More signed up 70,000 pre-launch

Transcontinental Media says that 70,000 subscribers have already signed up for the Canadian edition of More. This, according to a story in Media in Canada. The magazine, aimed at mature women, is being launched on Wednesday with a big party in Toronto's distillery district and will debut March 26 with a guaranteed first-issue circulation of 120,000.

More's Canadian edition is a joint venture between Transcontinental Media (Canada's largest consumer publisher) and Meredith Corporation, the originator of the title (named magazine of the year by Advertising Age in 2006). Meredith is one of the largest and most successful publishers in the U.S. (It owns Better Homes & Gardens.)

There will be six issues of the Canadian More in 2007 and eight are scheduled for 2008. The editor is Linda Lewis, the former editor of Today's Parent magazine.

A lot of the promotion of the magazine has hinged upon using Transcontinental's online databases and freestanding inserts in the other Transcontinental titles as well as major urban newspapers including the Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald, Victoria Times and Toronto Star. The first issue is to sell for $1.99 on the newsstands.

More's premiere issue includes a "Top 40 Over 40" feature spotlighting a spectrum of Canadian women ranging from Governor General Michaelle Jean to actor Pamela Anderson. The magazine will launch the "More 40+ Model Search," a competition targeting women in their 40s and 50s. The winner will receive a one-year contract with Toronto-HQ'd Elite Model Management, a fashion layout in More's April 2008 issue, plus over $4,000 in prizes from sponsors. The contest will run for a full year with promos in the spring, summer and September 2007 issues of the magazine.