TC Media acquires most of remaining Rogers Media b2b financial titles

Most of the remainder of the Rogers Media business-to-business titles have now been sold to Transcontinental Media GP. The transaction encompasses seven brands and associated events, custom publishing and market research -- largely in the finance area.

Properties covered in the deal (including all trademarks) are: Advisor's Edge and Advisor's Edge Report (advisor.ca ) Adviser and Adviser to the newspaper ( conseiller.ca and conseiller.ca/pme), Benefits Canada (benefitscanada.com and smallbizadvisor.ca) advantages ( conseiller.ca/avantages), Canadian Insurance Top Broker (CITopBroker.com), Canadian Investment Review (InvestmentReview.com ) and Canadian Institutional Investment Network (institutionalinvestmentnetwork.ca).

The magazines and other properties will now be part of a division including TC Media's other finance-related titles such as Investment Executive (investmentexecutive.com ) and Finance and Investment ( finance-investissement.com ) , The Business and The Business Plus - including Events Les Affaires - ( lesaffaires.com ) Acquizition .biz, Constructo Journal, (groupeconstructo.com ) and a management System for electronic bidding of the Government of Quebec (seao.ca).

Related posts:

• Most of Rogers's b2b titles now sold; a few titles remain in play
• Rogers Media goes digital-first with a bang in its magazine division

Custom content company Totem bought from TC Media by Yellow Pages

The custom content company Totem, a division of TC Transcontinental, has been sold to Yellow Pages (the company which last May bought Vancouver and Western Living magazines from TC Media.)

A September 26 memo to TC Media staff said that 18 Totem employees located at 37 Front Street in Toronto would be transferred to Yellow Pages. 

"We believe that the new owner is well-positioned to run this agency and pursue its growth, since Totem is a complementary acquisition to the existing content creation activities of Yellow Pages and its divisions," it said. 

 Totem was at one time Redwood Custom Communications, Canada's largest custom and contract publishing company and was rebranded as Totem Brand Stories (the tagline later quietly retired) in 2010 after the company was became a subsidiary of TC Media in 2008 as part of its intention to expand its marketing communications offerings to clients.  Among its present and recent clients were CAA, Geico, Acura, Sobey's and British Airways. 

TC Media partners with California "contextual messaging" company

TC Media has entered into a partnership to be the exclusive reseller of StrongView, a platform that can be used by digital clients such as Sunwing Vacations and The Blue Hive (Ford Motor company agency) in their "contextual messaging" campaigns. TC Media sends more than 2 billion personalized emails and 100 million SMS messages a year on behalf of Canadian retailers and advertisers. StrongView is based in Redwood City, California. TC Media which, until recently, was one of Canada's largest consumer magazine publishers, is based in Montreal.

Vancouver Magazine and Western Living sold to Yellow Pages Homes Ltd.

Western Living and Vancouver magazines have been sold to the owners of Yellow Pages. According to a memo to staff from Ted Markle, president of TC Media, the transaction which closed this morning means that all employees of the Western Magazine Group become Yellow Pages Homes Limited employees today. Western Living and Vancouver magazine were not included in the recent $55.5 million deal wherein TC Media recently sold off its other, eastern Canadian consumer magazines to the TVA Group (Quebecor).  Essentially, with this sale, TC Media is now entirely out of the consumer magazine business. As part of the deal the magazines will continue to be printed by TC Printing.

"Since the announcement of the transaction to sell our consumer magazines in Toronto and Montreal and the communication of the new vision for TC Media, I know that you were faced with uncertainty in this context of change," said Markle. "I want to personally thank all of you for keeping the focus on the brands and on the success of the business, with the same level of energy and professionalism for which you are recognized, despite this time of transition. I would also like to express my gratitude to Tom [general manager Tom Gierasimczuk, who is publisher of both magazines], who has shown tremendous leadership since his appointment and over the course of the past few months. 

"As we say goodbye, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, on behalf of the entire organization, for your daily commitment and dedication to building the reputation of these two prestige brands. Vancouver Magazine and Western Living have made our name a beacon for thousands of readers in Western Canada. The many prizes that were awarded to your brands, most recently at the Alberta Magazine Awards in March, are a tribute to your passion and dedication. You have been part of our family and have shared our values for many years, and it is with sadness that we see you leave TC Transcontinental. 

"It's the end of a chapter, but certainly not the end of the story. May the future be one of both personal and professional growth for you all, and may you continue to thrive within the context of this new adventure."

There is so far no word on the price of the sale. Staff of the Western Magazine Group were being briefed this morning. 

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TC Media partners with LC Média to super-size automotive network

TC Media is transferring editorial and management of its AutoGo.ca auto site to LC Média and linking it with The Car Guide website and its French-language counterpart, the Guide de l’auto, as well as with the  Montrealracing.com . The transaction doubles the total audience reach to 1,530,000 unique visitors, generating 9,695,000 page views per month.

LC Média has been in business since 1999 and has published Le Guide de l’auto for 50 years; it has a circulation of 90.000 copies.It also has a TV show on the MAtv channel, and has a mobile site and an iPad app. The LC Média Web Network, includes Guidebateau.com, Boatguideweb.com and OctaneFix.com and generates over 6.5 million page views monthly and over 930,000 unique visitors per month.

The partnership gives LC Média's The Car Guide significant English-language traffic in the Atlantic provinces and expands TC Media's offerings for car dealers and sellers.

TVA closes deal to acquire consumer magazines from TC Transcontinental

The $55.5 million transaction was completed today whereby TVA Group acquired 14 magazines, 3 websites and custom publishing contracts of TC Transcontinental. As a result, the Quebec-based company now has 300 new employees and acquired the following brands:

• Coup de pouce
• Canadian Living
• Decormag
• Style at Home
• Fleurs Plantes Jardins
• Canadian Gardening
• Quebec Vert
• The Hockey News
• Condo Maison Direct
• Maisons Neuves Rive-Sud et Condos

TVA Group will keep a 51% stake in Les Publications Transcontinental-Hearst inc. which operates Elle Canada and Elle Quebec, in partnership with the Hearst Group which holds a 49% stake.

TVA Group and Groupe Bayard together hold 50% of the shares of Publications Senior Inc., that publishes Le Bel Age and Good Times magazines.

The websites acquired are: 

• recettes.qc.ca
• Quoi manger and 
• On the table 

Custom publishing from the magazines are included in the deal.

Competition Bureau approves sale of TC Media consumer titles to the TVA Group

The Competition  Bureau has  approved the sale of Transcontinental Media's eastern Canadian consumer magazine portfolio (and various related assets) to the TVA Group. The bureau concluded that the transaction, announced in November, was unlikely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition.

"In reaching this conclusion, the Bureau also considered the general decline in readership of magazines, in part attributable to the increasing importance of the Internet as an alternative for readers," said the announcement. 

Related posts:

• Transcontinental sells all its eastern Canadian consumer magazines to TVA 

TC Media publishes free article on how to live with anti-spam legislation

Some digital marketers experienced 40 to 70% churn in their databases when they sent reconfirmation messages trying to meet the requirements of Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), according to a paper being distributed free by TC Media. The paper, "Suffering from Post-CASL Database Withdrawal?" by Ryan Moss, director of 1:1 Messaging and ISP Relations at TC Media, is one of several items about CASL in its resource section.

Moss says that experience with some TC Media brands such as ELLE Canada had a happier outcome, with an attrition rate of 18%, but increased opening rates. The paper sets out three steps to remaining CASL compliant and yet increase the (for instance, subscriber) database. 

Major changes as TC Media flagship as Canadian Living editor and art director let go

More major changes at TC Media, with the abrupt departure of the senior editorial team at Canadian Living -- editor-in-chief Jennifer Reynolds and art director Stephanie White. And the retirement of Susan Antonacci as associate publisher of the company's English consumer brands, including such flagship titles as Canadian Living, Style at Home and ELLE Canada. Antonacci has been at TC Media for 38 years and is moving to Johnston's River, PEI to work on a variety of personal projects.

There have been no reasons given for the departure of the CL editorial team, and no public announcement, but it may not be entirely coincidental that the most recent newsstand sales numbers declined by 13.9%, something vitally important for a title which places such emphasis on the checkout. (During the same period competitor Chatelaine saw single copy sales increase 17.6%.)

ELLE QUÉBEC marks 25th anniversary with dress line, screenings and events

ELLE QUÉBEC magazine is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this fall with a series of events in Montreal, including the 3rd annual  Bulles & tendances show, a series of film screenings selected by Quebec personalities, a free concert by ICI Musique at Club Soda and a special opening of Ogilvy department store to show off the fashions of the past 25 years. 

“We wanted to celebrate our 25^th anniversary by focusing on the five pillars of ELLE QUÉBEC: fashion, beauty, culture, lifestyle and society,” says Sandra Abi-Rashed, Brand Director at TC Media. “From the very first, we have consciously sought to reshape the boundaries of fashion in order to inspire, inform and entertain our readers. So it was natural for us to share this unique moment in the history of ELLE QUÉBEC with our readers and thank them for their loyalty by inviting them to this series of events.”

The magazine also is marking its anniversary with the unveiling of an exclusive collection of dresses for the Christmas holidays, done in collaboration with Montreal-based retailer RW&CO. Denis Desro, the fashion editor of ELLE QUÉBEC is the guest designer for the collection. 

The cover of the magazine's 25th anniversary October issue is  shot by Bryan Adams, featuring five of ELLE QUÉBEC’s models and icons representing the brand’s different eras. 

TC Media launches ad buying site Canadian Programmatic Marketplace (CPM)

TC Media has launched an online marketplace for programmatic buying of advertising on a wide range of websites, principally its own. The Canadian Programmatic Marketplace (www.cpm.tc) means that advertisers can access a large portfolio of digital display advertising through real-time bidding. 

The inventory of ads is from more than 95 premium content partnres and more than 650 websites. Partners include TC Media, Livingly Media, Spin Media and Hockeybuzz along with more than 100 regional newspaper sites in English, French and Atlantic Canada. Even before the launch, the CPM is already delivering over 1 billion monthly impressions to more than 14 million unique Canadian visitors, the company says.

Advertisers will, of course, still have access to traditional advertising and direct sales. The new arrangement makes available premium websites such as canadianliving.ca, ellecanada.com, hockeybuzz.com, stylebistro.com, and spin.com, as well as French properties like ellequebec.com and coupdepouce.com in a 100% programmatic environment” says Patrick Lauzon, senior vice-president of interactive marketing solutions at TC Media.

"TC Media recognizes the importance of programmatic buying and has invested heavily in its team, technology, and partnerships“ [he] says. "This investment includes TC Media’s acquisition of Canadian real-time bidding supply company Redux Media Inc. in May 2012. The Canadian Programmatic Marketplace provides Canada’s only fully transparent, brand safe programmatic environment and can offer advertisers the largest reach of RTB enabled display, video and mobile inventory in Canada, setting the bar in terms of premium programmatic”. 

  

TC Media to handle all circulation marketing for Reader's Digest Canada

Reader's Digest Canada has struck an exclusive deal to have all of its circulation marketing services in this country handled by TC Media.

It means that effective today, TC Media will service the circulation marketing strategy and subscription marketing -- including acquisition, retention, reporting, audit and creative --  for all channels, including print, digital and the growing e-editions side. This includes five magazines, including Reader's Digest and its French-language equivalentSélection, Best Health, Our Canada and More of Our Canada as well as all associated branded websites such as readersdigest.ca, besthealthmag.ca, and plaisirssante.ca.

“Finding cost-effective and innovative solutions for our clients is a top priority at TC Media,” said Chris Purcell, vice president consumer marketing at TC Media, in a release. “We have extensive circulation  marketing expertise, and this deal enables us to extend these specific services to a leading publisher like Reader’s Digest.”

RDC retains full editorial control over all of its publications. A dedicated group at TC Media will work with Reader's Digest Canada's consumer marketing team. 

“Our expanded relationship with TC Transcontinental is the next important step in our strategy to grow our business in Canada,” said Philippe Cloutier, general manager of Reader’s Digest Canada. “Even more, this move will allow us to further focus our resources on publishing products and managing magazine brands people love to read.” 

Sylvain Bédard takes over as VP and group publisher for TC Media's business mag group

Sylvain Bédard has been named Vice President, Business Solutions and Group Publisher for TC Media's Les Affaires Group. He replaces Stéphane Lavallée who has left the company.

Bédard had already been responsible for the business magazine publishing group, including Affaires PLUS, Commerce, PME, Vision Durable, Force, Finance et Investissement and Investment Executive. An economist, he joined TC Media in 1988 as director of its book division and later moved to become editor and later associate publisher of Finance et Investissement.

TC Media launches digital media incubator

Bruno Leclaire

TC Media's steady march towards being a multiplatform digital and print production company is indicated by its announced launch of the TC Media Incubator, which will oversee the creation and development of all the company's digital products. The incubator lab, which will be up and running in November, will be directed by Bruno Leclaire, now chief digital officer of TC Media.

"At TC Media, our ambition is to offer our advertising clients and our consumers top quality, innovative, highly efficient products and services," said Ted Markle, president of TC Media. "The creation of the TC Media Incubator supports this ambition, in line with our sector's strategic priorities. "

Leclaire says that the incubator will have many of the advantages of a small startup while benefiting from being inside the larger TC Media framework.

Professional Writers ask members for their experience with TC Media freelance contracts

A bulletin that has gone out to more than 680 members of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) asks them for confidential information about their experience with Transcontinental Media freelance contracts. PWAC has been trying, so far without success, to convince TC Media to modify what it calls its "egregious" standard freelance contract.

"Through our network of allies we have learned that at least some of the editors at some of their publications have recently given assignments to some of their freelance contributors without insisting that they sign the most recent "standard" freelance contract," the bulletin says. "You will recognize the contract if it calls for you to grant the company all your copyright in the assignment in perpetuity in all media and also requiring you to waive your moral rights.

"TC Media is not alone in seeking these large and unreasonable concessions from their freelance contributors. We do not seek to demonize them or single them out, but rather to engage them in discussion as to how we might improve the contract in respect of freelancers and to invite them to consider a different business model that values relationships with content providers over a rapacious stance with regard to our ability to further uses of the work we do after their print run and distribution. Thus far they have rejected our collective invitation to engage in discussion of these issues but there is an indication that they are taking another look at the standard freelance contract in the very near future."

TC Media defence of new contributors' agreement skates around the importance of moral rights

In recent weeks, the site Story Board, maintained by the Canadian Media Guild and the Canadian Writers Group has carried a great deal of information about the revised contributors' agreement being demanded by TC Media. Effectively, the new agreement would -- without compensation -- take all copyright from its many freelance writers and require a waiver of their moral rights.

TC Media has attempted to explain why it feels it needs these new and sweeping rights and yet why it is hoping that longstanding relationships with freelancers may be maintained. In a telephone interview between Susan Antonacci, Executive Director, Brand Development for TC Media Consumer Brands and Storyboard,  Antonacci tried to soothe concerns about the new agreement and its terms:

“What I can say is that we have great relationships with our writers and we’ll do everything that we can to promote our contributors and work with them moving forwards.”

 The detailed and very useful report of that conversation was published on March 1.

Of particular interest is a theme that Antonacci returned to several times, which can be characterized as "don't worry, be happy". For instance, in the matter of moral rights, she says that it would be "very rare" that the company would repurpose a writers' work and take off the byline. Her argument is that TC Media needs to be able to adapt content for
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New Transcon freelance contract even more demanding

TC Media has ramped up the agreement they impose on their freelance contributors and are apparently now insisting on not only full copyright but also a waiver of moral rights. 

According to a report on Story Board, the new contract terms not only specifies a full transfer of copyright but that is also that it relates to the more than 30 Transcon titles, not just the assigning one. And the moral rights waiver would give Transcon the right to change an article, with or without the writer's byline.

"[T]he problem with this agreement is that it covers everything you ever do for them. So once you sign it for one thing, it applies to everything else," says Derek Finkle of the Canadian Writers Group, an agency for writers. "For something that’s more personal, or something that has some unique reportage in it, or something that could potentially be spun out into a book or another article or a television show or a documentary, it starts to get really problematic because you’ve now given up your copyright, it seems to me, not just to the words but even to the idea,” he says.

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TC Media to sell ads for Glacier Media's online properties

TC Media has announced a strategic digital partnership with Glacier Media Inc., to sell national online advertising sales on Glacier Media’s 60 local websites in western Canada. In turn, Glacier Media will distribute e-flyers and digital promotional offers from TC Media’s advertisers on its properties.

“This new partnership with Glacier Media, an important media player in Western Canada, strengthens our positioning in that region”, said Dominique-Sébastien Forest, Vice President, National Digital Solutions, TC Media in a release.

“Partnering is one of the quickest, most effective ways of expanding and growing a business. This is not just a representation agreement for Glacier Media, but a true marriage of digital strengths between companies to strategically support each other’s long term vision”, said Shelly Wilson, Vice President Digital Sales, Glacier Media.

Media (including magazines) ad losses blamed for Transcontinental impairment charge

Despite revenue increasing 6% to C$529.4 million, Transcontinental Inc. posted a quarterly loss of C$106.2 million in the most recent quarter, compared with a net income of C$32 million in the same quarter a year ago, effectively a reversal of C$139. As a result, says a Reuters report,  the company took a non-cash, non-operational impairment charge of $180 million. The loss is attributed to a broad slump in advertising spending in the TC Media unit, which publishes daily and community newspapers and magazines and French-language educational resources.