July 7th, 2011
Meredith is closing the doors on the DIY magazine ReadyMade. It will eliminate approximately 75 positions worldwide. Meredith Chairman and CEO, Steve Lacy, said the decision will enable them to devote additional resources to key strategic growth initiatives, including digital platform expansion. Though ReadyMade boasted circulation of about 335,230, ad pages fell 8.5% in the first quarter of 2011, putting the magazine on the chopping block. According to MagazineRadar, Meredith posted the largest drop in ad pages among the six major publishers in the first three months of 2011.
Hoping to turn their luck around just a week later, Meredith purchased multichannel brand EatingWell Media Group. This acquisition includes taking over the bi-monthly EatingWell Magazine, EatingWell.com, a Health-in-a-Hurry mobile recipe app, and a series of food and nutrition related cookbooks. Audience Development (Jun 21-27) ReadyMade EatingWell
July 7th, 2011
Zinio, a digital magazine and newsstand provider, is offering up a pretty enticing deal through the discount phenomenon Groupon. Jeanniey Mullen, global executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Zinio, took a chance with Groupon by offering $35 worth of subscriptions to any of the 4,300 titles available on Zinio for just $15. It allows people to take their choice of the entire newsstand, so customers can stick with the magazines they already know they like or pick up a new magazine without paying steep prices for a full subscription. The deal was tested live this week in Anchorage, AK; Baltimore, MD and Chattanooga, TN and so far it’s been paying off. Audience Development (Jul 6, 2011)
July 5th, 2011
Look for Hearst’s “New Century Craftsmanship Idea Series” ad campaign in select July and August issues of Hearst titles. Partnering with Ford Lincoln, the campaign features artisans who carry through Lincoln’s branded message of craftsmanship and design through their own work.
Debuting in print ads, chef Richard Blais will be spotlighted in O, The Oprah Magazine and House Beautiful; men’s fashion designer Kevin Stewart in Esquire; and jewelry designer Karen Erickson in Harper’s Bazaar and Veranda. The campaign will also feature an online video series with these personalities on those magazines’ websites. Consumers can enter to win “goods” and “experiences” such as clothing and an invitation to attend Kevin Stewart’s upcoming fashion show.
Jeff Hamill, SVP of sales with Hearst Integrated Media, sees the ad campaign “As a chance for the consumer to get deeper into the ideas behind Lincoln craftsmanship and Lincoln philosophy, which was really the brand driver for Lincoln in terms of this program…It’s a perfect example of what we do with corporate sales, provide custom advertising solutions for our best advertisers. In a company our size, we firmly believe we can bundle our appropriate assets in a very strategic way for any of our large advertisers’ needs,” says Hamill.