B Magazine – Issue No. 2 New Balance

Publisher: JOH & Company

Publication Year: 2011

Language: English

122 Pages

“<B> aspires to be a messenger that introduces its readers to well-balanced brands unearthed from around the globe.  JOH & Company, with its own perspective, carefully chooses one brand at a time to feature in each issue.  The perspective is based on the criteria of ‘beauty’, ‘practicality’, ‘price acceptability’ and ‘brand philosophy’. With sincerity in attitude, <B> aims to deliver easy-to-read contents for any readers interested in brand marketing and management, as well as brand managers” – back cover

<B> is a South Korean ‘brand documentary magazine’ that focuses each issue entirely on one brand.  Their second issue, devoted to New Balance, features interviews with people who wear NB, pictures of people wearing NB in everyday life, a history of the brand, a semi-illustrated mini comic in the middle that is done to, “share a serene story of New Balance drawn in our everyday lives” and even a rundown of the number of people wearing NBs in 5 different public places over the course of an hour (broken down by male and female).

Sneakerature’s Take: A far cry from the stereotypical fanzine, <B> reads through the lens of an outsider to not only the brand, but also sneaker culture.  By no means is this a drawback however, as JOH & Company put forth a fun, clean and (somewhat) informative presentation of the New Balance brand.