CLIENT.

One of my projects was the relaunch and promotion of the Uzbek automotive magazine Avtoritet. This publication had a circulation of about 3000 copies and was produced by the local Orient group of companies. The magazine could be found in popular establishments in Tashkent.

The articles mainly covered local events, but there was no unified style at all, so the magazine's owners wanted to breathe new life into it.

INITIAL DATA:

• Lack of bright and attractive content.
• A shortage of materials about what is happening in other countries.
• No original photos - most were borrowed from the internet.

I was to transform the publication within a year, completely change its style and content. Avtoritet needed to be brought up to the global standard of automotive journalism.

CHANGE.

Style and design:

The task was to recreate the visual image of the publication, change the content, and form the presentation of the material. Before each new issue, an audience analysis was conducted, specifically the audience's reaction to the new content. "TopGear UK" served as an inspiration.

This is what the publication looked like before the changes:

We changed the format of the magazine - the publication adopted a European standard aspect ratio. The entire production process was under my control - from layout to printing. Internal quality control was conducted at each stage to achieve maximum quality.

The decision was made to change the paper - it became thinner, allowing the magazine to be rolled up and taken along.

CONTENT: PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARTICLES.

The editorial staff also underwent changes. New employees were needed who could turn Avtoritet into an interesting publication, unmatched in Uzbekistan.

Avtoritet turned to the global tradition of automotive photography. For this, we arranged photo shoots with the Deputy General Director of Porsche Club UAE, as well as fan teams of brands like Jaguar, Chevrolet, and Nissan.

Additionally, the publication started collaborating with Moscow Tesla Club, the retro car enthusiasts community of Almaty, and the museum of iconic cars "M.O.S.T." and their community, Mad Buckets. This allowed for the opportunity to conduct photo shoots with partners' cars, replacing stock photos with original images in the magazine.

The transformation of the publication's appearance was aided by famous automotive photographers from "TopGear UK" - Mark Riccioni and George Williams. Despite their busy schedules, they provided advice on retouching, consulting, and shared nuances of automotive photography.

Shoots were conducted in Dubai, Moscow, and Almaty. The magazine's team carried out the majority of the photo sessions themselves.

ISSUES AND PROGRESS.

The first four issues of the revamped Avtoritet were experimental. Changes were made gradually - collecting feedback, analyzing responses, and identifying the content that the audience liked the most. Each issue introduced something new, while some elements were completely removed from the publication. Thus, over the year, a clear concept of operation was developed, and the magazine acquired its own identity.

A new section called "Insider" was created, where stories about testing famous cars and what the owners themselves say about them were told. We conducted test drives ourselves to fully convey the impressions to the readers. This made the publication unique - such photo sessions and thorough tests had not been done by anyone in Uzbekistan before us.

For another section - Avtoritet News - an interesting feature was introduced: an insert made of newspaper paper was added to the glossy magazine. It featured stories about famous brands and their creators. The insert was designed in the style of old newspapers - this created an effect of returning to the past.

We approached each piece with responsibility. For example, for an article about the first SUV, we made requests to newspaper archives in other countries. We took interviews with people who were popular and important in the automotive industry.

The Avtoritet editorial team was located abroad - the materials were prepared by authors who wrote for European publications. Thanks to this, the articles were successful, and the circulation sold out in a matter of days.

Our editorial team released five issues - from the fourth to the ninth. Unfortunately, the ninth issue of Avtoritet was never printed due to the pandemic. We dedicated it to Porsche. There were three covers - with allegories of humanity's fear of Covid-19.

Changes also affected the publication's social media. As a result, the number of subscribers increased, and the ER (Engagement Rate - a measure of audience engagement) grew.

OUTCOMES.

The client highly appreciated the work done.

Everything was changed: the approach, format, presentation, and content. It took a whole year. The work was very challenging and meticulous. It took three months to produce one issue, with Avtoritet being published quarterly.

Main results:

• Circulation increased to 5000 copies.
• The audience grew by 33%.
• The publication reached break-even before printing in the last issue.
• In the last issue, we achieved pre-printing break-even of the publication - a complete commercial success.