Siempre Mujer! will be a bimonthly service oriented women's magazine with a guaranteed rate base of 350,000. Siempre Mujer!'s editorial mission will revolve around Home, Family and Self-Improvement, with a strong emphasis on pragmatic, service oriented how-to information. “It's a reader-driven magazine. We have done a lot of research over the past two and a half years to come up with a viable content and circulation model,” says Ruth Gaviria, publisher and executive director of Meredith Hispanic Ventures. According to Gaviria, Siempre Mujer! will have more pragmatic and how-to content than Meredith's general market women's publications (e.g. Better Homes and Gardens). Nothing will be translated from Meredith's English-language women's titles. “Siempre Mujer! will be written with a specific Latina reader in mind,” Gaviria adds. Beauty and Fashion, as well as Home Décor and Design, will play an important part in the publication's editorial content.
“We believe that our strong editorial expertise and in-depth understanding of the shelter and women's lifestyle categories will enable us to create a magazine that speaks to the priorities of Hispanic women, their families and their homes,” says Jack Griffin, president of Meredith Publishing Group.
…a wealth of research…
Meredith conducted both quantitative and qualitative research to develop the publication. In order to get a better understanding of the issues that are most important to Hispanic women, Meredith editors visited the homes of Hispanic families. “One of our main questions was: What is this woman trying to get done?,” Gaviria explains. Many women said that new traditions, night classes, and better opportunities were very important to them. Consulting firms Latinoeyes and Cheskin Research conducted additional studies, and an ethnographic study to provide information to advertisers will be released in the spring. Meredith is considering a variety of formats for Siempre Mujer! “We are open to an online presence, as well as to TV,” Gaviria notes. Custom publishing projects leveraging Siempre Mujer!'s brand may also offer interesting opportunities to advertisers.
…Person-to-person consumer marketing
To sell subscriptions to the new magazine, Meredith will expand its marketing alliance with Home Interiors & Gifts Inc., a Dallas (Texas) based direct-sales company that sells home related products. A third of the company's sales force of 90,000 is made up of Hispanic women entrepreneurs who work on commission and have access to one million Hispanic households. Home Interiors & Gifts has strong penetration in Texas, Arizona and California. According to Gaviria, person-to-person and viral marketing are particularly important in the Hispanic market. Meredith will utilize traditional direct marketing (direct mail sampling) to promote Siempre Mujer!. The Spanish language pub will have a strong newsstand presence, where it will be sold for US $3.00. Additionally, the publication will be cross sold through Meredith's American Baby Group's Spanish-language parenting publications Espera (biannual, qualified circ. 757,945), Healthy Kids en español (quarterly, qualified circ. 504,673) and Primeros 12 Meses (biannual, circ. 508,660), as well as at parenting events organized by these publications.
…interesting advertising vehicle.
A full color page in the new magazine will cost US $32,000 (CPM US $91.40). “We have had a tremendous welcome from CPGs (consumer packaged good companies), as well as automotive and drug companies,” says Gaviria. Some media buyers are enthusiastic about Siempre Mujer! and the increasing number of Spanish-language pubs. “It's terrific that Spanish-language magazines are taking off. I just wonder why it didn't happen sooner,” Mike Puican, CEO of Joss Claude Products, the producer of Formula Latina, a hair care product specifically designed for Latinas, tells Portada®. “This [Siempre Mujer!] is not a general market brand in Spanish, like a Better Homes and Gardens en español, but a brand that is specifically developed for Latina women.” Puican adds that as an advertiser he is particularly interested in books that are unique brands. A substantial part of Formula Latina's advertising goes into magazines. “We will never walk away from magazines. They're a great way to add frequency to our buy. And they offer high quality reproduction of images.”