Exciting stories about exciting technology: Saturn's "Turn On" magazine won gold in the "Content Strategy" category at the "Best of Content Marketing Award" in early May. What makes the success story so special? We take a look behind the scenes. 

Instead of being on the shop shelf, the Bluetooth loudspeaker presents itself in front of a dazzling photo wallpaper with palm trees, beach and sea. Next to it, an air conditioner has its big appearance - in the current issue of Turn On. "We tell exciting reports and also integrate our products into stories," explains Josip Drljo. The brand manager Content Marketing, together with Teresa Dill, e-commerce manager, is responsible for Saturn's customer magazine. This is published six times a year, with a circulation of 250,000 to 300,000 copies. Turn On is a must: It is available in all Saturn stores throughout Germany, lands in a package when orders are placed on saturn.de, reaches all Saturn Card customers via e-paper and is available at several Lufthansa gates and in over 8,000 doctors' surgeries. 

But how is such a magazine created? "We determine the focus of the individual issues in advance for the entire year," explains Josip. "In the current issue, the topic is "Travel". Then the Hamburg agency "Companions", with whom we work closely, develops initial ideas, which we then discuss together. We will consider whether the stories fit into the "Experience Technology" concept - the brand core of Saturn.  

Purchasing plays a major role

On the other hand, purchasing at MediaMarktSaturn plays a major role. "Purchasing suggests current and suitable products that we can present and is best acquainted with the technical data on these products," explains Teresa. Since many products are presented in the magazine, it is particularly important to check whether the products are up-to-date, what distinguishes them and whether there are any specific cooperations with manufacturers. 

The agency then produces the issue, contacts the external editors who write some of the articles, and organizes photo shoots. Some shootings take place in a specially rented apartment in Hamburg. There are no limits to creativity when it comes to topics: In the current issue, Philipp Kohlhöfer from the agency Companions travelled to the locations of the series "Game of Thrones" in Northern Ireland, for example. Earlier editions were about inventors who tried to build a rocket or about so-called shark spotters who use drones to locate sharks on beaches in South Africa.  

A lot of love for detail

How do you come up with such creative ideas? "We talk a lot. We discard a lot, but we often come up with really good ideas," Philipp reports. "To keep myself informed, I read a lot and deal with trends.   

When the issue is finished, Josip and Teresa check the magazine together with the agency and discuss the articles. "Most of the time we agree. But sometimes not on the cover, that's what's discussed the most," says Teresa. After all, we want the reader to be attentive. And this happens with pictures that surprise. "The photo series on the subject of Winter Wonderland from the December 2017 issue was the one that inspired me the most. We created a miniature land with a lot of love for detail," Teresa enthuses. "I found the edition "Games" particularly successful, which was also published in 2017," says Josip. "We did a shooting that combines fashion with gaming. That was really extraordinary." The topic of the next issue (July/August) is security, by the way.  

More information: 

The online portal www.turn-on.de  

In addition to the print magazine, there is the online portal www.turn-on.de More than 600 editorial articles appear every month on the Turn On online portal. Here the editors write on topics from the areas of Tech, Primetime, Play and Smart Living. There are also test reports, columns and their own youtube channel. This mix is well received: the site receives around three million visitors per month. Stories from the print magazine are sometimes continued online, for example there is a video on the live locations of Game of Thrones.