Wellness360, a monthly custom publication from Aperture Health Inc., will launch in California in April, and is expected to be nationwide by year’s end.
The magazine’s initially will be mailed to registered Wellness360.com members in the company’s home state of California, hitting a circulation of more than 400,000 educated and health-conscious Internet users. Average members are more than 35 years of age, and 85% pay for their own health insurance.
“The magazine is designed to be supportive of our membership base,” said Thomas Banks, Aperture’s chairman, founder and CEO. “We’ve had gigantic growth rates, so we’re planning the magazine to fortify our message to our membership because people aren’t online 24/7.”
The magazine also provides a new platform for the advertisers who wholly support the company. Pharma, health and wellness, entertainment and CPG companies are all represented online and in the magazine pages.
The company needs these ads because it pays users, who receive free Wellness360 membership and services, cash rewards for using the site. Banks describes the business as a loyalty program, rewarding members 33 cents for every dollar earned through its targeted advertising. Sponsoring entities, such as employers, are also paid a small sum based on ad revenue.
Banks hopes Wellness360 represents a paradigm shift in American health care.
“Wouldn’t it be interesting if, through this effort, we could shift even 10% of health care costs off of taxpayers’ shoulders and onto the shoulders of advertisers that want it if they can get a benefit?” he asked.
Florida and Illinois are next in line to receive Wellness360 magazine.
