| Q & A 06.20.08 10:00 AM |
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| New York Mag's Sona Hacherian Talks About Bringing an Editorial Perspective to Events |
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New York Media's Sona Hacherian
Photo: Courtesy of Sona Hacherian
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This year is a big one for Sona Hacherian, executive director of creative and marketing services at New York Media, the parent company of New York magazine. Between the weekly's 40th anniversary and the launch of the company's own event division—the aptly named New York Events—Hacherian and her team have already produced more than a dozen parties, concerts, and other initiatives in 2008.
Still on tap for the year are several major consumer programs, a hush-hush anniversary fete in October, and more affairs falling under the umbrella of “Forty Nights,” the magazine's 40-event celebration in honor of the milestone. Hacherian took some time last week to talk about what she has taken on so far, and what's still on her plate for the rest of the year.
What are some of the bigger initiatives that New York Media tackled so far this year, and what do you still have in store?
The New York Weddings Showcase happened on April 2 at Metropolitan Pavilion. The event brought in more than 700 brides-to-be, and we had dozens of photographers, caterers, designers, and industry professionals for them to meet. We also brought back our New York by New York series in May, with the first event of the year at the HighLine Ballroom, [where] Zach Galifianakis hosted indie-rock trivia and Les Savy Fav performed. There was also a premiere for Run Fatboy Run, and partnerships with Brooklyn Museum and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. We have another 20-plus events occurring between now and the end of the year, with most of them planned for the fourth quarter.
From a marketing standpoint, how do you think these events are improving circulation or helping your brand?
Awareness is obviously key, but it’s also about growing our audience. New York by New York has reached a whole new, younger audience, who may not have been readers or aware of our Web presence and our different blogs like Vulture, Intelligencer, Grub Street, and The Cut. The [New York by New York events] are ticketed, so each ticket includes a subscription to the magazine.
More important than that, there are a lot of different marketing partners with these events. We’ve been able to identify a lot of bloggers through the series, who have written about the bands performing. Partnering with music sites like Stereogum and Oh My Rockness brings attention to the shows before and after the fact.
"The Secret Society Shows" were among the first shows at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. How did that relationship come about?
That series is media partnership we have with JellyNYC, and they curate each of the shows. It’s a really cool venue, and Jelly is so terrific to work with. I really think they have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening. We also partnered with them last year for the series of concerts at the McCarren Park Pool.
Forty Nights aims to celebrate the magazine and the city. How have you tried to make these events unique to the city?
Overall, and not just with the New York by New York event series, we try to edit our events to best accurately reflect our brand and the magazine. Gillian Duffy, our culinary editor, is working on Taste of New York, which we’re hosting again in November, and we have Best Bets editors curating the list of designers and retailers for the Best Bets Shopping Event. We try to view all of our events through an editorial lens, similar to the way that our editors see what’s out there every week and translate that with the magazine. We try to present things that you’ve never heard of. That’s what we try to bring to each experience.
New York Media recently launched its own events division. What kind of projects is it tackling in its freshman year?
Taste of New York and Best Bets are two of them. We are also launching an event called Kid Shop in December. It will allow people to shop the event just before the holidays and see the latest in kids' toys, clothes, and games. There will be a lot of interactive elements and activities for the kids like face painting. Scholastic is a partner, and they’ll have a build-a-book area, where the kids can take home a book they made. Another event that’s coming up is the New York Culinary Experience. It kicks off the weekend of September 21 and 22, and it will be an exclusive weekend where consumers will be able to cook alongside the cities best chefs like Eric Ripert, David Bouley, Dan Barber, Karen DeMasco, and Terrance Brennan. It’s a very big initiative.
What is the biggest venture of the 40th anniversary celebrations?
There will be a big culmination event happening in October. That will be the biggest endeavor, but I can’t really talk about that yet. Weddings, various speaking engagements that our editors have, all of the New York by New York events ... these mean a lot to us. Tying them all together and making them part of a coherent initiative is probably the most important thing. I was with the company for the 35th anniversary, and now I’m here for 40. I’ve seen how the magazine has developed a lot, and we’re at a very different place than we were five years ago. Celebrating and sharing that makes it so much fun.
—Michael O'Connell
RELATED TOPICS
New York Magazine, New York Media
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