There has been quite a lot of buzz around the initiative. The idea is great, if not only because it got a lot of people talking about it and buying the magazine to discover it. But it is more an advertising campaign rather than an enhanced editorial plan. The amount of money invested in producing all the interactive content isn’t something the Esquire can afford investing every month, and probably it won’t even be worth it. Also, the great job they’ve done building content with celebrities. This is the real added value of the initiative and possible the hardest thing to replicate
But it’s definitely an initiative very good in generating word of mouth and curiosity in checking out the magazine. So the mechanism is simple: you get people interested in the publication, they buy it, they like the content (not just the AR part) and they will possibly be willing to buy the next issue as well if not to subscribe.
