Thom Bettridge Says Viral Magazine Covers Are Only Sugar Highs

i-D magazine was founded in 1980 by Terry and Tricia Jones, pioneering a new kind of fashion storytelling that mixed street style with high fashion, always with an eye — and a wink — to the future. The magazine has had its ups and downs, and in 2023 fell victim to the bankruptcy of Vice, which had acquired i-D from its founders in 2012. 

Enter Karlie Kloss and her burgeoning media company, Bedford Media, which has plans to revitalise i-D under a new editor-in-chief, Thom Bettridge with experience at 032c, Interview, Highsnobiety, and Ssense. Now, Bettridge  is on a mission to re-establish i-D as a cultural institution for a new generation — one that values community over clicks and retention over viral attention.

“I've worked on viral covers and while they can do so much for your exposure as a small brand, at the end of the day, it's really like a sugar high. That famous person's fans are there to see the person they like. Not that many of them actually stick around,” says Bettridge. “We're moving from this attention era to a retention era, where the smarter brands are figuring out how to build a narrative people are invested in.”

Bettridge joins BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed to talk about his journey to i-D and what it takes to relaunch an iconic title for a new era.

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Moving from biannual publications like 032C to the fast-paced, blog-style environment of Highsnobiety, Bettridge learned to step back from editing every piece, focusing instead on nurturing a team that could maintain quality content at a rapid digital pace. "I had to cultivate a team that is going to do great work even when I'm not directly touching it," he says. "It was a big growth thing, learning how to be more of a coach than an editor of editors."

At e-commerce platform Ssense, Bettridge discovered content was most successful when it offered intrinsic value, fostering long-term brand loyalty. He likens Ssense's editorial content to a great coffee shop attached to a hotel: Even if people aren’t shopping for luxury fashion every day, they could drop by for a daily dose of engaging content, building a habitual connection to the brand. "What really worked was if you just made great content, you then became part of someone's digital diet in a way that built loyalty with the brand," he explains.

For the relaunch cover of i-D, Bettridge chose Enza Khoury, a trans woman living in the Republican state of Ohio in the US, after a casting call brought in over 800 video submissions. “We really wanted to find someone who encapsulates the present moment, and feels like a representative of our time,” Bettridge explains. In addition to her charisma, Enza’s personal story captured something bigger. “It almost felt like her life was telling a story of what it means to live today.”

Bettridge emphasises shifting from viral celebrity-driven covers to nurturing a dedicated audience. He describes viral covers as a "sugar high," suggesting the real value lies in sustained engagement. "You can create this huge wave of eyeballs, but are these people actually going to buy what you're selling?" he asks. The goal, he says, is to transition "from an attention era to a retention era."

Additional Resources:

i-D Magazine Appoints Thom Bettridge Editor in Chief Op-Ed | Go Big or Go Hyper-Niche

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