Revision
How Digital’s Quieter Half Has Been Doing Its Work This Whole Time
For businesses who want to communicate thoughtfulness, accuracy, and depth, print is alive and well
While far from a successful case study, I’ll never forget stumbling across multiple copies of Airbnb’s discontinued Pineapple travel magazine in the back corner of Bouwerie Iconic Magazines in New York City. Of course, I recalled the powerful first impression Pineapple’s stories, layouts, and photography made on me — a jog through my inbox lets me know that I’d even missioned across Toronto to Room 2046 to pick up a copy — and when it was discontinued I’d wished I’d grabbed a couple more. Seeing it again was like a new lease on life.
As it turns out, Pineapple was shut down when Airbnb’s chief marketeer moved the budget around. I wonder what the conversation was internally — what was the main measure of impact? Was it intended to reach guests through hosts? I don’t remember much of a launch campaign — it certainly could’ve benefited from a Kickstarter launch like INQUE’s recent one — was this the fault of its publishing partner? Was it simply too expensive to justify the cost? I’ve only occasionally followed Airbnb’s second attempt at print with Hearst, which seems to have sustained for much longer and…
