professional body for lifelong learning.

Members can take to the stage in a variety of formats to tell their own stories, or sponsor events, which are in turn shared through the Paperjam ecosystem through news, videos, photos and more, providing a more lasting impact for their brands.

This communication is a way for businesses to reinforce their presence and develop their brands among the country’s key decision-makers.

Paperjam Club also recently increased its English event offering, with 50% of its events hosted in English, plus the recent launch of “Delano Live”, held the evening before the release date of each issue of Delano (Paperjam’s sister publication, and the only English-language magazine in Luxembourg).

As it grows, Paperjam Club continues helping its members be inspired, learn, network, and be truly engaged in the business landscape of Luxembourg.

And at the end of the day, it’s the real and lasting social friendships within the Club that have created this strong community.

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Paperjam was named Media Brand of the Year in Belgium in 2016 (top left). Highlights from Paperjam Club include the Top 100 event, Celebrating Luxembourg, as well as the 10Ă—6 conferences, in addition to its extensive training and social networking opportunities.

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Founded in 1994, staff of 100+, turnover of â‚Ź12.4m (2017 projection).

Our business model has a good spread of revenue sources, with clients in both public and private sectors, and no dependency on major clients.

There’s a strong stable of owned, omnichannel media brands, each one being a leader in its market segment and with a proven ROI for advertisers.

The flagship brand, Paperjam, has a unique ecosystem, including a membership-driven business club, printed monthly magazine, a news website, twice-daily digital newsletters, a job board and guides for decision makers.

Our uniquely diversified footprint places us at the heart of business life and makes us an essential business partner for brands and institutions in Luxembourg.

We’re an agile challenger organisation with an intrapreneurship mentality.

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We are well established in four diversified and complementary business units that form a unique media ecosystem: Publishing House, Content Agency, Advertising Sales, Business Club, leading to growth and risk mitigation.

Yet, we have a very robust business administration with best practice in governance, management, process and business analysis.

We have an enviable reputation for quality and innovation, and for setting trends and industry standards in Luxembourg.

The remarkable digital growth does not come at the expense of print, which remains stable.

There’s excellent potential for domestic growth due to an ambitious development strategy in all aspects of the business. This isn’t only limited to the business lines but includes data harvesting, marketing automation, communications, mobile and social media.

Missions

Our business is served by a very active board that includes expert non-executive directors operating within a transparent decision and governance model.

• To offer an independent voice in the Luxembourg media landscape with an inclusive approach, publishing mainly in the first two vehicular languages of the country: French and English.

• To create and develop strong media brands, the economic success of which guarantees independence.

• To support Luxembourg and international companies and brands in the creation and/or dissemination of their content to their targets, through our Content Agency, media and Advertising Sales.

• To enliven and inspire the business community through the offering of the largest Business Club in Luxembourg.

• To remain committed to the development of Luxembourg in the long term, thereby contributing to societal change and the international standing of the country.

M O D E R N E

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Content Agency At the heart of Maison Moderne’s in-house native advertising studio is the desire to put content front and centre in your marketing strategy.

Who we are: our long-term approach We believe in the power of the steady whisper over the shout, the kind that will resonate, captivate and, most importantly, reap longterm benefits. And because brands today need to create strong, sustainable relationships with their targets, we offer native, print, digital, live, and social solutions within our media ecosystem. We create engaging, native advertising that integrates seamlessly into our highly-efficient, reputable paid media (i.e., Paperjam, Delano and Archiduc), allowing you to benefit from the same demand for quality which characterises our own media,

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with a focus on B2B markets and AB readers.

Our contract publishing and corporate publishing activities have allowed us to work together with a range of businesses, ministries and institutions to produce magazines, books, annual reports, along with other digital, social and video content.

Our team of 35 creative talents—including strategists, copywriters, storytellers, art directors, and more—is dedicated to quality content development of native advertising solutions and customised content for advertisers and their brands.

Add to that our collaboration with the digital agency, Nvision, and you have added digital, social and production expertise through an additional 25 talents, ranging from digital strategists and UX/UI designers to coders.

We create your corporate story and deliver the audience to your story.

And, like the rest of Maison Moderne, the agency aims for top-notch quality, both in content and design.

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Our references: we love print Yes, we are print fetishists. It’s where we come from, and we’ve excelled at it since the 1990s.

But we also believe in the power of print.

Print works, when it’s meticulously produced.

Print creates emotions, gets delivered to the desks of decision-makers, and provides valuable “me-time” as lean-back media.

Not to mention the thrill of leafing through a new publication, fresh off the printer…

And it’s that same sense of satisfaction we deliver to our clients who invest in print publications.

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We co-create with our clients, and our obsession for quality and innovation is visible down to the last detail. Clockwise (from top left): Tarantula 20th anniversary publication, Arendt’We All, Spaces magazine (Bureau Moderne), À cent à l’heure (Arnold Kontz Group), I am not a refugee, UniCredit International Bank Luxembourg publication.

Our references: we are omnichannel Strategic storytelling, simply put, is our DNA. A great story is a great story, no matter what—nevermind the channel. But being omnichannel—print, digital, live, social— we strive to find the right mix tailored to your needs and goals.

We’re also well-equipped to produce quality content for digital platforms, be they clientfacing websites/newsletters or company intranet sites, as well as videos, quizzes and more. We’re constantly challenging ourselves to find innovative ways to keep readers and viewers engaged to heighten their experience.

Storytelling is best when the interests of readers and viewers intersects with your brand’s goals.

But in order to tell a great story, it’s the content marketing strategy that matters.

We are happiest when our clients are happy but, as in any relationship, we prefer keeping them happy over the long-term.

This long-term outlook, paired with our creative backbone and expertise on how to optimally use these channels and tools, allows us to quickly hone in on your objectives, ultimately to provide ROI to brands and institutions, influence behaviour and change brand perception by consumers and citizens.

Content marketing can take on a variety of forms—like print, digital and live—and our unique ecosystem allows us to react quickly and creatively to meet our clients’ needs through an omnichannel approach.

The Travelblog by Luxair (above) and this 10x6 event (below), organised specifically for Keytrade Luxembourg, are two case studies.

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The launch of Explorator in 1994 marks the start of the story that later becomes known as Maison Moderne.

1994-2003 The first decade sees a steadily

increasing number of media brands: after Explorator, lifestyle titles Nightlife.lu and Nico are launched; business media follows with Paperjam and Index.

This is a period of experimenting and learning. Yet the key elements are in place from the beginning: print, digital and events reserved for our readership.

Beginning of 2004

Paperjam is revamped with a larger format and increased print run. We are targeting 50,000 readers. Maison Moderne starts its second decade with a staff of 15.

2005-2006

Launch of the contract publishing business: first Flydoscope for Luxair, then City Mag for the City of Luxembourg, collaborations which continue to this day, 11 years later.

2007 Business is going well.

Our international profile is enhanced with the setting up of Colophon, an international colloquium of independent magazines; the international launch of Nico; and plans to expand Paperjam to Switzerland and Belgium.

2008-2011 In the wake of the financial crisis we hold off the international launch

of Paperjam, instead choosing to concentrate on developing it in Luxembourg. One after another, three new creations appear: Paperjam Business Club in 2008, Archiduc in 2010 and Delano in 2011.

At the end of 2010, the Paperjam Top 100 ceremony is the occasion to announce the merger of our three operating companies: our Publishing House, our Advertising Agency and our Graphic Design Studio are now under one roof. Called Maison Moderne, the new company reflects more than ever our goals and values as Luxembourg’s leading independent media company. Now 16 years old, we have a staff of 49.

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2013 Our plans are ambitious

as ever and we are preparing Maison Moderne for growth with the introduction of a new governance model, and new board members including additional non-executive directors.

We now have 70 employees.

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2014-2016

On the occasion of our 20th anniversary, we celebrate our achievements with our eyes focused very much on the future. In summer 2014, we set the target of doubling our (2013) turnover and/or result between 2015 and 2019.

Our headcount is at 83.

2016 2017 As 2016 begins, our turnover has grown again and now exceeds €11m, even better than planned.

We’re seeing external growth too, after taking a holding in the digital agency Nvision.

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We are a team of 100, and Richard Karacian joins us as the new CEO.

R N E

Public debate on the future law regarding public funding supporting pluralism in local media.

With representatives from the four leading political parties, including Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, and a wide range of media groups.

Mike Koedinger with some favourite magazines from his private collection.

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I will always be an entrepreneur founded Maison Moderne in 1994 and has remained the creative force behind its growth ever since. He surprised us all last year when he announced his intention to step aside in favour of a new C E O. B O Z T E M P L E - M O R R I S went to find out what lays behind this decision and what new priorities are driving him in 2018.

MIKE KOEDINGER

PORTRAITS AND REPORTAGE BY JAN HANRION (MAISON MODERNE)

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Tell us about Richard. What do you think he brings to the job?

Richard is a very versatile and charismatic leader. As you might expect, he has an outstanding track record in media. For ten years before joining Maison Moderne he was at Altice Média, his latest role being “directeur général” of the French daily Libération, and at Axel Springer France, where he was in charge of M&A. He’s passionate about the media industry and has a very solid understanding of business—he studied commercial law.

He has a particular understanding of the digital transformation of the company but with both the human resources and client focus at the centre of his thinking.

All of which is incredibly important but it’s something else that makes him perfect for this role; we share the same values and beliefs about how to do business in a positive and respectful manner. That means that we not only share the vision for Maison Moderne, but also the manner in which we can achieve it. It’s a wonderful match, and I’m happy to announce that Richard became a partner at the end of 2017.

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ERIC CHENAL (ARCHIVES)

OK, so first things first. Why is this happening? Everything seemed to be going very well, so why change a winning team?

Sure, it’s true Maison Moderne has enjoyed consistent and steady growth over the last ten years and now has a strong market position. As we surpassed 100 employees I looked to the future and knew that we would not stop there; that moment marked the beginning of a new cycle, and I could see that the next phase would bring an entirely different set of challenges.

So I began to think about how best to meet these new challenges and concluded that the leadership should change so that Maison Moderne can continue to be a winning team!

This is about taking our company to the next level, again, and a new CEO with the specific skills for the task is clearly the best way forward.

Still, I won’t be thinking about retirement for a long time yet! I will continue as chairman of the board, at the invitation of the previous chairman, Jean-Claude Bintz, who will become vice chairman.

Colophon, the international magazine symposium held in 2007 and 2009 at Casino Luxembourg - Forum d’Art Contemporain and other venues.

With visitors from 35 countries worldwide.

The organisation has, in fact, been in a constant state of evolutionary change, especially over recent years.

Tell us about these changes: what are they and why are they needed?

I guess the main change happened in 2013 when we changed our governance model but even this was, as you put it, evolutionary.

We had experienced incredible growth—our headcount had leapt from 14 to 70 in just ten years. I myself was still the founder, the main shareholder, the CEO and the director of the publishing activities, but it felt wrong.

I could see that the structure of the organisation should broaden and become more transparent in order to accommodate our continuing growth.

So we installed a board of directors, including non-executive directors Daniel Schneider and Jean-Claude Bintz, as well as creating the position of CFO, held since then by Etienne Velasti, who is now a partner.

And that was one of the best decisions of my entire career! It’s a different company now, and we are ready for substantial growth in domestic and international markets.

What kind of chairman will you be?

Will you be able to resist being a backseat driver?

Yes, for sure! On the day Richard arrived, I moved from Maison Moderne’s headquarters and now operate from a new solo office in the city centre.

Besides, Richard is an internationallyrecognised and high-profile CEO who certainly won’t need me to tell him the direction of travel—that’s one of the many reasons why we selected him in the first place.

I will always be an entrepreneur, but as a chairman my focus is on the strategy of the company and on its execution, as well as on the development of international opportunities. The board has regular meetings, so I will be at Richard’s disposal if or when he needs me.

Breaking into an international market is a logical next step for an organisation like this one, but how do you see that happening?

I will be able to focus properly on this, now that Richard is here to handle our

Funding pluralism?

75% of the public funding budget to promote media pluralism is going to the two largest media companies, reinforcing the duopoly.

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Isn't digital the future?

Only 5% of the combined public funding for print and digital media are allocated to digital media—which is accepted industry-wide—, the future of the information industry.

organisational change and domestic growth. We were on the verge of international expansion in 2007 but then came the financial crisis of 2008, followed by a period of significant growth in Luxembourg, despite the ongoing crisis, both of which distracted us from our international objectives.

That was probably for the best since it allowed us to become a stronger and a more robust company in Luxembourg before moving into other markets.

But yes, this will be a focus of my attention in 2018, and there’s a lot to do. Clearly our flagship media brand Paperjam, along with its ecosystem including the Business Club, could thrive in other territories. I’ve always liked the idea of creating a new digital pure player for a trans-European market covering a specific niche. Acquisition of other companies is also an exciting possibility, as are joint ventures.

There are many possibilities to explore, and now is the time to take a detailed and considered look at all of them and decide the best way to proceed.

already voted for a transitory funding arrangement for digital media. This is a significant step, but there needs to be more progress on this.

So you now receive public money, you’re on the Press Council, you are laden with awards. Have you become the establishment?

That’s a challenging question! It doesn’t feel like it. The best answer might be “yes and no”. I would say we are close to the establishment, but we remain Luxembourg’s leading independent media company and our independence of mind is very very important to us.

It’s what we stand for. Independent quality journalism.

OK, you are an entrepreneur at heart and will always remain so. What can we expect from you now? Are you going to surprise us again in 2018?

Well, that remains to be seen! There’s certainly a lot more I want to do. I admit that I am considering investing in a media lab; I’m yet to establish exactly what form this will take, but this would Sounds exciting. Can we assume help me to explore the matters we’ve you won’t be withdrawing from discussed and support me in my domestic affairs entirely though? chairman position, the international You’ve been quite vocal on the subject development and the reform of the of public funding of the media, public funding of the media. for example. Why is that?

I’m also very keen to bring international That’s because I’m very concerned about collaborators together, as we did with media pluralism in Luxembourg. As it Colophon in 2007. I always felt that stands, 75% of public funding goes to Colophon was the start of something, two media groups only. The public fund and I hope that I can revisit that at some was established 40 years ago to support point soon. pluralism but has inadvertently helped Having spent 30 years working create the duopoly that we see today. on an operational level in publishing, The heart of the matter is that our laws I am really looking forward to having in this area are not made for the way more time to research, to think and we live today. Today, a printed daily to develop new ideas. can get up to €1.7m annual funding Yes, I’m seeing that this is indeed when a digital daily only gets the start of something. I’m sure I’m not €100,000. And yet it’s much more alone in looking forward to seeing what likely that any of us will have browsed happens as we turn the page—or should social media and digital media outlets I say, click on the link! Thank you. before leaving home or while commuting, before getting access to printed media at the office. The future of the information industry is digital, as we all know, so the government has to accept that reality and support innovation and pluralism.

Boz Temple-Morris Boz lived in Luxembourg as We are seeing signs of change.

Maison Moderne first established itself and has followed its journey Xavier Bettel’s government is currently closely after having returned to London, where he is a director and working on a reform of the law and has a creative consultant to organisations.

A B O

One of the Strong highest GDP demographic growth. per capita anywhere in the world.

A world-renowned financial centre— we’re no. 2 in fund administration.

New business specialities are also emerging, for example Luxembourg’s bid to become the “Silicon Valley of space mining” (Wired).

Social and political stability.

We have numerous EU institutions and a strong international community.

We have a businessfriendly government.

A local economy in continuous growth, above EU zone average: 3.1% (2016), 3.4% (2017).

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It’s a lab-sized country with a population of +750,000 (residents and daily commuters) and over 170 nationalities, foreigners representing 46.7% of the total.

A beneficiary of postBrexit relocations.

It’s the second richest country in the world, as per the 2016 Global Finance study.

The country remains a preferred European centre of operations for international companies (ArcelorMittal, SES, Cargolux, Amazon, Paypal, etc.).

And there’s a vibrant start-up scene too.

An unemployment rate of 5.8% (October 2017).

L U X E M B O U R G

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The world is our playground :mentalKLINIK,

52 PORTRAITS AND REPORTAGE BY ANTHONY DEHEZ

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the art duo composed of Yasemin Baydar and Birol Demir, recently relocated to Brussels where they are exploring the notion of truth, or rather lack thereof, with a show called “Truish”. Here we revisit the inception of their collaboration and talk about the creative process behind some of their iconic works.

In conversation with A N G E L I N A A . R A F I I .

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Airless1520 Formed copper, hand-painted acrylic, 16.5 x 14.5 cm, unique Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

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As a duo, you describe yourselves as resisting only one artistic narrative and maintain your prerogative to different forms of expression. You were also both doing your own thing before starting your collaborative works in 1988; I imagine that in that process you influenced each other’s point of view.

We were working separately for a while, but our life is intertwined. We have been married for 24 years and we are together 24/7. Being together all the time, sharing the same space, sharing time but having different points of view defines us.

So did marriage come first or your collaboration as artists?

Marriage. At the time, we were still working separately as artists. Eventually, we opened a sort of artist-run space in Istanbul.

Was this Boutique Éphémère?

It was before that actually. The idea was to have the freedom to create with artist friends. It was five of us, and we rented a huge space, which we also opened to different artists for their shows.

Then, in 1998 we felt the need to have our own space, where we could work on our own theory, our own practice with enormous freedom. We called it animal freedom. When you want to work on your ideas you really need to have the mental space for freedom and not be under constraints from galleries or other issues.

So that was the birth of our :mentalKLINIK space. The main idea at the time was to work with different disciplines, to be an open laboratory.

We wanted to initiate a concept, and then invite people in from different disciplines to think about that concept.

If it required collaboration, then we came together; otherwise everyone thought about it within the context of their own work and then we exhibited.

So it was like a fake gallery, a kind of shop and an exhibition space, but really an institutional kind of place.

This idea of coming up with a concept and inviting people to think about it within their own disciplines, it sounds like a very intellectual approach to art.

Often times, specifically with solo artists, there is a very self-centred, personal and sometimes therapeutic approach

to the idea of creation, something that is visceral and primal and almost a means of survival.

This was really our aim, to work within this framework of :mentalKLINIK ideas.

The first part of any exhibition takes place in the mental process. Later, we prepared texts for the other participants who were free to do whatever they liked.

The form of what they did might have been sellable as an object or as an artwork. We tried many different things until 2004.

:mentalKLINIK “Our ideas from the beginning were not geographically bound; it is the same vocabulary for us everywhere.

We can be interested in anything. We are living in a global world. We are artists that come from the 21st century.

The most important thing for us is what is happening now, what is buried in the present.”

That’s the year you created a project for Mudam under Marie-Claude Beaud.

We came to Luxembourg for the “Self 01“ project. We always said that :mentalKLINIK is open to the five senses, but it’s about discovering the sixth, seventh and eighth senses. It was a lot about how we feel, how we consume and how consumption changes us, and ultimately how our ideologically designed environment is the triggering point for everything.

Going back to your process of creation, do you think culture has something to do with it, looking at the Turkish context, for example? Or were you looking at the greater ideological narrative in the world?

No, we were never concerned with geography. Our ideas from the beginning were not geographically bound; it is the same vocabulary for us everywhere. We can be interested in anything. We are living in a global world. We are artists that come from the 21st century. The most important thing for us is what is happening now, what is buried in the present. This object and subject relationship is no longer in contrast because the whole world is already “datafied”, so we are on the same level with everything. Everything might be used as our material, and any discipline might be in our interest.

We can work with different people from different fields to find a common ground, to ask questions. What we want is to be really free, and that’s why we chose to be artists in the first place. The world is our playground.

Though you end up speaking with one voice, you come at a piece from two different directions. How do you respect

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Airless1519 Formed copper, hand-painted acrylic, 16.0 x 15.5 cm, unique Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

Airless1521 Formed copper, hand-painted acrylic, 15 x 17 cm, unique Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

Airless1518 Formed copper, hand-painted acrylic, 15.5 x 12.5 cm, unique Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

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83% Satisfaction Guaranteed, 2015 Installation view Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

But we are not aware or we don’t want to see it, because we don’t want to destroy our comfort zone.

each other’s point of view? And how do you fall on a preferred medium depending on the work of art?

We subvert each other actually.

When we work, we are not quiet.

We discuss and quarrel a lot. The main thing is that we never know where the idea begins. Sometimes we remember, we see something, we talk about it and then we put it into our vocabulary. It might be an image, a word, an attitude, something we saw on the street or something else. We collect these fragments and then we begin to think about them, ask questions and begin to talk. Then these ideas and thoughts also collide with materials, objects, and aesthetic elements.

So could an idea start with a material, or is it about translating a critical view into a work of art? I am thinking of the foam element in the lover project, for example.

Sometimes both, sometimes neither.

In the lover series that you mentioned, the paste was sort of invented for us.

We went to a chemical factory’s research department and asked them to create this material for us. It came about because we were working with sun-blocking films.

It was about green energy politics, and about this idea of visibility and invisibility.

Mirrors, reflections that take you in and reflect back, the space where you are and what’s behind you. We also wanted to create sensual elements. You don’t actually see where the reflections are coming from. We needed to create a sort of barrier, an emotional barrier between the work itself and the audience.

While going through your body of work, I am also confronted with feelings of isolation and solitude, the human need for belonging, the ’I’’s place within the social context.

It’s the ‘I’ at the centre of nowhere.

There is no centre. When we were doing our works in 2007 people were telling us that we believed in conspiracy too much, that we were too futuristic, but we would say no, we are not futuristic.

We recognised it as a fact of our lives: the reality of this digitalised world and artificial intelligence world is already here.

It’s a fact. This century is about that.

We are all anonymous, we are all on the web 2.0 and we are nobodies in a way.

So we live in isolation as anonymous beings?

We are so visible but we are already in a trap of some hyper-capitalistic system, where it’s some key brands that keep, use and mine the data about us and who manipulate us.

We see that politics has lost its potency.

What we always read about is Amazon, Facebook, Google. They are the brands whose rules we will soon have to obey; otherwise we will be invisible again.

Because if they reject us, we will be nowhere on the net, and we will be nobody. Unless you are on the net, you don’t exist, and actually if you are not on the net you become the enemy of the state in a way because you are no longer a predictable person, and that’s very dangerous.

Airless production process :mentalKLINIK archive

How important is it to have a discourse about that? Do you think your role as artists is to get people to reflect on these things?

We can say that we are not against technology because human beings are constantly developing ideas and using brainpower. But what we care about is how we use our brainpower and who we are as individuals, the link between our body, soul and mind. That’s why we like to create these micro atmospheres in our exhibition where the audience can feel this torture; it raises their awareness and makes them reflect. We are just here to open that little door into hell and show a glimpse of the madness that surrounds us and while we are doing that we can also entertain people.

Do you feel like it’s important to provide a back-story or a framework, to place your pieces within a context as they are exhibited, or is it enough for the audience just to rely on their emotions and thoughts from a clean slate?

Normally, there is a press release putting the show in a context, but we don’t really want to give a back-story per se, we just want you to come in and feel it.

Most of our shows are choreographed in a specific way. They are also very colourful and bright. So we always say you can take it as an entertaining show

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I ask you “Are you happy?” you can reply: “Yes, I am happy. I am good.” But if you say “Are you happy enough?”, then it’s a question that makes you check yourself again and wonder what is enough?

Am I as happy as my friends? It also gives the idea of something that is calculable, so again we talk about data.

What is most liked? How many followers do you have? If you have 10,000 or 1 million, it’s not enough because somebody else has more. We are never satisfied.

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and just have fun. But if you have a bit of awareness, you can look behind the facade, and then think about what is happening in the world right now. m

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Works like “Trueblue” and “Thank you for your cooperation” underline the collective acquiescence of the societies we live in.

We are not oblivious to the dysfunctional elements that frame our social and political existence, yet we choose to turn a blind eye to them. Your works seem to bring that to the surface, as such one can describe your work as being political. Is that a definition you are comfortable with?

Art always has a relationship with politics even if at this stage politics does not hold the same power anymore. That said, we don’t really believe that much in political art and don’t see ourselves as political artists. What is happening right now with this shift into a new kind of capitalism, semiocapitalism, is important. We should think about that as artists, more than about issues like identity and racism or other things of that nature, because these issues have always been around.

We haven’t solved them. If we still keep busy fighting the old issues, then we will not survive this new century. We are all trapped within the same system.

Let’s talk about “Are you happy enough”.

It feels like a perfect metaphor for our social-media polished lives, this relentless quest to reach the nadir that we collectively call “happiness”.

This is a series of works we do in neon.

“Are you happy now?“ was followed by “Are you popular enough?” and “Are you rich enough?“. Again it is like opening the door to hell, because if

Above left: Cheater Gang -1102, 2011 Glass, micro-layered polyester films, anodised aluminium, liquid polymer resin,123 x 141 cm, unique Courtesy of Galerist Above: Cheater Gang -1101, 2011 Glass, micro-layered polyester films, anodised aluminum, liquid polymer resin, 5 pieces, 103 x 120 cm (each), unique Courtesy of Galerist

As artists who question preconceived ideas and mechanisms, how would you rewrite the new rules to happiness?

If humankind doesn’t take itself so seriously and builds a new notion of trust, creating a collective mind that is capable of merging the physical and virtual world for a better end, this might lead us to a new kind of happiness.

“Liar, Cheater, and Faker”, the title of this body of work you created in 2009, seems more relevant than ever.

This is a series we are doing since 2009 and we continue to use the material elements. The idea is about misinformation and loss of truth.

There is a lot of connotation with minimal paintings, though in minimal paintings you say “What we see is what it is”, whereas in our world we are exploring the notion of “What you see, is not what it is”. The different layers of materials work with reflections and fragmentation, so they represent visibility and invisibility.

So in each of your pieces, the material used is representative and symbolic of something that you want to convey.

Yes, and it is not always about the way it looks, but also about the way it feels and about how it was “ideologically” produced. It’s never by chance, but sometimes we just go with the attraction we have to a certain material, and then in our research we discover that it informs our theory and practice.

Angelina A. Rafii is a freelance journalist based in London, by way of Luxembourg and most recently New York City, where she writes about the creative fields with a special interest in design, fashion and art.

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Lover_RP140, 2014 (detail) Tempered glass, micro-layered polyester films, coated stainless steel, liquid polymer resin, Ă˜144 cm, unique Courtesy of Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde

Lover_RP1304, 2013 Tempered glass, micro-layered polyester films, coated stainless steel, liquid polymer resin,Ă˜123 cm,unique Courtesy of Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde

Are you happy enough, 2015 Hand drawn neon, 2 neons (pink and yellow), transformer, 160 x 65 cm, unique Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

Thank you for your cooperation, 2014 Installation view Courtesy of Galerist

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Be clever with data, and deliver content to interested parties only in conversation with B A R T L O M B A E R T S about the evolution of the profession and the opportunities offered by native advertising.

KOEN DENOLF

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PORTRAITS AND REPORTAGE BY THOMAS DE BOEVER

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It has been almost ten years since Joe Pulizzi published his first book about content marketing. Has it become standard practice by now?

About 50% of the companies I encounter are involved with it to some extent.

And that number is set to grow.

Companies are becoming more aware of the fact that people are actively looking for information, and this has been an important driver for this trend.

Just think of the decision-making process for your last three large purchases, and you’ll likely reach the same conclusion.

Any brand that isn’t taking the ways its consumers gather information into account is risking hard times ahead.

So there is a certain pressure to adapt your communications approach.

Especially when you look at what your competitors are up to, and knowing all the amazing opportunities out there.

What steps does an advertiser need to take before really diving in?

It all depends on the extent to which you’re already doing content marketing.

I always ask my clients about their expectations first. What are you looking to achieve? Then you need to analyse the target audience: what are its needs?

At what time do these needs arise?

And what is their customer journey?

Combined with your brand stories and market analysis, you will find a sweet spot: the topics on which you have relevant things to say and in which the consumer is interested.

Once you have found your sweet spot, you can start to translate this into content and begin working on your distribution channels.

Some say that content marketing is a marathon rather than a sprint.

Do you agree?

It doesn’t always have to be a marathon.

You can also set short-term goals, such as the introduction of a new product for a specific target audience. A relevant example is AXA’s campaign in Belgium.

Pension adventures [Pensioenavonturen] was based on the insight that many people have a poor understanding of their assets and are not sure whether or not they will be able to survive on their pension. The campaign used several waves to showcase significant trends,

stories from those in similar situations, and answers to various questions to lead the consumer through the sales funnel, from awareness to conversion.

Still, it is true that content marketing will generally focus on longer-term targets.

In my view, all communication should be designed for the long term, but content marketing is better suited to this purpose.

If you have a good sweet spot, there is a lot to say and, provided you use owned media, you can manage it within budget.

That is why content marketing makes it so much easier for a “small” brand to create a presence alongside all the “big” brands.

One great example of this long-term focus is our platform for pharmaceutical company Takeda. It contains content for patients with Crohn’s disease. One year after it was launched, people started approaching us because they wanted to collaborate. If that happens, you know you’re doing something right.

Koen Denolf: “In the United States, companies are already spending 80% of their content marketing budgets on paid media.”

If everyone is doing content marketing, it becomes harder to stand out.

Does creativity make the difference?

You’re right, it is no longer enough to create content solely for SEO

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Behind AXA’s “Pensioenavonturen” (Pension adventures, above) campaign by These Days Wunderman was a non-linear strategy to guide retirees through a sales funnel, from awareness to conversion.

ranking purposes. Creativity is increasingly important and can be expressed in a myriad of ways: a perfect sweet spot, inventive formats, creative use of your content type—such as using video where all your competitors would use written text—or distribution channels, your angle...

For DNS, which takes care of domain name registrations in Belgium, we came up with a campaign entitled Claimjeidee.be (“claim your idea”).

This campaign focuses on coming up with your company name—an obvious step before registering your URL. We keep things fresh by using many different angles. For its campaign De Digitale Versnelling (digital acceleration), telecommunications player Telenet uses a unique distribution channel: they send experts to companies to help get their digitisation process started.

What trends are you seeing?

While content marketing used to be viewed as a tool, it is increasingly becoming a mindset. As a result, it has become more common to centre your communications strategy around content and use tools like advertising to maximise

the effect. Content marketing is also taking on a bigger role within companies.

Each level, including the sales department, must tell the same story. Finally, we’re also seeing a clear trend towards promoting earned media through influencer marketing, ambassador marketing and PR, as well as the use of paid media.

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For the Claimjeidee.be campaign, developed by The Fat Lady agency for DNS, entrepreneurs were invited to submit their ideas to a creative “laboratory”, which ultimately helped hundreds of businesses find strong names for their companies.

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Can content marketing still be effective without paid media?

In the United States, companies are already spending 80% of their content marketing budgets on paid media.

As I mentioned before, our collective content marketing activities produce incredible amounts of content. On a global level, over 2 million blog posts go live every day, so it is not going to be easy to make your post stand out. You can simply no longer expect a post to be seen and read just because you’ve posted it online.

As a result, paid distribution is becoming increasingly important, with native advertising being one of the most effective options in that spectrum.

Many advertisers use native advertising as a campaign, while content marketing

is most effective when used continuously.

How do you feel about this?

I have been campaigning for people to view native advertising as a long-term strategy rather than a one-off boost for a while now. One of the goals of content marketing is to create a bond with your audience. You can achieve this by taking a long-term perspective.

Many media groups have created their own native cells. Which is the best one?

You simply cannot ignore The New York Times’ T Brand Studio. This cell has accumulated 100 employees.

They consistently stick to the path they chose in their campaign for Orange is the New Black (which created quality articles on women’s prisons to promote the Netflix show about female prisoners).

They create content in line with The New York Times’ philosophy, using sound investigative journalism, in service of brand promotion. They steer clear of the commercial messaging an advertiser would want to include.

Should we be concerned about a possible native advertising overload?

We certainly need to keep that in mind, but technology may help us out in that area. The future of content marketing, and therefore the future of native advertising, is in niche fields. If you are clever about using data, you can deliver your content to interested parties only.

That way you will stay under the radar for other consumers.

So data will play an important role?

Definitely. Segmentation is the future.

But we’re not there yet. The big problem with native advertising—and with content marketing by extension—is that there are no uniform measuring methods.

Even Facebook and Google use different measurements. And publishers also have various preferred methods. The challenge is to align these, to move towards a single currency if you will.

Will native advertising replace traditional advertising?

I’m not convinced that it will. There will always be a place for traditional advertisements. It all depends on your market, product, the phase of your product’s life... In case of a product launch, awareness is key. In that

scenario, a good advertisement is exactly what you need.

Native advertising is sometimes viewed as a breach of the divide between church and state, so to speak; the division between the editors and the commercial department. As a publisher and advertiser, how do you deal with this?

As Politico’s Stephanie Losee recently said, “It’s a bumpy ride”. Nowadays, the publishing company gets around one third of its income from native advertising, thanks to the fact that they immediately drafted a clear disclaimer.

This set of rules didn’t just serve to outline the possibilities and limitations for advertisers, it also explained to readers and internal staff exactly what native advertising is all about.

Koen Denolf: “One of the goals of content marketing is to create a bond with your audience.

You can achieve this by taking a long-term perspective.”

T Brand Studio approached the issue in a similar way. When they started out, they sought out some of their greatest critics—including David Carr, a columnist who had written a scathing op-ed piece.

Any top tips for advertisers?

Let go. Trust in the medium: they know their audience and they know which approach will work. That is the only way to get a win-win-win. If you do, your audience, your medium and your advertiser will win. And you will get some awesome content marketing.

After all, T Brand Studio’s piece on women’s prisons to promote Orange is the New Black was in the top 2% of most-read articles on the New York Times list in 2014 for a reason...

Bart Lombaerts Bart has been a journalist and editor-in-chief at Media Marketing, the most important marketing trade magazine in Belgium. In 2016, he created the content production company Spyke. Together with Koen Denolf among others, he wrote a book about content marketing, published end of 2016.

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mmm4 Conversations about publishing and media Issue 4, 2018

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Board of Executive Management: CEO: Richard Karacian CFO: Etienne Velasti Director of Advertising Sales: Francis Gasparotto Director of the in-house native advertising Studio: Guido Kröger

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mmm - Maison Moderne Magazine is published and produced by ©Maison Moderne Cover artwork: ©:mentalKLINIK Editor-in-chief: Mike Koedinger Creative director: Jeremy Leslie Designers: Cassandre Bourtembourg, José Carsi Words by Steven Gregor, Bart Lombaerts, Angelina A. Rafii, Duncan Roberts, Boz Temple-Morris Editor: Natalie Gerhardstein Photography by Thomas De Boever, Anthony Dehez, Jan Hanrion, Patricia Pitsch, Moniek Wassenaar Printed in Europe

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