A review of branded entertainment options that Cosmopolitan Magazine could pursue to provide cutting-edge digital content to its users.

1. COSMO’S
CATWALK
FOR A CAUSE
WHAT DOES
“WORK IT”
MEAN?
JUNE 2013
“I STOP
ATNOTHING
TO BE...”
BE
FEARLESS
FABULOUS
With Miss J!
&
WORK IT
GIRL TALK
THWART
TAXI CAB
TEDIUM
4NEW WAYS TO
LIKE A
COSMO GIRL!
You are invited
THE EASIEST
ANSWER TO
“WHAT AM I
GONNA WEAR
TODAY?”

3. Table
“Girl Talk”
Video Program
Communication
to Advertisers
“Work it Like a
Cosmo Girl!”
Campaign
of
Contents
3
11
15
“Girl Talk”
Video Program
3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4 EMPOWERMENT
I stop at nothing to be...
5 BEAUTY
Be fearless and fabulous at...
6 THE STEPPS
9 ADVERTISING OFFERINGS
10 RATIONALE
15 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
15 SWOT
16 THE COSMO WOMAN
17 PERSONAS
19 COMPETITION
20 INSIGHT
20 BRAND POSITION
20 CREATIVE BRIEF
21 CREATIVE EXECUTIONS
21 Cosmo’s Catwalk for a Cause
22 Cosmopolitan.com/WorkIt
23 Taxi Makeup Mirror
24 Cosmos App
25 Ad for the app
26 RESEARCH
28 APPENDICES
11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
11 SWOT
12 POTENTIAL ADVERTISERS
13 BRAND POSITION
13 CREATIVE BRIEF
14 EVALUATION
“Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign
Communication
to Advertisers

4. Dear Overwhelmed Reader,
Allow us to engage you conversationally for the
moment and send you all of the positive energy we
can.You’re staring down a pile of reading when this
document lands on your desk. It’s not fair to ask
you to dive in without telling you what to expect and
conveying some of our expectations for what you’ll
gain from this report.
You live and breathe the Cosmopolitan brand.
Our team lives and breathes advertising, particularly
on the Web.
This report attempts to combine the timely with
the timeless. In addition to actionable solutions you
can implement to make Cosmopolitan a leading
video content provider for women, we also share
timeless strategies for increasing engagement
Why
and virality. We analyze what it will require for
Cosmopolitan to strongly enter the branded
entertainment space, and we detail a framework
for thinking about branded entertainment that will
remain true so long as the Internet as we know it
remains relevant.
In the advertising world, everyone has an
opinion, but the eventual advantage goes to the
brand that knows something that other brands
don’t. We know what drives content to go viral,
and we know the following recommendations
will provide Cosmopolitan with a proprietary,
defensible advantage over other publications.
That’s why this is required reading for
Cosmopolitan’s Web content team.
Sincerely,
Candy Lee, Research & Data Organization
Derrell Smith, Strategy & Production
Samuel Smith, Team Lead & Writing
Shruti Sundararaman, Research & Strategy
Li Tang, Graphic Design & Publishing
Nancy Weickhardt, Art Direction
THIS IS REQUIRED READING
FOR COSMO’S WEB CONTENT TEAM

5. 3
Executive
Summary
For clarity, throughout this report we’ll sometimes
make reference to “Girl Talk” as the “hub,” each
vertical as a “module,” and each video series inside
a module as a “playlist.”The hub is made up of a
half-dozen or so modules, each module contains
a number of playlists, and each playlist contains a
series of related videos.
Our agency was assigned the task of
brainstorming Web content for the beauty and
empowerment modules, but we see these two
categories as part of the whole: two slices of
a pie or two spokes on a wheel.With Girl Talk,
Cosmopolitan can find a home for content in
multiple verticals. Existing editorial content from
Cosmopolitan.com could easily be repurposed as
additional videos within Girl Talk once the viewer
exhausts all sponsored content.
Our secondary goal is to convey what we’ve
learned about successfully publishing content on
the Web, including the latest research into what
makes content viral and how you can apply this
to videos posted on Cosmopolitan.com.These
timeless solutions are organized into a framework
for ideation that you can use to make good
decisions going forward.
My mother was a Cosmo Girl when the conversation
was “how to please a man,” rather than the more
modern, “how to teach your man to please you.”
Then, the simple fact that sexual exploits were
discussed in public was taboo in a world where
traditional morals were used to shame, judge, and
repress.As a result, any conversation about sex had
to be framed palatably to men, the gatekeepers
to media and advertising revenue. But, as the
conversation changes, so must Cosmopolitan.
Today’s Cosmo Girl craves content (Barkley,
2011). She’s more plugged-in than her peers and
cohorts or any generation before her (Stoddard,
2012). For Cosmopolitan to stay relevant in today’s
world, it must be the go-to resource for both the
common questions, like “how do I do a smokey
eye?” and the one-offs, like “what choices did my
female role models make when facing a similar
situation?” In other words, this is not my mother’s
Cosmopolitan, nor should it be.
“Girl Talk”
Video Program
To continue Cosmopolitan’s transformation, The A-Team
proposes “Girl Talk,” an online hub of sponsored video
content that is modular and extensible, plays well with
advertisers, and seamlessly delivers content in all of
Cosmopolitan’s verticals: from beauty and fashion to
careers and empowerment. Girl Talk serves as a hub for
all of Cosmopolitan’s non-editorial branded content.

6. 4
“Girl Talk”
Video Program
THE HEALTHIEST
PERSON I KNOW
Sponsored by Luna, Curves, or
Weight Watchers
Featuring women like Jennifer
Hudson, Kim Lyons and Jillian
Michaels
A WORLD
CHANGING
WOMAN
Sponsored by Burt’s Bees or PETA
Featuring women like Jillian
Mourning, a model/human
trafficking activist
THE WOMAN
OF THE HOUSE
Sponsored by Target, or
Bed Bath & Beyond
Featuring women like Jenny
McCarthy, actress and
former Playboy model who
has an autistic son
I stop at nothing
to be...
EMPOWERMENT
Our Web content series focused on empowering
women is entitled “I Stop At Nothing To Be...”
(Hereafter, ISNB).This series features stories from
women who have stopped at nothing to get the
man, the manicure, or the MBA.
We’ll feature women who have stopped at
nothing to be a great Mom, have a career, be
a trendsetter, be socially responsible and
environmentally friendly, be healthy,
and/or be adventurous.
We’ve identified a number of content sponsors
as well as ideas for the sorts of women who the
magazine should feature in the videos.
Unlike the videos in the beauty section, the
empowerment videos will have a serious tone and
inspirational message. ISNB allows viewers
to see their role models humanized and
relatable. When viewers and interviewees
share a similar obstacle, the visitor
can look to our videos for advice.
A STANDOUT
IN A CROWD
Sponsored by Maybelline, Gap, or
JC Penney
Featuring women like Tory Burch,
fashion designer, socialite, and
philanthropist
AN EXPLORER
OF THE UNEXPLORED
Sponsored by Red Bull, Columbia,
or North Face
Featuring women who stare danger
in the face and refuse to back
down, like Gretchen Bleiler, a
professional snowboarder
ONE STEP AHEAD
IN MY CAREER
Sponsored by Ann Taylor,
L’Oreal, or Gilette Venus
Featuring women who have
been successful at their
careers, like Sheryl Sandberg,
COO Facebook

7. 5
Our Web content idea for the Beauty
category features J.Alexander (“Miss Jay”),
a modeling coach, stylist, and former
judge on America’s Next Top Model.
“Miss Jay” earned his nickname from
his choice of clothing styles, often
dressing in drag and wearing high heels.
His sardonic wit and ability to play the
“girl’s best friend” role makes him an
ideal host for our first beauty series,
entitled “Be Fearless and Fabulous At...”
(Hereafter, BFFA)
BFFA is a joint venture video series
and content partnership with a makeup
manufacturer, such as M.A.C., that
teaches women different makeup styles,
using the brand’s cosmetics, that they
can wear at different times and places.
For example, BFFA “My Workstation”
shows makeup styles suitable for a
professional environment, and BFFA
“Beach” helps bikini-clad and beach-
bound babes to be beautiful while still
looking natural. Our team identified five
episodes to launch the BFFA series:
Work, Beach, Mall, Bar, and Weddings.
Be
Fearless
Fabulous
BEAUTY
&
MY
WORKSTATION
MY BEST
FRIEND’S
WEDDING
GIRLS’
NIGHT
OUT
Be Fearless
& Fabulous
at... THE BEACH

8. 6
“Girl Talk”
Video Program
69% of brands have
confirmed they will increase
spending for branded
content next year.
83% of brands are using branded
content on their websites or via email.
77% of agencies had used branded
content in at least one medium.
70% of brands had used branded
content in at least one medium.
57% of brands plan to test branded
content marketing in the next year.
According to Jonah Berger, a Wharton marketing
professor, there are six characteristics that viral
content shares: these are the STEPPS.
Note going forward that a piece of content doesn’t
need all six of these tactics in order to become viral.
Some viral hits only have one of these charactistics,
but combining two or three is even more powerful.
The STEPPS
What Makes Content Viral?
Video will account for 90%
of web traffic by 2017.
BRANDED
CONTENT?
WHY
70% of brands said they
increased their spending
on branded content in the
past year.
84% of agencies plan to test branded
content marketing in the next year.
Source: MailOnline, 2012; Cisco, 2013

9. 7
S ocial Currency
T riggers
E motion
P ublic
P ractical Value
S tories
An individual’s social status is tied to the information he or she controls.
Information that increases a person’s uniqueness in conversation is highly sought after and readily transmitted.
Cosmopolitan already has a natural place as a social currency provider.
Triggers are words, phrases, or images that are connected with a message.
We can manufacture triggers by keeping our message and trigger on top of mind and tip of tongue for an
extended period of time.
Cosmopolitan can create triggers with effective selection of playlist titles.The name “Girl Talk” was selected
specifically as a trigger. It’s a phrase used in everyday life that Cosmopolitan can own with this new hub of
branded content, increasing recall of the Cosmopolitan brand.
•
•
•
•
•
•
People share things they care about.
Awe is the most shared emotion. Our content should make viewers say,“That is awesome!”
High arousal emotions encourage sharing and include awe, alert, excitement, and elatedness.
Low arousal emotions discourage sharing and include sadness, calmness, and relaxation.
Cosmopolitan should err on the side of high-arousal video content.
•
•
•
•
•
Content that’s “built to show” is “built to grow.”
Movements that are naturally public, like Movember and the yellow Livestrong bracelet, tend to spread faster.
Online, the discipline known as “growth hacking” is a marketing strategy that aims to make as many parts of the
platform as public as possible.
•
•
•
People share “news you can use,” like useful, practical advice.
People enjoy helping others; letting someone know that we care creates a stronger social bond between us
Packaging is important: Content should be tidbits, two minutes at most.
•
•
•
Information travels under the guise of idle chatter.
Create stories in which the brand lives; stories that can’t be told without mentioning the brand.
Without proper integration of the brand, Cosmopolitan readers will share all of the information presented and
leave out the brand (Berger, 2013).
•
•
•

10. 8
“Girl Talk”
Video Program
This content implements three of
the six STEPPS: stories, practical
value, and social currency.
We propose the following
implementation guidelines.
EMPOWERMENT
The ISNB Web content utilizes
two of the six STEPPS: stories
and emotion.We recommend
the following implementation
guidelines for the content.
BEAUTY
Tell compelling stories that can be retold.
Short videos with a clear message are best in
this format.A good way to communicate our
vision for the ISBN series is “Aesop’s Fables
for women,” a simple story with a compelling
moral and no fluff.
1
Emotion plays an important role in this
content series. It’s important to remember
the time-tested techniques advertisers use
to tug on the viewer’s emotional heartstrings,
producing videos that a woman can’t help but
share with her friends, videos that resonate
strongly with high-arousal emotions. Sharing
the video should help the viewer share a bit
of herself.
2
1
2
Ensure that the videos leverage the
brand’s unique selling proposition, so
that the story cannot be told without the
brand. For example, M.A.C. is known for
bold, rockstar colors. It must be clear in
the content that the viewer can’t get the
colors of makeup needed to do the styles
recommended unless they shop M.A.C.
Practical value and social currency
are sometimes on opposing ends of
the spectrum. Content which is highly
practical has been published before and
brings no unique message to the viewer.
On the other hand, content that is highly
specialized is too niche for daily, or even
weekly, use.When content is too unique
to come up in conversation, it’s easily
forgotten.The advertising team needs
to walk the fine line between practical
advice and social currency to make
content that is shared via word of mouth.
IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE STEPPS

11. 9
In the print world, research shows
that ads adjacent to editorial get
an 11% lift in readership compared
to ads adjacent to other ads.The
Table of Contents page also has a
strong impact on readership.Ads
placed next to a TOC had increased
readership of 28%. Surprisingly, the
research suggests that the relevance
of the article and the advertisement
does not significantly impact
readership, even though media
planners often pay a premium to be
placed next to relevant articles (Gfk
MRI, 2010).
Our proposed hub was engineered
to offer similar benefits to advertisers
so that Cosmopolitan can communicate
the value of this new offering in
language that media planners
understand. Purchasing a wrap is
similar to buying an advertisement
adjacent to editorial. Integrations are
most similar to advertorials. A partial
takeover, where the brand’s message
is displayed alongside the video
index, is much like an advertisement
next to the Table of Contents. Finally,
a full takeover of a module is similar
to a homepage takeover.
WRAPPED
Cosmopolitan takes existing editorial
content, either created solely by the
editorial department, in conjunction
with the advertising department,
or commissioned from third-party
sources, and wraps the brand’s
advertising message around the video
content with a ten-second pre-roll
advertising message and a fifteen-
second post-roll message.This is the
weakest advertising tactic and should
be used to meet a media planner’s
frequency objectives. Pricing
somewhere around $30-$45 CPM
seems reasonable.
Cosmopolitan becomes the
advertiser’s production house. The
Cosmopolitan advertising team will
produce videos for the brand that
integrates the brand’s message with
creative insights. Branded content
works best when the viewer is more
focused on the entertainment than
on the promotional message, and
it’s imperative that the brand lives
within the story such that the story
can’t exist without the brand. This
is a great strategy for maximizing a
reach objective. Pricing is difficult,
as there are non-negligible costs
that are associated with producing
a video. Should Cosmopolitan’s
content be consistently driving
INTEGRATED
The brand integrates with an existing
video playlist, like the beauty
category, with several promoted
videos being featured in the section
and skins surrounding the video
player.This allows the advertiser to
command the category and achieve
both reach and frequency objectives
since we’re pairing integration
(reach) with video player skins for the
entire category (frequency).Typical
industry benchmarks for this type of
integration is about $35 CPM for skin
views and an additional $35 CPM for
video views.
100,000 views, pricing at $60-$80
CPM would gross Cosmopolitan
$7,000 per video, or $50,000-
$80,000 per video series, which
more than covers production costs.
Simply benchmarking against video
content on competitor’s websites
and compensating for the increased
traffic Cosmopolitan has would be
closer to $700 per video, which is
why increasing the viral nature of the
content is a strong recommendation
throughout this report.
PARTIAL
TAKEOVER
FULL TAKEOVER
Cosmopolitan’s Girl Talk section will
offer four main ways to integrate a
brand’s message with content.
Your brand controls a complete
video module within Girl Talk
alongside the beauty, empowerment,
and fashion modules. Like a
homepage takeover, price should be
billed per week at a minimum rate
of $10,000.

12. 10
“Girl Talk”
Video Program
Rationale
Because Cosmopolitan is providing a hub
of content in a number of verticals, women
who land on the Girl Talk page will organically
filter themselves into the videos that are most
relevant and interesting to them. This provides
organic targeting of eyeballs and better
efficiency for the advertiser.
GIRL TALK IS APPEALING TO ADVERTISERS
GIRL TALK IS APPEALING TO READERS
Readers get access to never-before-seen content
specifically designed with the Cosmo Woman in
mind. Since the content closely mirrors the editorial
found in the magazine and on Cosmopolitan.com,
readers get video content that resonates with them.
EDITORS WILL LOVE YOU FOR THIS
Editorial’s goal is to make Cosmopolitan a slightly
more sophisticated magazine, and Girl Talk
empowers women by introducing them to women
who make a difference in the world.The hub
also provides a unique place on the Web where
sponsored content and editorial can coexist;
after the viewer reaches the end of the sponsored
content in a particular playlist, similar editorial
videos or recommended articles can be suggested
to the user.
The current problem with sponsored video
content is that people seeking videos seek
them on YouTube, not on Cosmopolitan-owned
media.This significantly impacts the direction of
editorial, who have little motivation to produce
video content that isn’t watched. Girl Talk can be
easily featured in blurbs in both the print edition
or in its long-form as video in the digital edition of
Cosmopolitan.This integration will drive viewers to
think of Cosmopolitan first when seeking answers
to questions women have about beauty, fashion,
empowerment, and weight loss. Since advertisers
are paying for the production of the videos, it takes
a strain off editorial’s production budget while
providing valuable content to readers.
Production costs of one-on-one interviews are very
low. Talent costs may be high for some individuals,
but since we’re targeting people who are public
figures but not well-known talent, it’s possible that
talent would be inexpensive or, in some cases, free.
COST-EFFECTIVE PRODUCTION

13. 11
This section of the report answers
the question of how we can reach
out to advertisers to encourage their
purchase of branded content on
Cosmopolitan.com.
We conducted primary qualitative
research among media planners
and other advertising professionals
and secondary research via sources
like Mintel, Simmons, MRI+, IBIS,
WARC, Alexa, Nielsen, ComScore,
newspaper articles, blogs and blog
comments, and research papers.
Our results included a clear brand
position for Cosmopolitan.com
that incorporates the new editorial
direction of the magazine and clearly
defines the advertisers that we feel
would be interested in branded
content in the Girl Talk section of
the site, which is a more niche
advertising buy than Cosmopolitan.
com display advertisements.
Executive
Summary
Communication
to Advertisers
S
W
O
T
Strong ability to drive word of mouth
High traffic
Ability to reach target on multiple platforms
Strategies to drive both reach and frequency objectives
Captive, loyal audience
High ROI compared to competitors
Ability to reach trendsetters
Cost-effective CPMs
Potential to expand into mobile space
Buzzfeed/Mashable-worthy content potential
Increased content consumption
YouTube owns video searches
Women's content is a very competitive niche
Media use fragmentation
Laggers in branded content
Expensive compared to other media
Expensive in terms of total dollar outlay

14. Communication
to Advertisers
12
MAGAZINE
ADVERTISING
SPENDING
INDEX
L’Oreal
$89M
191
Crest
Burt’s Bees
Oral-B
M.A.C
Ann Taylor
Dove
Olay
P&G Secret
TargetJC Penney
Neutrogena
$3.8M
203
Gillette
Listerine
Venus
$7.5M
INDEX 115
Primary Target Advertisers
Brands with a Simmons index above 115 and
magazine spends above $7.5 million are not so big
that niche content partnerships won’t add value,
but they are large enough spenders to have room in
their budget for great, inexpensive ideas.
Secondary Target Advertisers
Brands with a Simmons index above 115
and magazine spends above $1.5 million are
valuable because niche content partnerships with
Cosmopolitan might be their first opportunity to
advertise with Cosmo, given that the price of a single
print advertisement is up to 15% of their budget.
POTENTIAL
ADVERTISERSWe chose potential advertisers for their appeal to
Cosmopolitan’s target audience. Of these potential
advertisers, we segmented the list into two groups
with different advertising needs.
Source: Experian Simmons, Fall 2010 NHCS Adult 12 Month; Kantar AdSpender

15. 13
COSMOPOLITAN
index/%Cosmo readers
Potential Advertisers
index/%advertiser’s target audience
18-34 years old 208/57% 150+/50–60%
Attended college 128/39% 120-170/15–30%
Current full time college student 251/15% 200+/10–30%
Not married 127/61% 115-140/40–70%
No kids 122/50% 115+/35–45%
Employed full time 114/47% 115+/40–50%
Individual income $25,000+ 113/38% 115+/30–40%
TGI Socio Economic Level 3 133/44% 120+/35–45%
Source: Experian Simmons, Fall 2010 NHCS Adult 12 Month
QWhat’s the single minded proposition?
A Cosmopolitan’s Girl Talk strategies are more
effective than our competitors’ strategies.
QWhat do they currently believe?
A Cosmopolitan reaches an important subset of
females and is a cost-effective advertising platform,
but it’s branded entertainment offerings are no
better than its competitors.
BRANDposition
To advertisers spending at least $1.5 million on
magazine advertisements annually, with a target
audience including 18-34 year old women and
an index of 115 or higher cross-tabulated with
Cosmopolitan readers on Simmons,
the value of reaching a Cosmo Girl is higher than
the value of reaching the average girl, because
Cosmopolitan drives strong word-of-mouth among
young, empowered trendsetters.
QWhat do we want them to believe?
A Cosmopolitan’s new branded entertainment
strategy fits well with a brand’s strategic goals and
is more effective than the competition’s.
QWhy should they believe this?
A Cosmopolitan’s advertising team knows things
that other publishers don’t, including how to
effectively drive word-of-mouth traffic, and the size
of the publication and it’s competitive advantage
in traffic means that developing a hit viral video is
more likely than other publications.
CREATIVEbrief

16. Communication
to Advertisers
14
There’s a clear discrepancy between
the number of views for content
hosted on YouTube and content
hosted on a publisher’s website.
While videos by Glamour and Vogue
have hundreds of thousands of views
for their YouTube hosted content,
interestingly, the content hosted on
their own site has fewer than a few
thousand views. While they don’t
show the view counts explicitly on
the videos, a number of their videos
have under 100 likes on Facebook
and few, if any, shares on Twitter.
If we expect a ~1% conversion
rate for social sharing, this would
Evaluation
The Time Spent Watching metric,
hereafter TSW, can help Cosmopolitan
analyze the factors in videos that
drive user interest.TSW will be an
important factor in the decision to
determine which videos are worth
continuing in a series and which
should be ended. Paired with a
“percentage watched to the end”
metric, TSW can tell advertisers who
purchase wraps what percentage of
viewers see the advertising message
on both sides of the video and which
only see the advertising message on
the front-end.
TIME SPENT WATCHING
indicate that the videos hosted on a
publisher’s site has between 3,500
and 10,000 views. If monetized with
advertising sponsorship, this might
earn a publisher $500 over the
lifetime of a video—a pittance.
Since Cosmopolitan is a larger
magazine than its competitors, we
can expect Girl Talk to reach a larger
audience: we’d expect individual
videos to benchmark around
30,000 views on average. It’s not
ideal, but it’s realistic: there’s no
shortage of content on the Internet,
and Cosmopolitan has a lot of
competition for viewers’ eyeballs.
VIEWS
CLICK THROUGHS
It’s worth tracking click-throughs on
advertiser-sponsored messages to
determine the drive-to-site value of
various categories and integration
types.This will help Cosmopolitan
price advertising fairly while upselling
advertisers to more integrated
(and more expensive) advertising
placements, which will drive a higher
percent of click-throughs.
SOURCE OF VISIT
We think it’s important to
benchmark the percentage of
traffic that is sourced internally,
either via browsing to the hub from
Cosmopolitan.com, as a referral
from an internal article, or via
an internal search engine. Since
Girl Talk will be a new section,
adoption will be low, but we expect a
successful implementation, including
powerful content, to see double
digit compounded annual growth in
internal traffic.
Normally, source of visit is used
as a descriptive metric, but since
Cosmopolitan is such a powerhouse
brand, we believe the metric can be
used to show an adoption of the Girl
Talk video content by avid readers.
Since a majority of Cosmopolitan.
com’s Web traffic comes from organic
search engine queries, many of
which will trigger hits to the video
section, it’s worth understanding the
relationship that one-off hits have
with advertisers: typically, they’re
valued less online (Google AdWords
CPMs vs. CPMs for direct sales ads)
(Google AdWords, 2013), likely
due to the fact that the user’s level
of engagement with these one-off
advertisements is fleeting. It’s likely the
effect of this advertising is limited by
user interest and attention as well as
a low frequency of views. On the other
hand, internal traffic shows engaged
users who are likely to see more than
one message from an advertiser,
indicating a higher frequency of view
and thereby higher recall.
Strength
Accessible to all
360 degree at modern women
Multi-platforms
Strong brand recognition
easy read
attractive cover girls
brand & content integration
Weakness
Low culture
Low web presence
Opportunity
Digitalization
Post feminist
Rise of branded contents
Threat
Dying industry
Media use fragmentation
Info-splosion

17. 15
This section answers the question of how we can
let Cosmopolitan readers know about new branded
content on Cosmopolitan.com as it is produced
and released. We will detail the findings of our
primary qualitative research with Cosmopolitan
readers and the findings from our secondary
research using databases and online articles.
Executive
Summary
S
W
O
T
A 360 degree view of a modern women's life
Accessible content, easy to read
Strong brand recognition
Attractive, inspirational covers
Highly mobile consumers seeking mobile content
Post-feminist movement makes Cosmopolitan relevant
Readers don't "need" a new content provider
New editorial direction could alienate readers
Low culture
Content seen as repetitive
Very few Cosmo readers consume its web content
Finally, we look deeply into how a Cosmopolitan
reader consumes content and interacts with others
on social media to create virality. Our research
led us to an insight, brand positioning, creative
executions, and a mobile app, all engineered to
make Cosmopolitan the top-of-mind resource for
questions women ask.
“Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign

18. “Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign
16
In addition to reaching the fun, fearless, female, we are
specifically speaking to the young, ambitious, sophisticated
woman who is mature enough to wake up early and
responsible enough to stay up late.The Cosmo Woman is
curious, confident and adventurous, always seeking fun
new things to do, while managing her work and social
life.This open-minded woman is willing to try new things
and take risks, but she never puts herself in a situation
that would be detrimental to her reputation. Furthermore,
the Cosmo Woman is ever aware of new trends and
always stands out in a crowd, while staying within her
financial means.To the Cosmo Woman, Cosmopolitan is
the magazine that helps transform all of the drama that
consumes a modern woman's life into entertainment.
COSMOwoman
The
I like to have control over people and resources. 171
I love the idea of traveling abroad. 164
WORK Play
In this day and age it is important to juggle various tasks at the same time. 108
I prefer to work as part of a team than work alone. 126
It is important to keep learning new things in life. 111
I would like to get to the very top in my career. 161
I would like to setup my own business one day. 138
I am interested in other cultures. 141
I am regular movie theater goer. 139
I enjoy eating foreign foods. 126
I like to do things that are unconventional. 141
The internet has become a new way for me to socialize or meet people. 222
Magazines are my main source of entertainment. 221
I cannot resist buying magazines. 288
I like to try out new things no one else has. 173
I am adventurous. 151
I love scrapbooking. 278

19. 17
As a working woman, I find it
important to balance my work life
and personal life. I am ambitious
in nature and sometimes I find it
difficult to get away from certain
work situations.At the same
time I am aware that if I don’t
balance my work life with some
fun, my work will consume me
and I don’t want that to happen.
Cosmopolitan helps me get out of
“work mode” and into “fun mode.”
Alexis
GOALS
Getting a break from the monotony of
working long hours.
Picking up pop culture tidbits to use
as conversation starters with clients.
ATTITUDES
& PERCEPTIONS
I never hesitate to express my thoughts.
I am very willing to try new things,
especially things that make me
different from my colleagues.
I have strong opinions about things I
care about, and that’s okay.
Reading Cosmopolitan helps me be a
more interesting person, an important
quality that is often overlooked.
MOTIVATIONS
& BARRIERS
I will never stop growing as a person or as
a career-woman.
Sometimes work can be redundant.
NEEDS & WANTS
I need to stay relevant and constantly
in touch with current trends.
I want to stand out in a crowd.
33, Regional Sales Director
San Francisco, California
Engaged
PERSONA #1

20. “Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign
18
I’m outgoing. I’m open-minded. I’m
determined. I’m driven. I love to have
a good time. I love trying new things:
whether it’s a new class at the gym or
a new food I can’t pronounce.
I’m pretty simple. Give me a good
book and a good glass of wine and
I’m satisfied.
Angela
GOALS
Finding a place she and her
girlfriends can unwind after work with
good eye-candy and drink specials.
Finding a guy who lives up to her
expectations: she’s picky and her
hometown is small.
ATTITUDES
& PERCEPTIONS
Balance is crucial in my life. I’m big
on me-time.
I need to be with my girlfriends every
so often.
I like to eat healthy, work out and take
care of my body.
I refuse to let drama interfere with
my happiness.
I love to shop around before buying
something to find discounts.
MOTIVATIONS
& BARRIERS
I will explore the world and
experience new things.
Finding a job in this economy is hard.
NEEDS & WANTS
I want role models that ignite something
inside of me that make me radiate
confidence,strength,and beauty.
23, Nanny
Rome, NY
Single
PERSONA #2

21. 19
In the women’s magazine category,
Cosmopolitan dominates the
competition in terms of minutes spent
reading amd total paid circulation.
COMPETITION
In our primary research, we
found that many of the women who
regularly read Cosmopolitan sit
down with the magazine for as long
as 90 minutes. Many interviewees
brag about painting their nails
while indulging in the experience
of reading Cosmopolitan. From
this data, we have concluded that
Cosmopolitan readers are the most
loyal and involved readers of any
women’s publication.
Competition for the target audience’s eyeballs
Glamour.com
ELLE.com
InStyle.com
GoodHouseKeeping.com
Seventeen.com
BAZAAR.com
MarieClaire.com
Vogue.com
Nylonmag.com
Self.com
Even though none of
the brands have the
circulation numbers of
Cosmopolitan, the fact that
there are so many of them,
not to mention smaller,
independent publishers
and bloggers, means the
competition for the kind of
content that Cosmopolitan
promotes is among the
most competitive content
anywhere on the Internet.
Online, the lay of the land is different. Because the
medium is different, online content is consumed
in brief chunks.This type of readership hurts
Cosmopolitan loyalists but can be leveraged in
a different way: by offering content that can be
consumed piecemeal.
Other brands have made the transition into
video content and branded entertainment ahead
of Cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan’s competitors have
successfully made the jump into branded online
entertainment with video series like Vogue’s behind-
the-scenes videos and photo shoots, Glamour’s
“Gift of the Week” series, Glamour’s “Elevator
Makeover” series.

22. “Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign
20
CREATIVE
BRIEF
QWhat’s the single minded proposition?
A“Work it like a Cosmo girl!”
QWhat’s the target audience?
A 18-34 year-old fun and fearless females who
believe they can aspire to have it all.
QWhat do they currently believe?
A Cosmopolitan’s content is the lowest-common-
denominator in women’s magazines and it can’t
be taken seriously. Cosmopolitan has stretched its
content (especially the sex tips and relationship
advice) to such an extreme that it has gone from
being relevant to being just another trivial magazine
that is lost in the pile of other magazines that do
not make any real difference.The content can be
repetitive and trivial to readers, particularly older
readers who are more experienced.
QWhat do we want them to believe?
A Girl Talk should be the first go-to resource for
trusted answers to women’s questions.
QWhy should they believe this?
A Our rapidly growing, Cosmopolitan-approved
content library provides a 360-degree view of a
modern woman’s life.
Cosmo Women are mature enough to wake
up early but young enough to stay up late.
This duality means that a Cosmo Woman is equally
comfortable with consuming information that is
entertaining or serious.
To 18-34 year old women who are fun, fearless
trendsetters, who are mature enough to wake up
early but young enough to stay up late,
INSIGHT
BRANDpositioning
Cosmopolitan’s “Girl Talk” should be the first place
you look for answers to questions women have,
because you already trust Cosmopolitan to help you
stay cultured and informed.

23. 21
Our first creative execution is an annual event
promoting women’s health and wellness. By
partnering with advertisers who already have
charitable giving programs, this event can help
bring awareness to issues like breast cancer while
introducing women to the content on Girl Talk.
Like a Cosmo Woman, the event starts early
with a quarter-mile-long walk in stiletto heels and
the latest fashions. The Girl Talk hub benefits from
earned media from news coverage. The rest of the
day, women can tour the event location, interact
with sponsors, participate in collaborative art, have
CREATIVE EXECUTION #1
brunch with friends, listen to keynote speakers,
or participate in making a Girl Talk video. At night,
the Cosmo Woman stays up late having drinks with
friends at the Pinnacle Bar.
The annual event would initially be held in
three metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, New
York City, and the Mall of America in Minnesota.
The event would provide content for dozens
of new advertiser-sponsored videos on Girl
Talk, encourage word of mouth, and position
Cosmopolitan as the go-to resource for the work-
hard, play-hard crowd.
Cosmo’s
Catwalk
for a Cause

24. “Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign
22
“Working It” means something
to every Cosmo Woman, and
at Cosmopolitan.com/WorkIt,
we’re going to let her work it her
way.This is a gamified platform
encouraging the Cosmo Woman
to make positive changes in her
life by getting virtual recognition.
For example, the user would be
rewarded for hitting the gym,
losing weight, finishing a book,
graduating from college, or
getting out of a bad relationship.
Getting that next level in a game
can give a girl the motivation to
Cosmopolitan.com/WorkIt
make positive changes in her life.
To inspire and educate,
relevant content from Girl Talk can
be placed throughout the site.
The real benefit to developing
this platform is the amount of
data that could be harvested
about readers.While the site
would be open to all women, a
question on registration,“Do you
regularly read Cosmopolitan?”
could help Cosmo’s ad team
deliver more detailed statistics to
advertisers about Cosmopolitan’s
readership profile.
CREATIVE EXECUTION #2
Additionally, while the
technology’s not quite there
yet, in two or three years it will
be relatively easy to develop a
Cosmopolitan bracelet, a la the
Nike FuelBand, that passively
tracks the Cosmo Woman’s day
to day activities. It’s important to
move now to gain the user base
as this will soon become a very
valuable opportunity.
Social media tie-ins are
inevitable in this platform.
We encourage users to share
both the Girl Talk videos and
the achievements they receive
on the platform on Facebook
and Twitter by providing share
buttons or links when the user
has made significant progress or
achievements on the site.
While this could be positioned
as a rewards program,
offering gift cards or prizes for
achievements at certain point
values, a cheaper option is
simply to use coupons sponsored
by and paid for by advertisers
in combination with virtual
recognition: a leaderboard
and shoutouts on Twitter for
high achievers. Ongoing free
Cosmopolitan subscriptions,
print or digital, could be an
inexpensive prize for achieving
goals month after month.

25. 23
CREATIVE EXECUTION #3
TAXI
MAKEUP
MIRROR
Putting on makeup in a taxi is a
convenience, but why use a tiny
makeup mirror when you can
use a larger, folding mirror inside
the cab? This branded mirror
allows commuters to quickly
touch up before going out for a
night on the town.

26. “Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign
24
Cosmos is a replacement weather app for iOS
and Android specifically for Cosmo girls. Our app
brings in the local weather and recommends
clothing choices: for windy days, a hat and scarf,
for cold days, a jacket, and for rain, a trenchcoat.
It also recommends a list of things to do, weather
permitting: sunny days could include a walk along
the beach, but rainy days may be more appropriately
spent inside a museum or at a movie premiere.
Finally, the app would allow the user to access the
day’s recommended makeup and hairstyle tips that
are generated based on the local weather: a rainy
day calls for an up-do to prevent frizz.
This app is game-changing because it takes
something mundane, like a weather app, and
adding the flair that Cosmopolitan brings to its
readers, making checking the daily weather fun
and informative.
AppCOSMOS
CREATIVE EXECUTION #4

27. 25
on Cosmopolitan.com
CREATIVE EXECUTION #5
AD
FOR THE
APP

28. “Work it Like a Cosmo Girl”
Campaign
26
DATABASE
We researched
information available
on databases such
as Mintel, IBIS,
WARC, and ProQuest,
Simmons, MRI,
Alexa, Nielsen and
comScore.
RESEARCH
methodology
PRIMARY
RESEARCH
One-on-One
Interviews with
Cosmopolitan
Readers: We
conducted qualitative
research by
interviewing 20+
Cosmo readers
one-on-one.The
interviews focused on
finding out about the
specific preferences
and habits of the
target demographic.
SECONDARY
RESEARCH
Q How do Cosmopolitan readers feel about the
content of the magazine?
A Most people believe that the women’s magazine
industry idealizes a very narrow standard of
beauty: young, thin, fit, and sexy.According to
Saveria Capecchi, an Italian social scientist,“Media
represent women on the one hand as ‘modern’,
emancipated, professionally active and sexually
daring, on the other hand as passive objects of
male desire whose bodies must be slender, young
and eroticized (Capecchi, 2011).” Our primary
research suggests that women seek out these
unattainably-beautiful female role models as
inspirational and are not offended by them.
On the other hand,“stories and images of
successful career women and support for women’s
advancement in working life have become hallmarks
of contemporary postfeminist media culture,
and especially of women’s magazines such as
Cosmopolitan,” according to Finnish researcher Kati
Kauppinen (Kauppinen, 2013).
According to our research, Cosmopolitan is a
“fun” magazine that gives a 360 degree view of a
woman’s life.While Cosmopolitan is associated
with being primarily driven by sex content, women
recognize that it also contains useful information
about fashion, beauty, and being fearless.
It’s the combination of both these aspirational
goals, to have a sexier body and to be a more
well-rounded career professional, that makes
Cosmopolitan appeal widely to women across
America. Getting the Cosmo Woman interested in
our branded entertainment content requires tact
and balance: we must communicate that Girl Talk
contains both informative content and entertainment.
GENERAL
We examined how
Cosmo is portrayed in
current articles, blogs,
social media and
other media outlets.
The research also
examined how the
brand’s competitors
are viewed by media,
popular culture
and the general
public. We looked
at the magazine’s
competition and
how they have
successfully or
unsuccessfully
engaged users on
digital platforms.

29. 27
Q How does our target market
define empowerment?
AAccording to our primary
research, the Cosmo Woman is
confident, independent, and strong,
an empowered woman that knows
her goals and how to achieve them.
She takes care of herself. Her
mindset is positive and motivating.
She’s sexually liberated.
Q How can we communicate to
potential readers that Cosmopolitan
focuses on more than sex?
AWe may not need to: the
understanding that Cosmopolitan
focuses on sex does not hinder its
focus on empowerment.There is
a cultural movement encouraging
young women to feel confident and
empowered by their choices about
relationships and/or sex, regardless
of whether or not these choices
conform to traditional gender
expectations.An article in The
Dartmouth, researchers identified
casual on-campus hookups as a
delaying tactic, allowing women
to gain a taste for real-world
relationships while still prioritizing
schoolwork and their friendships,
leading eventually to better careers.
(Haynes, 2013)
In Donna Freitas’s book “The End
of Sex,” which explores the hookup
culture, she wants students to
“feel empowered” by their sexual
decisions and to recognize that “it
is their right to define what they
want out of sex.” (Freitas, 2013)
In essence, the Cosmo Woman
does not see sex as the opposite of
female empowerment; both types of
content can co-exist in her mind.
QWhat sort of women embody
empowerment?
A In our primary research, we
heard names including: Beyonce
Knowles-Carter,Angelina Jolie,
Jennifer Lawrence, Hillary Clinton,
Michelle Obama, and Kate Upton.
We had hoped that this question
would identify potential subjects for
the empowerment video series, but
these highly-recognizable talents
would be too expensive. Instead,
we recommend that Cosmopolitan
pursue women who influence and
inspire these superstars: Mrs.
Obama’s personal trainer, Kate
Upton’s mother.
QWhat Cosmopolitan content is
entertaining instead of serious?
A Our primary research indicated
that women take Cosmopolitan’s
beauty tips more seriously but
read the sex tips just for fun.
Readers are primarily seeking
entertaining content to help pass
the time, only secondarily as a
source of information.
QWhat type of web content is most
likely to engage the target audience?
A Our primary research findings
have suggested that “funny” and
“emotional” videos keep the target
audience’s attention and inspire
them to share with their peers.
According to a survey by Yahoo!
(Bentz, 2012),
86% want advice, tips and
practical information
85% want product information that
helps make purchase decisions
80% want product benchmarks
76% want exclusive content
72% want information about the
latest trends
59% want information presented in
a funny way

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WORKS CITED
28
Appendices

31. Al, S. (2013, May 24). Interview by L. Tang.
Baxter, M. (2013, May 27). Interview by D.M. Smith.
Carlone,V., Gomez, M. A., & Erin, M. (2013, May 27). Interview by N.E.Weickhardt.
Davis, A. (2013, May 27). Interview by D.M. Smith.
Davit’ashvili, N. (2013, May 22). Interview by C. Lee.
Doe, J., & Doe, J. (2013, May 27). Interview by N.E.Weickhardt.
Duncan, D. Z. (2013, May 22). Interview by N. Weickhardt.
Duncan, D. Z., & Reed, E. (2013, May 27). Interview by N.Weickhardt.
Greenman, J. (2013, May 23). Interview by N.Weickhardt.
Grose, S. J. (2013, May 28). Interview by N.Weickhardt.
Grullen, S. (2013, May 27). Interview by D.M. Smith.
Johnson, M. (2013, May 21). Interview by N.E.Weickhardt.
Jones, T. (2013, May 21). Interview by N.E.Weickhardt.
Kamani, H. (2013, May 20). Interview by N.E.Weickhardt.
Manzare, R. (2013, May 27). Interview by D.M. Smith.
Marchon, J. (2013, May 22). Interview by N.Weickhardt.
Robinson, A. (2013, May 27). Interview by D.M. Smith.
Ver, I. R. (2013, May 20). Interview by S.J. Smith.
Waters, E. (2013, May 28). Interview by N.Weickhardt.
Appendices
PRIMARY
RESEARCH
29