Bill exudes confidence over Wired

Like the magazine's cover star David Beckham, GQ publisher Conde Nast is sending out a precision strike with its advertising-crammed publication designed to rubbish suggestions that men's monthly titles are on the wane.

In celebration of its 20-year landmark, the issue features a retrospective of previous front covers: Tony Blair has never made the cover, but David Cameron, Michael Heseltine and John Major, who graced the launch cover, all have.

The issue is prefaced by a leader from the magazine's editor of 10 years Dylan Jones, who writes about why he believes GQ "set the pace for the modern male".

Bill believes Jones has become synonymous with the magazine and that his longevity in the role - in a sector that has a high turnover of editors - has proved crucial in holding sales steady.

Consistent circulation
GQ has achieved a consistent circulation of about 130,000 over a 10-year period in which competing titles' circulations have tailed off dramatically. For instance, the headline circulation of GQ's rival Esquire, published by NatMags, has almost halved from 108,284 in 1998 to 58,136 in 2008.

Bill says: "Jones is one of the most brilliant editors I have worked with and I hope he is here for another 10 years. However, the magazine has changed in the past five years. Previously, there was a notion that GQ was all about women and fearlessly masculine. Today, it is a lifestyle magazine with a healthy heterosexual libido."

A browse through the latest issue indicates that while GQ has not abandoned tastefully showcasing alluring female celebrities completely, there is a marked absence of gratuitous female flesh.

This editorial policy has been mimicked by lads' titles such as Dennis Publishing's Maxim, which is striving to become a more upmarket product.

Bill, who joined Conde Nast in 2000 as publisher of Conde Nast Traveller before taking over at GQ in 2003, says: "Some of the monthly titles followed the weeklies downmarket and they lost any clear identities of themselves.

"This created an environment that was opposite to brand enhancing, so the titles lost identity, circulations and advertisers. It was the perfect storm."

Bill, 51, is an ex-army man who was commissioned in 1977. Prior to joining Conde Nast he worked at NatMags, where he was publisher of House Beautiful, Country Living and Esquire.

He is not shy about hitting out against his former stomping ground, saying of his time at NatMags that "there was some ambiguity as to which was more important, editorial product or bottom line". Bill says editorial rules at Conde Nast.

He is equally candid regarding the fortunes of paid-for magazines, claiming that it is "inevitable" that more magazines will fold, following the axing of women's publications such as Bauer Media's First and New Woman this year. However, he will not be drawn on naming specific titles.

He says: "A lot of the magazines that have been propped up by discounted subscriptions are vulnerable, and they will suffer. Media planners and buyers are not foolish and the ABC certificate is transparent."

While some have predicted that a number of men's monthlies with shrinking paginations will soon face the chop, a ray of light across the sector has been the arrival of free men's titles Sport and ShortList, which have a combined circulation of almost 800,000 in London. Bill is a fan of the free men's titles, but denies they have stolen readers from GQ.

He says: "If anything, the freesheets encourage reading habits. They are designed to be assimilated in a short period of time, mostly on public transport. They whet people's appetites."

Getting Wired
While GQ continues to set the bar for the men's quality sector, Bill's more pressing imminent concern will be overseeing the launch of technology magazine Wired.

The title, acquired by Conde Nast in 1998, will launch in the UK next April with a target circulation of 60,000 - a brave endeavour given the tough economic climate that has prevented rival publishers from launching major new titles.

However, Bill defends the title's suitability to today's market. He says: "Wired is particularly relevant at the moment. It filters everything though technology, which is more cutting edge and mainstream than before, and less frightening.

"Our target circulation is 60,000, and it is better to manage expectations of the market than exceed them. My personal expectation is that the magazine will do better. Wired is the right magazine at the right time."

The new title has the backing of the majority of media buyers, who believe Conde Nast rarely gets magazine launches wrong.

Paul Thomas, press director at Mindshare, claims technology is "more mainstream than before" and points to the high number of UK users accessing Wired's US site.

However, the title has failed to launch successfully in the UK once before and it remains to be seen whether Conde Nast can come out on top this time around.

Bill has a wealth of experience publishing titles across varied sectors, and questions will be asked about what his next step will be. However, he is not eyeing up the top role at Conde Nast in the UK, currently held by Nicholas Coleridge. "I have no aspirations for the job," he says. "This may sound disingenuous, but I have never considered that position."

CV
2008: Publishing director, Wired
2003: Publishing director, GQ
2000: Publisher, Conde Nast Traveller, Conde Nast
1981: Sales director, Harper's and Queen, NatMags. Subsequently became publisher of Country Living, Harper's and Queen and House Beautiful

Family: Married with two children, Phoebe and Ben
Hobbies: Sailing and cycling
Car: Mercedes M series
Desert island media: New Yorker, Outside Magazine, The Drudge Report.