Irish celebrities say cheese for `VIP' magazine

VIP, Ireland's first indigenous "celebrity" magazine, goes on sale next Thursday. Modelled on the photo-led formula that has made Hello! and OK! such a success, VIP hopes its emphasis on Irish personalities will make it more appealing to Irish readers.

Among those featured in its first issue are TV presenter Lorraine Keane, Lord and Lady Dunsany and Simon Coveney TD, all photographed "at home" with photos that cover at least six double-page spreads.

VIP is published by Mr John Ryan, editor of the Sunday Times supplement, Culture Ireland, and Mr Michael O'Doherty.

They previously worked together on Magill magazine.

The publishers say the initial print-run of the full-colour glossy will be 35,000 - high when compared with other Irish monthlies.

The editor, Ms Maura O'Kiely, previously edited U magazine.

VIP enters a highly competitive marketplace.

According to Ms Fiona Scott, director of MCM, McConnells' media wing, Irish magazines have always had a difficult time due to competition from UK publications.

"I think VIP will struggle," she says. "Its competitors have access to stars from all over the world and Hello! is already very strong in the Irish market."

She says the society magazine, Social & Personal, has established a niche in the market but has never managed to develop beyond that.

Hello! magazine sells 40,000 copies a week in Ireland and, according to Ms Sally Cartwright, its publishing director, Ireland has been a strong and loyal market for the title.

She is sceptical about VIP's success - not because of the relatively small Irish market but because the magazine will be monthly.

"A monthly celebrity news magazine simply cannot compete with a weekly one because this sort of news becomes old very quickly," she says.

VIP's rate card is pitched at £1,800 (€2,285) per page which Ms Scott considers to be high and its advertising-to-editorial ratio is low.

"Our first issue has 72 pages," says Mr O'Doherty. "Of that, 14 will be advertising and the quality of those ads is very high, which is important in a magazine."

The publishers aim to make most of their revenue from circulation - something common in the celebrity magazine market but uncommon in Irish magazine publishing, where cover sales are less important sources of revenue than ad sales.

Irish advertisers already buy in to Hello! when the magazine offers a regionalised insert.

"There are problems localising Hello! in advertising terms because the magazine is printed in Spain," says Ms Cartwright. "However, when we do offer inserts in Ireland, they cost around £2,500."

The size of the Irish market means there are not very many celebrities to go around, which means VIP could have trouble filling its pages as the months go on.

Hello! and OK! are filled mainly with soap stars, football players and royalty drawn from a very large and ever-changing pool of people, which is not available to an Irish publication.

But Ms O'Kiely does not foresee any problems. "There are an enormous amount of well-known people in Ireland," she says. "You only have to think of the people on television alone, from soap stars to newsreaders, then there are writers and actors, some of whom have strong international appeal, so I don't think there will be any problem whatsoever finding people."

She adds that as the news of VIP's arrival started to circulate, she got calls from well-known Irish people keen to be seen between its covers. According to Mr O'Doherty, no one has asked for money.

But given that Hello! magazine is said to have paid £400,000 for the picture rights to John Major's son's wedding and OK! was financially involved in Posh Spice's and David Beckham's wedding, it's only a matter of time before VIP's publishers' deep pockets are put to the test.