Zack Beauvais—Incoming Business Manager
Jenny Garfinkle—Outgoing Business Manager

It’s pretty easy to see that over the years, Ann Arbor has changed. Back in the 60s and 70s, Ann Arbor was the hip place to be:  Hash Bash was alive and well, and independently owned stores dominated State Street. Alongside so many other facets of campus, the Gargoyle business model changed as well.  One of the largest changes has come to our revenue base.  Since we no longer charge for our magazine, the majority of our revenue is based on advertising sales.

Yet, due to increased rent in many of the commercial spaces around campus, many independent stores have had to close their doors or move away from campus, leaving spaces to be filled by chains and franchises. Since it is generally easier to sell ads to an independently owned business than a franchise, and due to the increased number of chain stores and restaurants moving into downtown Ann Arbor, our ad sales have declined. We have fewer and fewer places to choose from that won’t make us jump through corporate hoops.  With that, as the city’s commercial identity continues to change and becomes increasingly corporate, the need to modify our current tact becomes more apparent.

It is an interesting study in the evolution of the magazine to browse through some of the old issues and look at all of the different advertisers.  Comparing the current incarnation of Gargoyle, with its few steadfast advertisers, to a much richer issue from the late sixties, one wonders how this magazine ever lost money.  Along with the perennially present full-page color ads for now defunct General Electric technologies, we marveled at the variety that normally included at least three brands of beer, two pizza locations, and a local motorcycle dealership.  The typical reader depicted in the 1960s Gargoyles (pizza binging, beer guzzling, biker students), as sad as it is to say, may be infinitely cooler than the current era of students.

This doesn’t mean that the Gargoyle is hurting when it comes to self-esteem or sales. We have some long-time customers, including Stairway to Heaven.  In addition, last year we connected with PJ’s Records, which is owned by two brothers whose grandfather read the Gargoyle as early as the 1920s. They love us because their grandfather loved us, and they’ve been buying ads from us since we met last year.  It never hurts to maintain a legacy.

However, we realize that chains are a growing trend everywhere, not just Ann Arbor, and we’re looking to the future.  Our business staff is actively searching out new advertisers and revenue streams, all the while fighting to maintain our local ties.  We have developed into quite the e-merchant, selling beautifully designed and locally printed tee shirts.  As always, alumni subscriptions are helpful (HINT) and merchandise sales can’t hurt (BUY A SHIRT!).