FOLIO: 40: Dana Spain-Smith

Dana Spain-Smith
COO | DLG Media Holdings

Why her: She oversees a regional publisher that's doing big publisher initiatives on a small company budget.

Most city and regional magazines are single-title publishers, focused on print. But DLG Media Holdings (publisher of Philadelphia Style and DC Style) is expanding rapidly, thanks to an integrated media strategy that ranges from magazines to events to online.

DLG's online prowess is such that it now consults for other companies (including a $100 million multi-national design firm), handling everything from Web site design and search engine optimization to marketing and PR campaigns. The unit launched five months ago after Spain-Smith had a dinner conversation with friends. "They said they were hiring a branding company and that they were going to spend a huge amount of money to 're-brand themselves,'" says Spain-Smith. "I said, 'I bet we could do that for a lot less money.'"

On the print side, Philadelphia Style is launching its first "green issue" and the company is reviving a city guide. "I have a great team that runs the magazines," says Spain-Smith, who's focusing more on online and the consulting. "If these are the kinds of ideas they can come up with without me looking over their shoulders, good for us."

DLG just launched a text message club that alerts members to specials and happy hours around town, while local advertisers can promote specials. "We do big company stuff on little budgets," says Spain-Smith. "There are a lot of battles going on in print, but few people in our market are looking beyond print and saying, 'If everyone is competing in this realm, how do we stay one step ahead by owning another realm?'"

VITAL STATS:
Expects just under $4 million in gross revenue in 2007, with a rapidly changing revenue mix.

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