Meredith Corp. is launching a French-language edition of its More magazine in Canada.
More will be licensed to Transcontinental Inc., a Canadian publishing and distribution company. Transcontinental signed a similar agreement with Meredith in 2007, when it launched an English-language version of More in Canada. The French edition will launch in print and online this fall.
“We first launched More in Canada nearly a year ago, and is has to be my most successful launch,” said Francine Tremblay, SVP and publisher for Transcontinental. “It went into a market that was really not occupied, and circ numbers were twice as much as expected, so it was really unbelievable. We had great numbers, so we said, ‘Let’s go,’ and started pitching for the French-Canadian edition.”
“When you’re thinking of a woman 40-plus that took care of everyone else her entire adult life, I think it’s time for her to think about herself,” Tremblay continued. “We definitely want a magazine that’s different than the usual fashion and beauty books. In the French Canadian market especially, there was really nothing specifically for that woman, and that’s the woman I want to talk to.”
To herald the fall launch, Transcontinental is focusing heavily on direct mail efforts and building on lessons learned from the English-language launch. The company will also place ads for French More in its other magazines and newspapers and leverage its Publi-Sac door-to-door ad business to promote the magazine.
The first direct mail campaign will send out about half a million pieces. Transcontinental has not decided on an offer to place in the campaign yet, but the company may depend on soft offers to drive response. The first issue will also be offered at a special rate on newsstands.
Online marketing, CO-OP and FSI will also be deployed before the launch. Transcontinental will look to its own database, which has more than 2 million names, as well as outside lists.
The goal for French-language More‘s first year is to amass a rate base of at least 100,000 paid copies. Transcontinental plans to publish eight issues of the magazine in the first year.
The US version of More has a rate base of 1.2 million. The US and Canadian editions of the lifestyle magazine are aimed at women over 40 who are well-educated influencers with an income of $50,000 or more.
