ARE MAGAZINES REALLY DEAD?

In some ways, they are.

And that's exactly why we had to rethink what a magazine could be.

When we launched Impact & Influence Magazine, we weren't interested in simply creating another publication, putting it in print and hoping people would read it.

We had to rethink the entire model.

And, somewhat ironically, we went back to one of the greatest magazine publishers of all time for inspiration:

Hugh Hefner.

Don't worry. We're encouraging everyone to keep their clothes on.

What Hefner understood better than almost anyone was that a magazine could be more than a magazine.

It could create culture.

Playboy created a place where people could be seen, heard and introduced to ideas, personalities and conversations they might not have encountered anywhere else.

Hefner gave people a platform to speak at length to an audience that wanted to listen.

Martin Luther King Jr. was interviewed by Playboy.

Malcolm X was interviewed by Playboy.

Sammy Davis Jr. was featured extensively.

The significance wasn't simply that these people appeared in a magazine.

It was the way the magazine changed how people experienced information.

That's the part that interested us.

SO WE CHANGED THE MODEL.

If we simply created a magazine and printed it, people could reasonably say:

“Magazines are dead.”

If we created a digital publication and nothing else, it could easily become just another website competing for someone's attention.

So we built something different.

Impact & Influence Magazine is digital first, with print available for those who want a physical copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Walmart.

But the magazine is only one part of the ecosystem.

THEN WE BUILT THE COMMUNITY.

Awepra became the place where the people you read about can actually meet one another.

Members receive an Awepra Black Card and access to members-only opportunities and experiences — from Monterey Car Week and Ferrari Challenge to Winery Rallies, Lake Tahoe trips, Mastermind Sessions and more.

We created Masterclasses, giving members the opportunity to teach what they know and help others grow their businesses.

We created events where people can actually sit across a table from one another.

Because reading about someone is one thing.

Meeting them is another.

THEN CAME THE RADIO.

Impact & Influence Radio actually predates the magazine.

The show began in 2015 on Money 105.5 FM in Sacramento, eventually reaching audiences in Seattle, Denver and Miami before moving into the digital world.

Today, the show is available across platforms including iHeart, Amazon, YouTube, Apple, Spotify and more.

The radio show gives people another way to tell their stories.

The magazine gives them another.

The events give them another.

The community gives them another.

Different mediums. One purpose.

AND THEN THERE'S FILM.

Through JRQTV Media Group, we've also built a film studio producing the High Rise film series.

Along the way, we've had the opportunity to work with people including Joseph R. Gannascoli, known for The Sopranos, and Charles D. Clark, known for Empire and House of Cards.

Again, it's another medium.

Another way to tell stories.

Another way to bring people into the ecosystem.

THE POINT ISN'T THE MAGAZINE.

That's the part that's easy to miss.

The magazine isn't the end product.

The community is.

The media gives people a reason to discover one another.

The events give them a place to meet.

The Masterclasses give them a place to teach.

The radio gives them a voice.

The directory gives them a way to stay connected.

And the relationships are where the real possibilities begin.

Because we can know everything.

We can have all the information in the world at our fingertips.

But if we know nobody, we're not getting very far.

80,000+ PEOPLE ARE READING.

Today, Impact & Influence Magazine is digitally distributed to more than 80,000 professionals and businesses nationally, with a consistent 20%+ click-through rate.

That's not the old magazine model.

It's not simply print.

It's not simply digital.

It's a publication connected to a community, connected to events, connected to radio, connected to education, connected to film and, most importantly, connected to people.

That's what we set out to build.

Maybe magazines aren't what they used to be.

Neither are we.

The world changed.

So we changed with it.

And if the lesson from Hugh Hefner and Playboy was that a magazine could become something much bigger than the pages themselves, that's a lesson worth remembering.

Awepra isn't just publishing a magazine.

We're creating a place for people to be seen, heard, connected and remembered.