BBC Worldwide is launching its BBC Knowledge Magazine in the US with a 1.3 million-piece direct mail push.
Marketing efforts for the science and history magazine will kick off in late June, and the magazine will hit newsstands in August. Evergreen Marketing was chosen to run the campaign, which will test three different creatives: a double postcard, a voucher package and a 6×9 package. Multiple price points and hard and soft offers will also be tested, in preparation for a second round of direct mail going out in December.
“BBC Worldwide is the commercial arm of the BBC, so we have many different commercial activities in the US,” said Amy Mulcair, VP, publicity for BBC Worldwide Americas. “They did quite a bit of research here, which showed that there was a great appetite for the kind of magazine we’re launching. It’s a strategic launch that’s well-thought-out, and we know there’s a desire for the type of content we have.”
Knowledge will be aimed largely at affluent, well-educated, professional men and women age 30-45. The 100-page title will be filled with content from the publisher’s BBC History Magazine, BBC Wildlife Magazine and science magazine Focus — intended to appeal to “curious minds.”
The magazine is slated for a first print run of 85,000 copies. An annual subscription to Knowledge, published six times a year, runs for $29.95, and newsstand copies, distributed to targeted market areas, cost $5.99.
BBC Knowledge Magazine joins the already established BBC Knowledge brand, which launched as a television channel in Poland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia in 2007.
