Publisher Plans To Bundle <i>Out</i> With <i>The Advocate</i> For Subscribers

Here Media CEO Paul Colichman laid out a new marketing plan for his company's gay publications The Advocate and Out, in a recent letter to readers. After revealing that four members of The Advocate's editorial team were let go in order to make room for new staffers who can work across Here Media's many platforms -- print, online and broadcast TV -- Colichman announced a new plan to send The Advocate's subscribers a copy of Out every month as well: "The recent closures of Gourmet, Portfolio, Genre, and other magazines have shown the weaknesses of the print publication model. The rising costs of paper, printing, and postage have become a major problem. Therefore, we plan to greatly reduce these costs by jointly marketing The Advocate and Out magazines. We will fulfill Advocate subscriptions via joint delivery with Out. Advocate subscribers will continue to receive their monthly magazine along with a copy of Out at no extra charge. This move will also allow us to continue to offer Out at affordable subscription prices, either as a stand-alone title or with the choice to receive The Advocate as well. The strategy preserves our ability to deliver the same high-quality print magazines while allocating additional resources to editorial content." But despite this new marketing tactic, Colichman added that his publications were not suffering as badly as others in the industry:"During an economically troubled 2009, which saw the death of many important print publications, both The Advocate and Out fared significantly better advertising-wise than the industry as a whole. Together the brands will show a small profit." The key to that statement is that both brands together have shown a profit. Perhaps by bundling them, Here Media can help keep The Advocate alive in print. As it stands, the pub trails its sister pub in circulation: according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, The Advocate has a total circulation of 187,791, while Out has a circ of 202,052. Read Colichman's whole letter here: A Letter From Here Media's CEO Earlier: Latest Layoff News: The Advocate

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Publisher Plans To Bundle Out With The Advocate For Subscribers

Amanda Ernst

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Amanda Ernst