Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
We have good news and bad news. The good news is that SkyMall is coming back. The bad news is that they will not be focusing on bizarre home items.
Less than one month after its former owners filed for bankruptcy, SkyMall’s new owners have announced plans to bring the in-flight publication back with a new focus on entertaining content and less of an emphasis on the bizarre goods that the catalog was most famous for.
According to Laughing Squid, new owner Scott Jordan plans to make the resurrected SkyMall a quarterly publication, and claims that passengers on round-trip flights could see different editions of the magazine on each leg of a flight. He also said that he wants the products featured in the catalog to be “clever, but not kitschy” and promised an “evolution” from the original publication.
Quit playing games with our hearts, Jordan
Jordan is the founder and CEO of Scottevest, an Idaho-based company that makes garments featuring conduit systems and specialized pockets for holding smartphones, tablets and various other portable electronic devices. In a recent LinkedIn post, he explained that his company sold its products in the catalog for years, and he saw its bankruptcy as a business opportunity.
“I am going to get SkyMall back into the air,” he promised, adding that while his bid to rescue the publication focused on the fact that it was “more than just a catalog.” SkyMall, he explained, “has always been entertainment first, and shopping second. That’s the secret sauce that made it so compelling. While the ‘social sharing’ of SkyMall’s content was limited to just exposing your travelling companion yet another outrageous product, the content was always entertaining.”
“We will dial up that entertainment aspect of SkyMall by embracing it as a source of creative content. Think J. Peterman creative. Or Patagonia creative,” Jordan added. “It’s a sophisticated version of entertainment and fun. We will use the travel experience as a metaphor to drive our product selection, copywriting and imagery to create a highly entertaining inflight shopping experience.”
He also said that the magazine would be available in both a print version and through a new digital portal that would be made available free of charge to customers through their phones, tablets, and laptops before, during, and after the flight. It should be noted that the increased use of electronic devices on flights was one of the cited for SkyMall’s original demise last month in the bankruptcy filings of SkyMall LLC and its parent company, Xhibit Corp.
Say goodbye (again) to weird garden accessories
Jordan said that he has recruited former PC Magazine editor-in-chief Jim Louderback as his “co-pilot,” noting that Louderback will focus on developing content for the magazine. Furthermore, he said that it was essential to rebuild relationships with airlines, and reiterated that the products offered by the new SkyMall would skew more towards things like “gadgets and travel aids” and fewer items such as “alien butler statues or dragon bookends.”
“As the deadlines approach for competitive bidders to stake a claim in SkyMall, I am confident that my plan will be the most effective – and the most entertaining – for fliers, the airlines, and innovative product manufacturers,” Jordan said. “The fact that it will be highly profitable from the first issue makes me even more excited to jump through the remaining hoops and kick development into high gear.”
“The core concept of SkyMall didn’t cause the current company’s failure. You can still do good AND do well by creating an entertaining, informative and exciting curated shopping experience for travelers. We have a detailed – and simple – plan to get SkyMall back in the air,” he added. “I won’t let anyone keep SkyMall grounded for long. And I can’t wait to get started!”
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