Walmart Live Better launched as Canada's largest circulation title

Walmart Canada's  magazine Walmart Live Better, which with its 1 million circulation automatically becomes Canada's largest circulation magazine, has been launched. Announced in December, it is a partnership with Rogers Media Inc. and six times a year will focus on beauty, fashion, food and home trends.  

In addition to the print edition, it offers a free downloadable tablet edition, a website, e-newsletter, single advertiser e-blasts and social media via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

"Canadians want to be inspired by new ideas and stay on budget. With Walmart Live Better they don't have to make a choice. Our team of experts provide great ideas on how to make dollars go farther with style," said Sandra Martin, editor-in-chief of the magazine, in a statement.

Walmart told the Toronto Star that any relationship between the glossy, 100-page magazine and the concurrent launch of a chain of Target stores (and their more downmarket flyers) across the country is purely coincidental. 

"Walmart Live Better is really about making inspiring ideas accessible, attainable and affordable to Canadians," said publisher Christopher Loudon in a company release. "The unique partnership brings Canadians a fresh and informative multiplatform magazine."  (Loudon was at one time the founding editor-in-chief of  Rogers's HELLO! Canada magazine, group publisher and editor-in-chief of Marketing magazine and editor of Inside Entertainment and TV Guide.) 

The magazine's media kit  offers advertisers 1 million circulation and access to 20 million monthly shoppers in the Walmart Supercentres. It says more than 8 million customers visit Walmart each week. A full page is $27,000 in the print edition, and a standard digital ad unit is $40/M. 

The magazine carries advertorial single-sponsor showcases (example at right) in food, health, home decor, baby and child care and fashion categories, which it describes as 

"a contextually relevant environment that supports and reinforces brand messaging. Labelled as Live Better Promotion (not "Advertisement"), these innovative and guaranteed placement options can be custom-tailored for any advertiser, and will be closely aligned in style and content to the rest of the magazine. All promotions are available as single or multiple pages."