Fairfax Announces New Urban Lifestyle Publication

Max Gives Auckland A New Urban Lifestyle Magazine – And A New Publication For Employment And Recruitment

Forget the traffic gridlock, the high cost of living and losing the Ranfurly Shield….for those who live or travel into central Auckland for work, study or play, life just got a whole lot better with the announcement of a new, free weekly magazine, AucklandMax.

AucklandMax, a Fairfax NZ publication, combines the pace and edge of the new generation of free commuter newspapers that are such a success worldwide with the buzz and glamour of magazines – and for readers on the move up, new listings of the hot jobs in the greater Auckland area.

The new publication will particularly target the *80,000-plus people who travel into Auckland daily for work or business.

Designed to be read cover-to-cover in 20 minutes, with bite-sized consumption of lifestyle issues, from food to fashion, shopping to sex, AucklandMax covers our city – and your career opportunities as well.

Each week the editorial team, led by former Girlfriend editor Debbie Holmes, will bring to the reader the latest news, trends and gossip as well as reviews of the best restaurants, bars and gadgets. A comprehensive recruitment section, with employment listings from agencies and businesses, will complete the content.

Fairfax New Zealand’s chief executive officer, Brian Evans, said that the new magazine is an alternative to reach 18 – 34 year-old urban professionals who are hard to reach by traditional media, have high disposable incomes, and work, shop and play in the central city area.

“Research shows us that heavy consumption of traditional print media by 18 – 34 year-olds in Auckland has dropped.

``Only **8.8% of the Herald’s readers are 18-34 years and living in the Central Auckland area. Readership of the Herald by those 18-34 years living in the Central Auckland area has dropped from **49.2% to 39.2% in the eight years to 2004. “The inclusion of a comprehensive magazine and web recruitment section will be good news for employers who in the past have struggled to capture this Auckland audience through traditional media.

“Employers are seeking new avenues in print for job listings, and we are providing it in a new publication that will reach the passive job seeker.’’

The arrival of this magazine concept in New Zealand during a tight employment market was welcomed by David Wilson, managing director of Haines e-Recruiting, who has seen the success of this type of product overseas.

``Fairfax launching Max creates opportunities for the recruitment sector. Having a viable, innovative new option will be welcomed by employers and candidates alike.’’

Starting during October, AucklandMax will be distributed extensively throughout Auckland’s CBD, via vending machines, in cafes and bars, key retail outlets, gyms, and other high foot traffic areas for younger readers. Business and residential box holders within the CBD will also receive copies of AucklandMax.

Fairfax will also make the concept available in Wellington and Christchurch to capitalise on younger professionals who want to assess job opportunities in Auckland.

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