Two big-name magazine groups are translating their online product to bound pages. Hearst is introducing a bookazine, as it’s called on MediaWeek, based on content from Light & Delish, a food site launched with MSN in 2008. The consumer-driven, $9.99 Light & Delish publishes tomorrow (Feb. 2), with just three paid ads from Kraft, a launch sponsor. One of Hearst’s special projects editors, Susan Schulz, said to MediaWeek, “It’s a way to repackage content in a way that’s meaningful to the reader.” Meredith is also getting in on the act, publishing a magazine that was tested last year based on Mixing Bowl, an online social network built around food. MediaWeek reports Meredith recently published a second issue of Mixing Bowl and is planning a third for later this year.
A new face next to People and USWeekly, Juicy magazine will “grant VIP access to the latest in gossip from Hollywood to Atlanta to New York,” for a multicultural female audience, according to BlackWeb 2.0. The newsstand-only magazine is set to launch in May with a 150,000 circulation, and will publish four times in 2010 with the hopes of going monthly next year, according to Folio. The $4.99 mag comes from Harris Publications, who also publishes XXL.
Even though she’s not the the target age, 33-year-old Katherine Hewitt sees a need for a magazine aimed at women aged 50 years or older in Colorado. Specifically, her upcoming magazine Be will be targeting those living and working along the Northern Front Range of Colorado. The publication’s aiming for a June 1 launch, with advertisers and a creative director working to get Be’s name in the media world. Single mother Hewitt told Boulder County Business report, her magazine “embraces the contrasts and contradictions of every woman and seeks to share their stories.”
Everyone’s begging for solutions for the dismal economy – and no one more than retailers. But lucky for them, soon-to-be launched Specialty Insider will offer up insider knowledge, tips and tricks to surviving the fashion industry. Company Insider Communications Group, headed by former SVP and group publisher of Conde Nast’s Women’s Wear Daily Ralph Erardy, is hoping to debut the 52-page quarterly mag Jan. 25. It’ll be a fresh start with an initial controlled circulation of 15,000, but they might consider a paid model in the future, Erardy told Folio.
We spent the last month looking back at the first decade, and now we’re ready to look forward. What’s going to happen in the custom media industry in 2010? Do we need to get out our credit cards to read content online? Change our magazine format to read better on the new tablets? Start looking for a return on those viral videos?
In this featured video, your favorite TMGers predict the five ways content will change this year. Communications Manager Rebecca Loveridge predicts new devices will put the emphasis back on original, quality content. Principal Richard Creighton believes people will start paying for content. Video Publishing Director Kate Ottenberg says publishers will focus on ROI with online video programming. Washington Flyer Editor Michael McCarthy says magazines will walk back from the plank. Social Media Director Andrew Hanelly believes social media will get fragmented.
How do you think content will change in 2010? Tell us!
Are you ready for a “new you”? The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery thinks so. And they’ll try to talk you into it through a brand-new quarterly glossy titled just that. Promising an audience of 2 million readers, the pub will explore cosmetic procedures and feature interviews with doctors and patients, those can’t-look-away before and after photos, and life advice on how to cope post-surgery. In addition to cosmetic surgery waiting room distribution, the pub will also be in hotels, spas, dentist offices and select newsstands.
Organic Gardening magazine is blooming again with a relaunch debuting a new look. The February/March issue, on newsstands now, features a larger format on heavier paper stock, plus new editorial features and contributors. The 70-year-old bi-monthly also increased its rate base to 275,000 (more than five percent, and its third increase in four years!). Rodale, who owns the pub, dedicated the redesign to Ardath Harter, the former Rodale CEO who passed away. We love the new look. This garden is definitely going to keep growing.
AgriCultures Network, aka LEISA Magazines, is adding a new publication to its crop of international small-scale-farming magazines. The newbie, Farming Matters, focuses on small-scale agriculture and sustainability around the world. It’s published by ILEIA, the Centre for Learning on Sustainable Agriculture, and has more than 18,000 subscribers in 150 countries. According to ILEIA, Farming Matters will put local experiences into a global context, and bring readers news, opinion, and practical examples of how small-scale farming provides food and a healthy environment. It will be published four times a year.
Some advertising might not be as influential as it was in years past, but custom publishing broke all records in 2009. Seventy percent of companies say branded content is more effective than television advertising; 61% say it is more effective than direct mail and 57% say it is more effective than public relations, according to a recent study by the Custom Publishing Council in conjunction with ContentWise.
Turns out marketers poured more money into branded content in 2009 than ever before. The results showed that total spending on branded content was over $1.8 million per company, with 51% spent on print publications, 27% on Internet media and 22% on categories such as video or audio. That means 2009 spending was double that of 2008 and the highest amount since the CPC began conducting the survey in 2003.
The ContentWise and Custom Publishing Councils’ 2009 Spending: A Look at How Corporate America Invests in Branded Content was conducted via online and mailed methods targeting a random sample of companies across all industries. Among the responding companies were: Booz Allen Hamilton, Costco Wholesale, General Electric Energy, Honda Financial Services, State Farm Insurance, VistaCare, and World Vision.
Two big-name magazine groups are translating their online product to bound pages. Hearst is introducing a bookazine, as it’s called on MediaWeek, based on content from Light & Delish, a food site launched with MSN in 2008. The consumer-driven, $9.99 Light & Delish publishes tomorrow (Feb. 2), with just three paid ads from Kraft, a launch sponsor. One of Hearst’s special projects editors, Susan Schulz, said to MediaWeek, “It’s a way to repackage content in a way that’s meaningful to the reader.” Meredith is also getting in on the act, publishing a magazine that was tested last year based on Mixing Bowl, an online social network built around food. MediaWeek reports Meredith recently published a second issue of Mixing Bowl and is planning a third for later this year.
A new face next to People and US Weekly, Juicy magazine will “grant VIP access to the latest in gossip from Hollywood to Atlanta to New York,” for a multicultural female audience, according to BlackWeb 2.0. The newsstand-only magazine is set to launch in May with a 150,000 circulation, and will publish four times in 2010 with the hopes of going monthly next year, according to Folio. The $4.99 mag comes from Harris Publications, who also publishes XXL.
Even though she’s not the the target age, 33-year-old Katherine Hewitt sees a need for a magazine aimed at women aged 50 years or older in Colorado. Specifically, her upcoming magazine Be will be targeting those living and working along the Northern Front Range of Colorado. The publication’s aiming for a June 1 launch, with advertisers and a creative director working to get Be’s name in the media world. Single mother Hewitt told Boulder County Business report, her magazine “embraces the contrasts and contradictions of every woman and seeks to share their stories.”
Everyone’s begging for solutions for the dismal economy – and no one more than retailers. But lucky for them, soon-to-be launched Specialty Insider will offer up insider knowledge, tips and tricks to surviving the fashion industry. Company Insider Communications Group, headed by former SVP and group publisher of Conde Nast’s Women’s Wear Daily Ralph Erardy, is hoping to debut the 52-page quarterly mag Jan. 25. It’ll be a fresh start with an initial controlled circulation of 15,000, but they might consider a paid model in the future, Erardy told Folio.
Are you ready for a “new you”? 
