With 50 editions in more than 60 countries and 21 languages, Reader’s Digest is the world’s most widely read magazine. Founded in 1922, the brand has always had the goal of educating, entertaining and inspiring its audience, says Amy Radin, SVP and CMO of Reader’s Digest Association.
However, over the years, the brand has evolved and has communicated these mores in an increasingly contemporary way. “We’ve moved into a more multichannel strategy,” Radin explains, “and shifted our direct mail marketing to a heavy focus on the Web.”
The core of the business is its print publication, but the company also has an array of branded products, including music, books and home entertainment.
In January of 2005, Reader’s Digest published Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things in the US in both hardcover and paperback formats. Sold through direct mail, sweepstakes, voucher and other promotions to magazine subscribers, and to the public through retail locations, the book went on to sell more than 1 million copies in the US and millions more around the globe.
The company continues to use a mix of newsstand, direct mail, search, e-mail, social and sweepstakes marketing in its direct arsenal.
