SPIN

Re-making An Indie Legend

Led the re-branding of SPIN as it transitioned from a legacy print title to a full-scale digital media entity.

Problem:
The legacy print

Concept

Result

 SPIN the 27-year-old music magazine. I worked with the board of directors and editorial staff to reposition the company from a print magazine



Led 5-member management team reporting directly to CEO to reconstruct all digital platforms and social channels for alternative music and pop culture publishing company, ultimately resulting in 20% increase in total digital traffic and a successful acquisition by leading digital publisher BuzzMedia. Responsible for all creative and strategic business decisions designed to aggressively build digital products, scale revenue and pivot legacy print music title toward a digital focus. Presented initial plan and progress updates to Board of Directors. Built and managed team of 22 editorial, creative and technology professionals.

Led strategic and creative direction of SPIN brand relaunch in March 2012, including simultaneous redesigns of SPIN.com and SPIN magazine, recognized by Society of Publication Designers as a Brand of the Year finalist.

Recruited and managed staff through management change. Fostered positive morale and increased productivity during 2-year period of aggressive change in goals and objectives.

Conceptualized, designed and led development of SPIN Play for iPad, a music app regarded as ground-breaking by The New York Times, Tech Crunch, Mashable, and Gizmodo, and an Apple App Store Hall of Fame inductee. Featured in an Apple iPad TV commercial.

Reformatted print product to larger size and thicker paper and created fresh lifestyle franchises which repositioned the brand and attracted fashion advertisers, ultimately driving 60% increase in luxury and lifestyle advertising for important 18-25 year old demographic.

Established first cross-platform editorial programming grid (included print, digital, social media and apps) and operating budget to increase workflow efficiencies while reducing overall costs by 20%.

App Development Partner: Bottle rocket studios
Magazine Design Partner: Everything Type Company