FOLIO: Wire | 1.25.07

Publishers Press First Printer to Offer Co-mailing for Tabloids
Shepherdsville, Kentucky-based printer Publishers Press, has announced it will include tabloid publications in the co-mailing feature of its PubXpressTM Distribution System. PubXpressTM combines co-palletization, co-mailing, and drop shipping into a program that allows smaller publishers to receive postal discounts traditionally granted for larger mailers. Publishers Press is the first printer to offer co-mailing for tabloids.

Approximately 70 percent of Publishers Press' tabloid Periodicals-Class publications could benefit from the sortation discount, according to Mark Veatch, vice president of customer service and co-mailing project leader at Publishers Press. "To our knowledge, no one lese is offering tabloid co-mailing to short- and medium-run magazines," Veatch said in a statement.

The company retooled existing equipment and combined it with new items to create a tabloid co-mailer, according to Veatch.

The new program comes during a time when many publishers are preparing to testify against rate proposals made by Time Inc. and MPA. One of the arguments against rate proposals is the absence of co-mailing alternatives for tabloid magazines.

New Study Says Marketers Expect Larger Budgets for Custom Publishing
Chief marketing officers expect to spend more of their marketing budgets on custom media over the next few years, according to a new study from the Custom Publishing Council and Roper Public Affairs and Media. According to "CMOs Attitudes Toward Custom Media," 59 percent of CMOs believe custom media will capture a larger portion of their marketing budgets, while 41 percent say they have already shifted marketing funds away from traditional media in favor of custom.

Other findings include:

• Eight of 10 CMOs believe that custom media should be an integral part of the marketing mix for any business and 78 percent agree that custom media represents the future of marketing. Custom Web content and Web sites are used by 87 percent of the CMOs surveyed.
• The CMOs surveyed estimated that 48 percent of Americans are familiar with custom publications, whereas in reality 58 percent of Americans say they are aware of custom publications.
• 72 percent of CMOs reported seeing value in the service provided by custom publications. Eight in 10 said they believe people who receive custom publications are more likely to buy from the sponsoring company again.
• Seven in 10 CMOs believe that custom publications have a positive effect on people's attitudes.
• 89 percent of CMOs say the would use custom media more if they felt there was an effective way to measure ROI.
• 65 percent of CMOs say they would use custom media more if it were less expensive.
• When asked to grade the custom publishing industry, most CMOs gave a "C" to providers in general and the custom specific media provider they have themselves used.

Smithsonian Partners with Taste of Vail
Smithsonian magazine has teamed up with Taste of Vail, an annual celebration that attracts 5,000 epicureans, skiers, and resort travelers to Vail Valley, Colorado each year. The March issue of Smithsonian will feature an advertorial of the festival, while a micro-site will be available at Smithsonian.com. The festival will also receive ad pages in the magazine. Smithsonian will receive branded presence in all of the Taste of Vail events and materials and VIP access and entertainment to all of the Taste events.

1105 Buys Conference, Adds To Education Technology Group
1105 Media has purchased Florida Educational Technology Corp., producer of the annual FETC Conference, a technology conference focused on the K-12 market that attracts some 8,000 attendees and more than 500 companies each year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The conference will be merged into 1105's Education Technology Group, which includes T.H.E. Journal and Campus Technology, as well as five Web sites, nine e-newsletters and live events for the higher education technology market. This is the third acquisition Chatsworth, California-based 1105 has made since the start of the year.

AARP Publications Forms Partnership with National Federation of the Blind
AARP Publications and the National Federation of the Blind have joined forces to make AARP publications accessible to all blind and low vision people in the United States. The publications participating are AARP the Magazine, AARP Bulletin, and AARP Segunda Juventud, AARP's bilingual magazine. The titles are available on NFB-NEWSLINEï¾®, a national, free, on-demand news service for the blind. Through a synthetic speech engine, NFB-NEWSLINEï¾® delivers 238 participating newspapers and six magazines to subscribers daily. Content is acquired via the Internet through a direct feed from the publisher and can also be accessed via telephone.

Randall-Reilly Buys Kona Communications
Randall-Reilly Publishing has acquired Deerfield, Illinois-based Kona Communications, a 37-year-old publisher of Truck Parts and Service and Successful Dealer magazines. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The titles adds the two new titles to Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based Randall-Reilly's other trucking-related products and events, including Commercial Carrier Journal, Overdrive, Truckers News, Trañsportista (formerly Truckers News en Español), NextTruck and the Great American Trucking Show. Kona's founder, President and CEO Jim Moss, will remain with the magazines in an advisory role throughout the transition period. Kona's offices will remain in Deerfield.

Stack Magazine Increases Rate Base
Teen athlete consumer magazine Stack will increase its rate base to 400,000 for its second anniversary issue out in February. Stack launched in February 2005 with a rate base of 300,000 and there is currently a subscription waiting list of more than 200 high schools.

Bauer to Launch Another Weekly
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based Bauer Publishing USA will launch a new women's lifestyle magazine called Cocktail Weekly on September 21. The magazine will join Bauer's existing weekly powerhouses In Touch and Life & Style and will be targeted to women in their 20s. But Cocktail Weekly won't sell for the low $1.99 newsstand price that its sister publications sell for. Instead, it will cost all of $2.49, which is still relatively low considering the retail price of many magazines is between $3 and $4.

Although an official rate base has yet to be established, Bauer CEO Hubert Boehle told The New York Post he expects to distribute close to 1 million copies. The magazine will look to thrive through newsstand sales, according to Boehle, who said he will "aggressively acquire racks" in supermarkets and retailers. "In September, it will be everywhere," he said.

Maria Lissandrello, former executive editor of Bauer title First For Women, will come on board as editor in chief.

Men's Journal Ad Staff Chews on Extreme Cuisine
On January 22, the Men's Journal advertising sales staff participated in "extreme cuisine," eating scorpions tarantulas, cockroaches, maggots, and crickets in honor of the magazine's "Dare Your Rep Campaign."

An e-mail survey was sent out the clients and agencies in honor of the magazine's May Adventure issue, asking them to vote on which adventure they would want the ad staff to complete. Extreme Cuisine won 48 percent of the votes beating out other adventures like climbing the stairs of the Empire State Building, fire walking, ice climbing and race car ice racing. Fourteen staff members participated in the event.

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