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A Once in a Lifetime Experience
By Holly Stratts
 That
is exactly how Sean Flanagan ’85 A&S feels about his new job.
In March, he was named to the newly-created position of U.S. publisher
of National Geographic magazine, the flagship journal of the National
Geographic Society. He recalled a marketing professor leaving with him
a pearl of wisdom, “A happy man is a man who does what he loves
and loves what he does.” Flanagan fully appreciates the authenticity
of that statement.
He discovered this calling early during his days as an underclassman.
“I had an incredible opportunity during the summer break of my freshman
year to actually work selling advertising space for an uncle for the American
Bar Association Journal. I found my calling. I really enjoyed the magazine
business, loved the sales process and enjoyed the diversity and the energy
of the advertising industry.” His course of study, communication
major and business minor, seemed to be the perfect fit for the industry.
His career path began first as ad director, associate publisher and U.S.
publisher for Men’s Health magazine. Before joining National Geographic
in January 2001, Flanagan served as eastern advertising director for Yahoo!
Internet Life, eastern manager for Prevention and New York manager for
Playboy magazines. In his new role, he assumes all responsibilities for
the advertising sales and marketing of the English-language edition of
National Geographic which enjoys a 6.6 million circulation worldwide.
As publisher, his primary function is to “lead the team of 32 in
driving advertising revenue. The rle also involves financial management,
strategic planning, budgeting and marketing of the English language edition
in the United States. We have a client base of about 270 core clients
that make up about 400 ad pages a year. But I think the most exciting
part of this job is that every day in the business, especially the media
and communications business, is surrounded by diverse personalities. I
enjoy the fact that no two days are ever the same. I enjoy the energy
and the thrill and the excitement of each month as we literally create
a new product. You start one month with blank rolls of paper and by the
end of that month you have a whole new set of articles, a whole new set
of customers and a whole new set of advertisers…a whole new magazine.
It’s a once in a lifetime experience. The Society is the world’s
largest non-profit scientific and educational organization that on any
given day touches 250 million lives. It is an American icon and it truly
makes a difference. The mission of funding research exploration and discovery
has been continuous for the last 115 years. NGS has funded over 7,000
expeditions and explorations and raised a tremendous amount of money --
$100 million for education and $80 million for grants. It’s nice
to be affiliated with an organization that’s committed to preserving
and protecting our planet’s natural resources and also the precious
environment. They are really dedicated to expanding, understanding and
awareness of the world and its diverse cultures.
Hazards of travel
Extensive travel is essential in this business. While working for Men’s
Health, Flanagan traveled to six continents. He was on the road about
175 days a year and that provided ample opportunity for odd travel occurrences.
“I found myself in a little political unrest in Moscow during the
Kosovo war. I was in Lima, Peru literally a week after the U.N. embassy
was attacked. And, of course, there are the missed flights and lost luggage.
But on the lighter side, once a luggage handler was trying to track down
one of my lost bags and I was getting frustrated and a little impatient.
She humbled me by saying, ‘Sir, there are only two people in this
world who care about this lost luggage and one of them is losing interest
fast.’ ”
The elusive Afghani woman
Flanagan explained the story behind finding the Afghani woman that photographer
Steve Curry photographed in 1983 for the cover. “Steve took a photo
of her when she was a school girl, about 13 years old and she had very
striking green eyes. It became synonymous with National Geographic and
it was one of our most widely recognized photographs. For the next 20
years he went back to Afghanistan again and again to find her. Finally,
someone came upon her brother who then had to get permission from her
husband to speak with him. She had never been photographed since her experience
with Steve but she did remember him. After about 48 hours she became comfortable
with being photographed but posed a condition. She wanted a way to help
educate women of Afghanistan. The most rewarding experience affiliated
with that expedition was not only did Steve find her but he made a difference
in her life and the lives of her three daughters through a fund he established
that raised over a million dollars to provide education for the girls
and women in that country.”
Launching a new publication
After 115 years of existence, the National Geographic Society is actually
expanding its variety of publications. This series of specials is only
offered through bookstores and newsstands and not by subscription. The
current issue on the market is Swimsuits: 100 Years of Pictures. In true
National Geographic style it is a collection of photographs taken all
over the world attesting to humankind’s attraction to all things
watery and warm. According to Flanagan, “The old adage is the only
risk in building a business is not taking one and this newsstand special
is one in a series we launched 18 months ago. It has a distribution of
one-half million with a cover price of $9.95. The themes range anywhere
from the 100 Best Photographs Ever to the Best of America to the Best
of Wildlife. You will see an upcoming issue on Egypt and also one on Fashion
and Style. The business model behind it was to open up new points of distribution
and bring new customers to the brand.”
National Geographic, although it is the 5th largest magazine in the world,
has only been available in bookstores and newsstands for the past 36 months.
So it’s a relatively new business and very competitive. This was
another way of making it available to a new client base.
“One hundred and fifteen years ago when a group of men including
Alexander Gr aham Bell founded the National Geographic Society, you could
only receive the magazine by being nominated for membership. It is a magnificent
brand in the sense that is has become timeless. Generation upon generation
has had an experience with the magazine.”
“It really is a once in a lifetime experience to be affiliated with
the Geographic,” concluded Flanagan. “Not only do they chronicle
the world’s sweeping changes but remain relevant and timeless to
each generation of readers. I am always impressed with the consistency
in terms of the stunning and beautiful product not only in the photography
but in the research and most importantly the daring way in which the Geographic
pushes the boundaries of knowledge. There really is nothing like it.”
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