Latest / Building Brands with Fexingo: Identity, Reputation, and Long-Term Business Equity / How The New Yorker Built a Brand on Cartoons and Quality
Transcript
- Lucas: There's a magazine that has never run a celebrity cover in the traditional sense, rarely chases the news cycle, and yet has a passionate subscriber base that has stuck with it for decades. I'm talking about The New Yorker. Luna: And it's not just the writing — it's the cartoons, the cover art, that distinctive voice. It's a brand that's almost instantly recognizable, even without the name. Lucas: Exactly. And I think the really interesting thing is how The New Yorker has navigated the shift from print to digital without losing that identity. It's a case study in brand consistency and evolution. Luna: So how did they do it? Because a lot of legacy media brands have struggled — they either watered themselves down chasing clicks or stayed too rigid and became irrelevant. Lucas: Right. Let's start with the core — the magazine's voice. The New Yorker was founded in 1925 by Harold Ross, and from the beginning, it had a very specific tone: witty, sophisticated, but not stuffy. It covered culture, politics, and the arts with a certain dry humor. Luna: And that voice is consistent across everything — the articles, the cartoons, the covers. You can pick up an issue from 1950 and one from today, and they feel like siblings. Lucas: That consistency is a deliberate choice. When Tina Brown took over in the 1990s, she modernized the design and introduced more topical coverage, but she didn't change the fundamental tone. And when David Remnick became editor in 1998, he deepened the long-form journalism and political reporting. Luna: So the brand evolved, but the DNA stayed the same. What about the digital transition? That's where a lot of brands stumble. Lucas: The New Yorker launched its website in 2001, but for a long time, it was mostly a print-first operation. The real pivot came around 2014 when they introduced a hard paywall. You could read a few articles a month for free, but then you had to subscribe. Luna: And that was a risk. A lot of people thought it would kill their online traffic. Lucas: But it actually reinforced the brand. By charging for content, they signaled that their journalism had value. And they didn't just throw up a paywall — they also invested in digital features like the daily podcast 'The New Yorker Radio Hour' and the cartoon caption contest. Luna: The cartoon caption contest! That's a perfect example. It launched in 2005, and it's become a cultural institution. Every week, they publish a cartoon without a caption, readers submit their ideas, and a winner gets published in the magazine. Lucas: It's brilliant branding because it's interactive without being gimmicky. It invites the audience into the world of The New Yorker without asking them to compromise the magazine's voice. The cartoons are still smart and dry, and the winners tend to match that tone. Luna: And it generates a huge amount of user-generated content and social sharing. It's a low-cost, high-engagement way to keep people connected to the brand. Lucas: Another smart move was how they handled the pandemic. In March 2020, they temporarily removed the paywall on all coronavirus-related coverage. They made a strategic decision to serve the public good while also demonstrating the depth of their reporting. Luna: And I think that built a lot of goodwill. People saw that The New Yorker wasn't just about protecting its revenue — it was committed to its mission. Which, by the way, is something a lot of brands could learn from. Lucas: Absolutely. And that ties into another key element: their commitment to long-form journalism in an era of short attention spans. Their articles are famously long — sometimes 10,000 words or more. And they don't apologize for it. Luna: That's a bold brand stance in a world of tweets and TikToks. It says, 'We respect your intelligence, and we think this story deserves your time.' Lucas: Exactly. And it differentiates them from almost every other publication. You know that if you're reading a New Yorker piece, it's going to be deeply reported and well-written. That's a promise they keep, and it builds trust. Luna: So what's the lesson for other brands? Not that everyone should write 10,000-word articles, but that consistency and quality can be a competitive advantage. Lucas: Right. The New Yorker didn't try to be everything to everyone. They stayed true to their voice, they evolved their distribution, but they never compromised the core product. And they made smart moves like the paywall and the cartoon contest that aligned with that core. Luna: It's a good reminder that brand building isn't about chasing every trend. Sometimes it's about knowing what you are and doubling down on it. Lucas: And if today's episode has been useful in thinking about brand consistency, we want to mention something. This show is ad-free, and the reason it stays that way is because of listener support. Luna: Yeah, if you've gotten value from conversations like this one, a small contribution at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo goes a long way in keeping the podcast independent and free of commercial interruptions. Lucas: It's really appreciated. Now, back to The New Yorker — one more element I think is worth noting is their cover art. The magazine has always commissioned original covers that often make political or cultural statements without being overtly partisan. Luna: Like the famous 2008 cover by Barry Blitt with the fist bump, which was controversial at the time but became iconic. That cover was a brand moment — it got people talking, it defined an era. Lucas: Exactly. And the covers are collected in books, they're shared on social media, they become part of the cultural conversation. They're not just decoration — they're brand assets. Luna: So you have the writing, the cartoons, the covers, the podcast, the paywall strategy — all of these reinforce the same identity. It's a holistic brand. Lucas: And I think the takeaway is that a strong brand can weather a lot of changes in the media landscape. The New Yorker has been around for a hundred years, and it's still thriving. Luna: Because it never forgot what it was. Which is a lesson that applies to any business, not just magazines. Lucas: Absolutely. Well, that's our episode. Thanks for listening.