Real-World Solution

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, August 1, 2003

MARKETING

'FamilyFun' Hits the Road

Magazine publishers have long used book publishing as a brand-extension tool. This summer, Disney Publishing's FamilyFun took its book publishing to new promotional frontiers.

To promote the magazine's six regional travel guides, contributing editor Deb Geigis Berry took her family on the road, touring the country in a Greyhawk RV. The promotion teamed the magazine with GoRVing, an association of RV manufacturers, component suppliers, dealers, and campgrounds.In addition to the book series, the FamilyFun Vacation Guides, the tour was tied to a series of articles in the magazine. With each issue this year, "See America" is highlighting a different region of the country. "Through the media tour, we generated a tremendous amount of publicity for the magazine and for the book program," says Glenn Rosenbloom, senior vice president and group publisher. "And it reinforced FamilyFun's expertise in the minds of the media and consumers on the subject of family travel."

The tour kicked off in Tampa on May 5 before going to Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and five other cities. It generated coverage from local and national media, including CNN.

According to Rosenbloom, travel is an important category for FamilyFun, with 10 to 15 percent of its ads coming from the category. And focusing on RV travel has been a good move, because, he notes, "People are flying a little bit less and driving more." Though the magazine's ad pages were down slightly through June (by 3.2 percent), ad revenues were up by about 11 percent, in part due to its success in attracting travel advertising. "Our business has increased, even at a time when the travel industry has been less than robust," says Rosenbloom.

ONLINE

Continuous Updates at Forbes.com

At Forbes magazine's Web site, Forbes.com, visitors can now download "Executive Connection," a desktop application that lets them create a condensed and personalized view of the site. The application offers instant access to news and data that readers can tailor to make it relevant to their own business.

"It's a way for people to be regularly updated about Forbes.com, to stay updated about business and technology news," says Jim Spanfeller, president and CEO. So far, readers seem interested in taking advantage of the application, which is sponsored by IBM. In the first two weeks it was available, Spanfeller says that about 2,000 people signed up for the service. Since the site posts about 1,600 stories a day, he notes that readers who use the connection will continually get updates and be drawn back to the main site. "Applications like this are a way to really highlight to our user base that there's something new happening throughout the day," he adds.

The free service is one of several offered through the site to make it more user- and advertiser-friendly. Spanfeller declined to say to what degree these programs have increased traffic at the site, but he does say they have helped. Forbes.com gets from 250,000 to 300,000 unique visitors per day. "We're seeing consistent growth," he says.

TIE-INS

'Better Homes' Takes Off

Travelers taking Delta Airlines home for Thanksgiving will get a sample of "American Homecomings," an editorial and advertising initiative from Better Homes and Gardens. On all Delta domestic flights in November, 60-second vignettes created by the magazine (on such topics as reconnecting with family members and entertaining), will run with sponsored advertising. Daniel M. Lagani, vice president and publisher of Better Homes, says the intent is to create one-stop-shopping for advertisers and to produce content that makes sense for the brand. It's all part of a bigger home-for-the-holidays program scheduled for November and December. In addition to the spots on Delta flights, there will be special editorial sections in the magazine. Lagani says that Better Homes advertisers will have the option of increasing their involvement by sponsoring the 30-second in-flight ads. "Support the advertising piece [in the magazine] and increase your business with us, and we'll build an integrated program," he says. "We have set everything up so that it is a single purchase, based on an advertiser's level of commitment in November and December. It is one more smart idea for advertisers, simply packaged, at a time when the consumer is focused on what we're talking about." Although it is too soon to tell if the program will fly high with advertisers, Lagani is confident it will be a success. "We're building integrated communication with the consumer - in the magazine, online, and now in-flight," he says. "It's a branded connection across all those media."