ALL BUSINESS: To convince someone like Jack Welch to write a column for you, it helps if you have some kind of preexisting relationship — the kind that comes from, for instance, having teamed up on a best-selling autobiography. That’s the not-so-secret story behind “The Welch Way,” a new advice feature that will appear biweekly in BusinessWeek, beginning with the current issue. Executive editor John Byrne, who co-authored the former General Electric chairman’s 2001 autobiography, “Jack: Straight From the Gut,” said the column has been in the works for a long time. “There are very few people who are out there who give very smart pragmatic advice and he is at the top of the list, really,” Byrne said. “You may see an occasional critical story here or there, but I think it’s indisputable that he helped to keep GE at the top of its game.” Although Byrne will edit “The Welch Way,” Welch’s co-writer this time around will be his wife, Suzy, a former editor in chief of the Harvard Business Review. “She knows what the existing literature is, so she knows when Jack is adding value,” said Byrne.
Perhaps only a “Neutron Jack” could fully appreciate the ultra-Darwinian environment the business magazines find themselves in at the moment. Ad pages are down across the category, and the squeeze will intensify when Condé Nast introduces its own business title sometime in 2007.
While BusinessWeek responds to the harsh conditions by freshening up its editorial, Forbes is making a new bid for luxury advertising by consolidating its lifestyle offerings under one brand, ForbesLife. That will be the new name of Forbes FYI, the 15-year-old lifestyle supplement, and it will also be the heading for sections in the flagship magazine and on Forbes.com. “It’s a way to unlock the value of a content area we have tremendous expertise in,” said Forbes Magazine Group president Jim Berrien on Monday. “It’s a market-driven strategy.”
It’s also, apparently, a preemptive strike at Condé Nast’s entry, which, while still at the planning stage, will almost certainly occupy the crossroads of business and lifestyle — as Berrien himself acknowledged in an internal memo to staff last September. But asked whether that was a motive in the rebranding, Berrien said, “It didn’t come into our thinking.”
— Jeff Bercovici
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ALL IN THE FLORIO FAMILY: Kelly Florio is going to work for her uncle Tom at Vogue. The recently married daughter of former Condé Nast chief executive officer and current Advance Magazine Group vice chairman, Steve Florio, just submitted her resignation from her post as a promotion assistant at Vanity Fair. She’s taken a job as special events coordinator at Vogue, where she will report to special events director Anne Vincent, and ultimately be working for her uncle, vice president and publisher Tom Florio. Kelly starts on Feb. 6. Meanwhile, Steve Florio’s son, Steven J. Florio, was just promoted at Cargo, from assistant editor to associate editor. Like WWD, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Cargo are part of Condé Nast Publications Inc.
— Sara James
NEW BUNCH: Banana Republic has appointed New York-based AR as its advertising agency to formulate a fall 2006 campaign. AR represents Brioni, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Jones NY, House of Deréon, The Related Companies, Sanyo-Shokai and Valentino. “Our heritage is based on fashion,” said Raul Martinez, chief executive officer and executive creative director of AR, who will head up the account and work with Banana’s Jack Calhoun, executive vice president of marketing. While too soon to disclose any details of the fall strategy, Martinez did say the effort will be based on portraying Banana’s “accessible luxury.” In a statement, Martinez added, “I’ve always felt that Banana Republic was one of the first to define what style means in popular culture. They made style accessible, and they made fashion accessible and working together we will identify what that means today.” Previously, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners was the retailer’s ad agency.
— David Moin