Custom Aeroplan magazine arrives this month

Available at: http://www.mastheadonline.com/news/2008/20080811885.shtml

Redwood Custom Communications has partnered with Aeroplan to develop a high-end, custom magazine for 500,000 of its members. The 64-page magazine, Aeroplan Arrival, has “content and creative design created for sophisticated, well-traveled readers,” says Sylvie Bourget, vice president of marketing for Aeroplan. It debuts this month.

The 9” x 10.75” magazine will be printed three times a year by St. Joseph Communications and distributed to Aeroplan members through Canada Post. English or French editions are available, depending on a member’s preference.

Contributors to the magazine include Globe and Mail style columnist Karen von Hahn, New Yorker artist Andy Friedman, award-winning photographer Rob Fiocca and Montreal writer Simona Rabinovitch. On staff are editor Dick Snyder, publisher Joa Roth and director of advertising sales Michael Grier.

Aeroplan Arrival’s premiere fall 2008 issue carries reports on recent travel hotspots, an interview with Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Tadao Ando, a discussion with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, displays of Aeroplan reward merchandise and a feature story on the renaissance of Buenos Aires. “It’s essentially about travel and giving Aeroplan members ideas on how to redeem and maximize their memberships,” says Joseph Barbieri, vice president of marketing and business development for Redwood.

Advertisers such as Air Canada, American Express, CIBC, Infinity, RIM, and Audi are on board. The cost for a one-time full page, colour ad is $24,500.

New York-based "urban lifestyle" magazine launches Canadian edition

Available at: http://www.mastheadonline.com/news/2008/20080814640.shtml

In 1999, after her husband, Kevin Chiles, was sentenced to ten years in jail for dealing cocaine, Tiffany Chiles decided to create a publication for prisoners. Since its inception, Don Diva, a New York-based magazine ostensibly about gangsters and for gangsters, has been sold at popular American chain stores such as Borders, Books a Million and Tower Records. Billed as the “Original Street Bible” by Kevin Chiles, the magazine is actually geared toward 18- to 34-year-old hip hop enthusiasts. A Canadian edition, set to launch this month, will be promoted at a launch party tonight at the Fluid nightclub in Toronto.

Toronto indie hip-hop artist Kama, also known as Kamikaze, has partnered with Don Diva on the Canadian launch. He “bring[s] Canadian flair to the magazine as well as credibility with the readers,” says Tiffany Chiles. “He is going to be responsible for the content for the Canadian issue.”

Kama introduced and gave out copies of the current American edition at the Toronto Caribana carnival. Although Kama is the magazine’s main connection to Canada and his status as an artist will bring in readers, Chiles also notes that “Canada has a good independent music market and we saw a possibility for growth.” The New Jersey-based Curtis Circulation Company will distribute approximately 20,000 copies of the 120-page magazine this month with eight pages of Canadian content. Subscription prices are still being negotiated.

New-York based senior editor Steve-O will overlook the expansion of Don Diva Canada, acting as a liaison between Kama and the New York office. A journalist and fashion designer, Steve-O has also received many entrepreneurial awards in business.

The standard-sized quarterly will be sold on newsstands for a cover price of $5. Content includes coverage of urban living conditions, relationships, fashion, music, entertainment, legal and social issues, and street life. Past stories have included interviews with criminals, tips on where to hide drugs and advice on where to buy the best money-counting machines. According to a Washington Post story on the magazine, "photos of scantily clad women, most of them shot from behind to emphasize their thong-clad posteriors," are also a common editorial feature.