Wieden+Kennedy presents Motherland, a magazine on contemporary Indian subculture

The magazine targets individuals who are progressive in their various fields, key influencers and constantly seeking new products and stimulating experiences

Making its foray in print, Wieden+Kennedy has launched a new magazine, titled Motherland. The main objective behind launching the magazine is to move beyond addressing stereotypical general interest issues and provide an in-depth perspective on trends, issues and ideas - all emanating from contemporary Indian subculture.

Priced at Rs 100, the agency will bring out one issue in every two months. Soon, this will give way to a monthly issue. The magazine targets readers in the age group of 20-50 years, individuals from different walks of life who are progressive, key influencers and constantly seeking new products and stimulating experiences.

Speaking about the magazine, V Sunil, executive creative director, Wieden+Kennedy, says, "India does not have a single magazine that combines meaningful content, great design values and strong local relevance. Motherland is our attempt to meet that consumer need and break through the mediocre content that seems to be the norm across all media."

"The Indian subculture is an intriguing, massive yet largely neglected category that includes everything, from unknown rural communities to offbeat urban tribes," he adds.

Designed to be a collectors' magazine, each issue will follow a unique theme around which the editorial and visual content will be organised. With an initial print run of 50,000 copies, the August-September issue of the magazine focused on the idea of 'Freedom'. The first issue has about 76 pages but this may increase - based on the response of the readers.

Mohit Jayal, managing director, Wieden+Kennedy explains how, being a part of the creative business, it is constantly studying society and popular culture for fresh insights. "This magazine is a natural by-product of that research. We discovered so much fascinating information out there that we just had to share it with the general public, which is usually subjected to brain-numbing and syndicated content," he says.

The agency has handpicked an editorial team under the creative direction of Sunil and editorship of Annette Ekin. Motherland will be made available to readers through a distribution network at select newsstands, bookstores, boutiques, art galleries and airports. The agency has not zeroed on the advertisers' profiles yet and is open to accept brands from across categories.

The online version of the magazine is available on www.motherlandmagazine.com, featuring both the current and archival issues, besides additional updates that are relevant to the theme of the month.