HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MAGAZINES REVS UP BRANDING.

Hachette Filipacchi Magazines (HFM) President/CEO Jack Kliger plans to accelerate branding efforts via multimedia forms for key magazine titles (includes Elle, Woman's Day, Car & Driver, Road & Track).

"We feel that we have added some good key people and now we can move forward. Our core businesses are in good shape and we've developed strategies for our big book properties," said Kliger.

Kliger feels Woman's Day has turned the corner. "We are looking at broadcast opportunities for the magazine, that would make a lot of sense for us. Ironically, one of the things in our stable is that Woman's Day is a standalone. While the other Six Sisters have two to a house - we think that is an advantage now. In other cases it is the strong helping the week we don't have Woman's Day having to support a weak sister so that is an advantage. Woman's Day had a great year in 1999. We increased newstand draw and we think we can improve the circulation side which is healthy. We improved in ad pages after a slow start but there are things we are looking at to build the brand.," added Kliger.

Kliger is looking at the development of Elle as a global brand. "The magazine has never looked better. We have thirty two editions around the world and Elle is a global fashion brand, it is a powerhouse. We think it is the most powerful fashion title in the world, we feel. We also think the success of Elle Decor underscores the brand and we will continue to push forward with new product plans down the road," he added. Elle Travel spinoff likely to publish at least twice next year.

Automobiles. Kliger feels the company has redesigned its auto books with changes for Car & Driver, Road & Track down the road. "We need to more ...