Foodies rejoice – Gourmet is reborn. Just don't expect to get it in the mail. At a press event at the Condé Nast building, CEO Chuck Townsend announced the development of Gourmet Live, stressing "it is not a magazine, and it is not a digitized version of a magazine."
The magazine was shuttered last fall, to the chagrin of loyal readers of the 75-year-old brand. Rumors of a resurrection have been buzzing since its closure. "We have to evolve from the ancient world of subscription sales through the mail," Townsend said.
So, what is it? A website, an app? Officially, it's "an entirely new digital content provider." There will be a website, as well as a free tablet app, providing users access to the magazine's archive, as well as continuously streaming new content. It's also part social network centered around Gourmet's focus on all things celebratory: cooking, traveling and entertaining.
Activate, the strategy consulting firm helping Condé Nast reinvent the Gourmet brand, is incorporating lessons from the online gaming community, hoping to capitalize on the popularity of reward systems, virtual currency and community interactivity for the Gourmet Live digital product. Users will be able to link their Facebook and Twitter accounts to the new on-line community, which will help them shape its content.
The project is a work in progress, and an experiment of sorts. The app will be available in HTML5, which is "easily rolled out across all platforms." Gourmet Live mockups were on display at the Condé Nast building on iPads. The publication will be available in Q4 2010.
Condé Nast is the parent company of Wired.
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