Random Creativity: 2012

Have you ever wondered how a teen magazine is produced? In the Philippines, Candy is a magazine known to give teenage girls the best kind of sugar rush with every turn of its pages. Get a glimpse of what it’s like working in a teen magazine and find out why sweet things need not come in crystallized sugar.

A day at the Candy Headquarters

Marla Miniano, Candy’s Deputy Editor in Chief, described a typical day in Candy as this: the editors check proofs and print-outs, edit articles, research, answer e-mails, and respond to readers' feedback. Life at Candy is different from what readers see on the magazine’s official website, Candymag.com, where behind the scenes videos of photo shoots as well as the editors’ blog entries of events they have attended are posted. For most of the Candy staff, working in a magazine is not all about photo shoots and events. Rather, a typical day is spent behind the desk except for fashion and beauty editors who have a more varied daily routine. “Sometimes they do pull-outs (a term used in publishing for borrowing of clothes, accessories, and shoes from different stores for shoots), source for products, shoots, and go to a lot of events because I think that’s really where the events people concentrate—fashion and beauty,” said Marla.

Behind the glossy pages

The Candy editors start working on an issue three months prior to the release of the magazine in the market. The editors do important things in the initial process. They research and brainstorm for the contents of the magazine. As soon as they have decided on what products and topics to feature, the actual work follows. This consists of assigning the articles to staff and contributing writers, contacting of models who will pose for the magazine, coordinating with store and boutique owners for pull-outs of clothes and accessories to be worn by models, and finally, doing photo shoots.

Following the actual work is the editing process. The print outs, which are used for editing text, goes through all the editors for review and preparation for publication. The edited articles/stories are then sent to the production team which does necessary last minute changes, if any, to the imagery, touching, and text. For the final step, the editors check the print outs again before sending them to the printers. Every new issue of Candy comes out on the last week of the prior month. This year’s October issue was released on the 22^nd of September, 2012.

When asked how long the Candy team finish working on an issue, Marla replied, “The actual shoots, articles, and laying out the magazine takes more than a month.”

Big and Fresh Ideas

Readers responded very well to Candy’s themed issues. In its previous issues, the magazine carried themes for its different sections or for a special issue only. Today, Candy has one featured theme for the entire monthly issue. The team believed that this strategy would make all the articles more cohesive and more connected with one another. Readers would readily understand and appreciate the main subject because they are focused in one particular issue. This requires a longer time of preparation. “We really want to present one big idea per issue so we plan on the themes a year before. Like now, we already have the line-up for next year which is exciting,” said Marla. Aside from the team’s own research and ideas, it solicits suggestions from readers and the Council of Cool, a group of selected young students who write for the magazine. The editors make it a point to find out what are the concerns, passions, and interests of their readers.

Recently, Candy’s majority readers wanted to read more about indie bands and upcoming actors and actresses from the United States. “For the longest time, I think our mindset was we just want to give them what they love but now we’ve been discovering that it’s also a good thing to give them something they haven’t discovered yet.” With this thought, the editors treat the readers, not only with today’s popular demands like the British-Irish boy band One Direction and singer Justin Bieber but more importantly, giving readers something new.

It’s A Tough World

Working in a magazine entails a lot of hard work, dedication, and teamwork. For Marla, the main challenge in the publishing industry is working with different types of people every day. She emphasized, “When putting together a shoot or an article, things don’t always go strictly according to plan. You can’t really plan every little thing down to the littlest detail. You have to be open to a lot of changes along the way and you have to make things work despite all the changes.”

Marla shared that Candy is fortunate to have members of the team who are young and young at heart because it makes generating ideas for the magazine “magical” for them. Since Candy is aimed at teenage girls, their passion and fondness for pop culture and anything teen-related make them click. “I think we’re at our most creative when we’re all together. We inspire one another so in coming up with ideas, I don’t think we have a difficult time which is very fortunate for us. ”

A Balancing Act

Apart from its eye-catching covers and fun, colorful, and glossy pages, Candy is also known for its enlightening and inspiring feature stories, delightful entertainment articles, and most especially, its dazzling fashion and beauty spreads.

As the editors go through daily activities in putting up the magazine, “smart” and “stylish” are the words they live by. They try to balance those two words which they think best describe Candy girls (the readers). “We want to present articles that will make them think and of course the stylish sides with fashion and beauty”, added Marla.

Sweet Inspiration

Candy is a huge part in Marla’s life. She was a reader since her high school and college days. Later, she became a member of the Council of Cool and eventually joined the publishing company as a staff member. “I don’t think I really expected things to go this way. It’s fulfilling to give back to the magazine and to see how much it has evolved through the years. We feel like we’re part of all the changes and we’ve grown with Candy, it’s already a huge achievement for all of us,” she said. Marla’s personal story has encouraged many readers to pursue their dreams and never stop believing that their dreams will come true someday.

Through the years, Candy has spread its sweetness by being every girl’s bible to teenage life and infinite possibilities. Not only does the magazine keep young girls updated on the latest fashion and beauty trends, celebrities, books, movies, music, and hotspots. True-to-life experiences which are accounted and written by some readers themselves inspire teenage girls to improve their family and social relationships and to discover their passions and true selves.

Candy has touched the life of many of its readers. Leslie Lipa, a member of the Council of Cool 10 (meaning tenth batch) started reading Candy when she was in grade school. She was influenced by one of her best friends but it was Leslie who grew to appreciate the magazine more. Because Candy believes in talent and potential, it provides a lot of opportunities for young people to mature and develop as better individuals. Teenage years is indeed a vulnerable stage in one’s life but for Leslie her journey was made easier because the magazine offered tips on how to handle the challenges that she met along the way. Candy influences its readers to be an inspiration to teens by being the best version of themselves. “It gave me an avenue to believe in myself and encouraged me to become a better person,” said Leslie.

Mika Chiong, another true-blue Candy girl, has been a reader since July 2002. Because of Candy, Mika realized her passion for writing. She said, “Looking back, I thought I’ve been “writing” already but when I became a Council of Cool member, that’s when I realized that I really enjoy writing. And whether or not I make a living out of it, I know that I’ll always enjoy writing.”

Once a Candy girl, always a Candy girl

Being a Candy girl doesn’t end when one has graduated from her teen years. This is another surprising truth. In fact, a lot of girls like Leslie and Mika who are already in their twenties read the magazine up to this day. Candy transforms every reader into a well-rounded individual—smart, stylish, realistic, confident, and optimistic. And because readers grew up with this amazing magazine, it’s difficult for them to let go of something that has enriched, inspired, and made their lives any sweeter.

Photo Shoot Magic