New mag Best Life from St. Joseph Communications carries flyers into mailboxes

St. Joseph Communications has tapped into the flyer business by creating a new distribution option that polybags flyers with a new editorial lifestyle magazine called Best Life. The company says people love their flyers; but the solution removes retailers from a cluttered delivery environment and gets their messages across a consumer’s doorstep via Canada Post delivery.

“We’re excited to present this new flyer delivery model for Canadian retailers that is cost-effective and provides a great consumer experience, tapping into Canadians’ affinity for flyers and high-quality editorial,” says Tony Gagliano, CEO of St. Joseph Communications. “Over the last 12 months, we have worked to develop and create the ultimate model that addresses what’s lacking in flyer delivery in Canada today: a compelling, relevant, targeted, differentiated, timely – and affordable solution.”

The first Best Life package will be tested with distribution in the London market on April 27.  

UPPERCASE plans subscription promotion by planting a little forest

UPPERCASE magazine has embarked on a promotional venture to plant a forest. The Calgary-based magazine is already printed on 100% recycled paper, but publisher Janine Vangool has told the readers of the quarterly makers' magazine that more could be done. So the plan is to plant a tree for every new subscription or renewal received in 2018.

The project is being done through a Calgary-based company called TreeEra, which helps individuals reduce their carbon footprint. (Since only the first of the year there have been 96 new subscriptions to UPPERCASE, hence 96 trees to be planted.) She notes that a single tree can offset up to one ton of carbon in its lifetime. 

"It's exciting to think that we could plant a little UPPERCASE forest of trees! Plus it is motivating to have this new benefit as part of my business goals and to give back in a tangible way. (Magazine subscription prices will remain the same as they have been since 2009.) TreeEra's 2018 planting will take place north of Kamloops, BC, Canada as well as in South Dakota, USA."

 [Disclosure: I am an UPPERCASE subscriber.]

Owlkids and NSERC partner to present inaugural National Science Reading Day

As part of Science Literacy Week, Owlkids, a division of Bayard Canada, publisher of chickaDEE and OWL magazines has partnered with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to launch the inaugural National Science Reading Day on September 20, 2017.

Young Canadians ages 6 to 17 and their classrooms are invited to devote a period of the day between September 19 and 21 to science readings, as well as to enter a Canada-wide contest celebrating National Science Reading Day. There are over $3,000 in prizes to be won, including four classroom prizes and five individual prizes consisting of magazines and books from publishers Owlkids, Simon & Schuster Canada, Nimbus Publishing, and DK Books.

"By reading science articles, books, comics, or science fiction, children discover the endless possibilities of science. These readers will one day make new discoveries, build new technologies, and solve world problems," shares Owlkids Publisher Angela Keenlyside.

National Science Reading Day supports the mandate of both Owlkids and the NSERC to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) to children and youth.

"Science books have the unique power to enlighten and captivate in equal measure kids of all ages," says Jesse Hildebrand, founder of Science Literacy Week. "They reveal the amazing discoveries and insights gained from great research and exploration done throughout all of history, and showcase that the best stories are true."

For full contest information, please visit owlkids.com/sciencereadingday.
For the French-language contest, visit lesdebrouillards.com/jelislascience

The Kit Compact comes out with five covers, from film to makeup and Gen Z

The Kit Compact's September issue is distinguished by having five covers, featuring Gen Z “Queen Bees”.  Copies of the five versions of the pop-up magazine are being given out in downtown Toronto (not at all coincidental with the TIFF film festival) and one cover selected for each additional participating city, including Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver. 

“Each image was so beautiful, we couldn’t choose just one,” explains Giorgina Bigioni, publisher of The Kit, about why five cover images were selected. “We had to showcase them all.”

This issue features talented Canadian women in film, a portrait series on young women and faith, and original fiction by a 16-year old author. 

“The women we spoke to in this issue reaffirmed my belief in the power of hope,” says Laura deCarufel, editor-in-chief. “The believe they can do anything. I believe them.” 

Magazines Canada releases latest wacky video in its national marketing campaign

Magazines Canada has released a new element called Canadian Magazine Mashup, part of its ongoing national magazine marketing campaign . It's the latest in a series of absurdist videos that started in July. (This one is about what you get when you cross a fashionista with fall foliage.)

"This campaign draws attention to homegrown stories; it speaks directly to the relationship between Canadian magazines and their audience," says Barbara Bates, executive director of circulation marketing for Magazines Canada in a release. "Each new campaign video and ad highlights the endless possibilities of imagination and engagement when you open a magazine."

The theme is storytelling: The message is "When you dive into your favourite magazine, you might get lost," with two worlds colliding. Readers at a magazine stand each lose themselves in the pages of different Canadian magazines with hilarious results. The intention is to say that with hundreds of Canadian magazines to choose from, there is a title to match anyone's interest in stores now.

St. Joseph explores the blurring of lines between print and digital

St. Joseph Communications, the publishers of, among other magazines, Toronto Life, has released a trend report called 2017 Print in a Digital World. It's aimed at marketers and is part of a major series about trends in the multi-channel universe. It showcases over 65 global examples of brands that are blurring the lines between print and digital.

“We are in an information revolution, powered by the intersection of two of the most commanding knowledge transfer mechanisms of our time – the Gutenberg Press and the Internet,” says Michael Chase, chief marketing officer at St. Joseph Communications. “This means that the period in which we now live is unique and we benefit from the mixing and mingling of print and digital.”

Among the trends it identifies:

• Creating Immersive Experiences  "From smartphones to desktops and tablets to wearables, we cannot escape real-time digital experiences. Real disruption goes beyond swipes and taps. It comes from creating a wider sensory and immersive experience."
• Art Not Ads"  The beauty of print is that you can reach out and touch it, and now you can even eat it. It’s about more than paper and ink. Print advertising is a fine art, bringing together craftsmanship, design and storytelling in a way that engages and inspires."
• More Than Ink On The Page"We can’t think of ink and paper in the same way anymore. It illuminates. It saves the environment. It excels in the digital world. And most importantly, it creates deep connections with consumers. Today, print is anything but traditional."

http://trends.stjoseph.com/wp-content/themes/html5blank/pdf/2017_Print_in_a_Digital_World.pdf

Today's Parent gives a whole new meaning to "cover model"

Today's Parent magazine's back-to-school issue cover was made using an appropriate medium, modelling clay. It took Toronto set designer Caitlin Doherty 82 hours and 314 cans of Play-Doh to fashion the scene. A video was made of the process.

https://www.facebook.com/TodaysParent/videos/10154447721084993/

Carousel magazine tours Ontario to meet readers and writers

Carousel magazine, the literary and art hybrid, is getting out of Toronto, the walled city and into greater Ontario with its summer tour. Events have already happened in Ottawa, but the next ones where the editors meet writers and readers and show off issue 36* will be

• Jun 29 (Wed) @ Artword Theatre, Hamilton
• Jun 30 (Thu) @ Open Sesame, Kitchener
• Jul 07 (Thu) @ Artspace, Peterborough
• Jul 27 (Wed) @ Booker Mansion, Kingston
• Aug 11 (Thu) @ Brown & Dickson, London
• Aug 12 (Fri) @ Common Ground, Windsor

*There's a video preview of the issue available:

Uppercase shows some simple ways of showing off an issue and what's good about it

I make no secret of my admiration for the work of Calgary's Uppercase magazine and the many ways it connects with its subscribers (of which I'm one) and potential new readers. The device is deceptively simple -- in this case a walk through (leaf through) of the current issue, making a one-take video with a cellphone on a tripod. The publisher/editor, Janine Vangool (or at least her hands) uses various simple props,too. It's a real example of how to engage with your audience and promote the excellence of your content. 

Canada's History and Kayak mark centenary of the achievement of women's suffrage

Canada's History and Kayak: Canada's History Magazine for Kids are marking the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage with special editions. A special panel selected "20 Great Women" from political, business, artistic and activist history for inclusion in the issue. Both Canada's History and Kayak are published by Canada's History Society, based in Winnipeg.

"In a perfect world, the women on our list would be household names. But for too long, history textbooks have focused on great men, to the exclusion of all others," editor-in-chief Mark Collin Reid said in a release. "Hopefully, this special feature will launch a broader conversation on outstanding women in Canadian history."

Among the women selected were 

• Abolitionist Mary Ann Shadd Cary, who helped black slaves find freedom in nineteenth-century Canada;
• Kenojuak Ashevak, an Inuit artist who pioneered an artistic vocabulary that inspired a generation;
• Thérèse Casgrain, a tireless Quebec activist and the first woman in Canada to lead a political party;
• Nellie McClung, the iconic suffragist who helped women in Manitoba win the right to vote provincially in January 1916. Saskatchewan and Alberta followed suit later that year.

Readers are asked to vote for their favourite Great Woman and nominate others; all participants are entered into a draw for an original painting by Barbara Paterson, the sculptor of the "Famous Five" monument on Parliament Hill.

Kayak's special issue, aimed at 7 - 12-year-olds explores how women got the vote and features stories and comic book renderings of the story of McClung. 

Maclean's town hall to question the new prime minister

Maclean's magazine is parlaying the groundswell of public interest in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by holding a live town hall with him on Wednesday, December 16 from Ottawa and using Rogers Media's range of print and broadcast properties and talent to present it. 

Hosted by political editor Paul Wells, the one-hour broadcast will take place from Ottawa's National Arts Centre in front of a live audience. and be carried commercial free on Macleans.ca, City, OMNI 1 in Italian, OMNI 2 in Mandarin, Rogers TV (in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland), CPAC, and CPAC.ca at 2 p.m. ET. Later that evening, City, OMNI 1 in Italian, OMNI 2 in Mandarin, Rogers TV and CPAC will broadcast an encore presentation of the Town Hall, commercial free, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. 

During the question period, the Prime Minister will first take queries from Wells, Rachel Giese (Chatelaine) and Alec Castonguay (L'actualité). Canadians across the country will then have their turn, including those in the live audience, and those on Facebook and Twitter. The public can submit their questions on Macleans.ca and the magazine's Facebook page and, according to Maclean's neither Trudeau nor his staff will see any of the questions in advance.

"The last time Justin Trudeau visited Maclean's five months ago, his party was in third place in the polls and I asked all the questions," says Wells. "Now he's the Prime Minister and we're inviting Canadians to ask their own questions, on the issues they're concerned about."

Love the city; love the store: that's Spacing's formula

It's a soft sell. Spacing magazine created a video love letter to Toronto and combined it with a promotion for its retail store at 401 Richmond Street. (It was an interesting insight at last night's NMAF event to hear that the magazine's single copy sales have gone up 20% as a direct result of having the retail outlet.)

Rush bassist Geddy Lee at home in HOSS

The bassist for the rock band Rush, Geddy Lee, and his Toronto home are featured in the cover story of the Toronto-based HOSS (Homeowner's Simple Solutions) magazine. 

The story in the November/December holiday issue is synced with the release of R40 Live, a live-in-concert album recorded last June in Toronto. Featured are Lee's 5,000-bottle wine cellar, his baseball memorabilia and vintage guitars and his love of art.

Readers have a chance to enter and win a contest for a custom Fender Squire vintage modified jazz bass '70s guitar with a custom-engraved R40 pickguard. 

Selfie reading a Manitoba magazine could win a 2-year sub

The Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association is running a contest whereby readers can take a selfie reading one of the MMPA member magazines and perhaps win a two-year subscription to that magazine. The winner will be selected September 14. 

(It's an extension of their special offer of buying three participating Manitoba magazines for $33.) 

Vancouver magazine unveils first winners of its inaugural craft beer awards

Best of show: Steamworks Brewing Co. Imperial Red Ale

Vancouver Magazine has unveiled the winners of its 1st Annual International Craft Beer awards. The best in show winner was a local brew, Steamworks Brewing's Imperial Red Ale, though it was up against a wide international field of competitors. The awards were presented Friday night at the Roundhouse Community Centre as part of Vancouver Craft Beer Week. The June issue of the magazine, out now, makes awards in 15 categories (who knew there could be so many categories of beer?). 

Wedding Bells/MARIAGE survey says engaged in December, married in August is the trend

The average Canadian wedding costs $30,717, including the honeymoon, according to 2015 reader survey results published jointly by Weddingbells and MARIAGE Québec magazines. The survey says one-fifth of engagements occur in December, 23% of weddings in August, and that 29% of brides had already picked out their engagement ring before receiving a marriage proposal. The average age of responding brides is 30.

Weddingbells and MARIAGE Québec are published twice annually by St. Joseph Communications

[Click infographic to enlarge]

The survey was conducted between July 2014 and March 2015 with more than 2,000 brides and brides-to-be. 

ELLE Canada looking for its first "beauty vlogger" to produce weekly how-to videos

ELLE Canada magazine is looking for someone to become the magazine's first beauty vlogger. It is as much a promotional contest as a job posting, but the end result is that someone will get a paid, six-month contract to produce weekly 5-to-10 minutes how-to beauty videos. Every week what is called a "curated box" of beauty products will be supplied to her (or him) and suggestions will be made from ELLE Canada’s beauty director, Vanessa Craft. The  resulting videos will be available on ELLE Canada's social media channels and on ElleCanada.com. 

Entries must be in by May 18, in the form of a three-minute beauty tutorial video posted to YouTube. Entry instructions are on ELLECanada.com/beautyplaylist . The first video will be posted on June 15, which gives the winner just two weeks from being selected to get it done. 

Maisonneuve magazine lecture series is about Doing it Right

Maisonneuve magazine is launching a lecture series called Letters from Montreal, on Wednesday May 13 at 8 p.m. It's being presented in collaboration with Café L'Artère, coopérative de solidarité, 7000 Avenue du Parc. 

Talented performers from different backgrounds have been asked to address one topic: Doing It Right. The moderator will be the magazine's editor Halley Cullingham and the speakers will be

• Fariha Roisin, a freelancer writer & the co-host of the podcast Two Brown Girls. Her lecture will be about "Doing the Right Thing: what's feminism got to do with it"
• Rollie Pemberton, a DJ, rapper, poet & person. His lecture will be about "Playing the game the right way"
• Meags Fitzgerald, a graphic novelist, illustrator, improviser and vintage photo booth expert. Her lecture will be about the tension between "Correctness and stubborness", specifically as it relates the clash between innovative design and nostalgia-rooted design.
• Jacob Wren, a writer, novelist, performer and expert at sharing literary quotes on social media. His lecture will be about "Stumbling towards art and politics"

"Weird Al" guest-edits MAD

I don't know why this appeals to me, since I've drifted away somewhat (OK, completely) from reading MAD magazine, but the issue coming out tomorrow is guest-edited by musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. He is the first-ever guest editor for the magazine and says 

"Guest editor" is very generous. I was very involved in the issue, and it's certainly a Weird Al-themed issue, but John and the editorial staff did most of the heavy lifting. 

"Having said that, I did contribute a few pieces. I was involved in the decision on the cover. I answered all the letters."

Ride-sharing company Uber to share Momentum magazine with its drivers

Uber, the burgeoning ride-sharing company, has launched a quarterly print magazine to be distributed  to its 150,000 drivers in any cities where the service operates, including Toronto. It's called Momentum and, according to a post on GeekWire, articles in the inaugural issue will cover how to stay healthy and in shape, putting a spotlight on Austin, Texas (an Uber-served city) and pro driving tips from an Uber "partner" (which is what the service calls its drivers.) The 16-page magazine is available in print and digitally. Issue 1. 

“We want to strengthen the community of our driver partners — currently 150,000 people strong — by making sure you are up to date on new developments within our company and giving you new and improved methods to connect to us and one another,” writes Ryan Graves, Uber head of operations. “As we gear up for another big year of improvements, we look forward to hearing from you about what more we can do to ensure you have the most positive experience possible on the road with our platform.”

Might there be some consternation at the Vancouver headquarters of Momentum, the North America-wide cycling and lifestyle magazine?