Loyalty marketing company Aeroplan has partnered with Redwood Custom Communications to produce a travel and lifestyle magazine for Aeroplan members.
Aeroplan Arrival, which launches this August, will feature travel-oriented content, including articles, essays and photo spreads. Additional content will focus on art, design and architecture, while displays of Aeroplan reward merchandise will also account for significant real estate in the magazine.
According to Alex Barseghian, director of Aeroplan brand program, the decision to replace the company’s existing rewards catalogue with a more elaborate custom publication was inspired by member feedback.
“At the end of last year, we did research with our membership to find out how they wanted the program to evolve, and one of the things they indicated was that they wanted to see more of a lifestyle positioning,” says Barseghian. “One of the things they really wanted was a magazine. They wanted editorial content, original content.
“The main idea was to bring the catalogue to life.”
The magazine will be distributed to 500,000 Aeroplan members, an audience that Barseghian expects will appeal to advertisers. Aeroplan partners such as Home Hardware, CIBC and Air Canada are already committed to advertising in the inaugural issue, and Barseghian says non-partner advertisers such as Audi and Nissan will also be involved.
Last month, Aeroplan competitor Air Miles announced it was launching a new custom magazine called Inspired Living. Mailed to the homes of 800,000 Air Miles collectors, the magazine replaces Air Miles’ Travel & More, and includes features on travel, entertaining, decorating and consumer products.
Redwood won the Aeroplan business last fall, just months after it lost major client Kraft. Kraft transferred stewardship of its Canadian custom magazine What’s Cooking and U.S. publication Food and Family to American firm Meredith Corporation, causing Redwood to lay off 45 employees.
Joe Barbieri, vice-president of marketing and business development for Redwood, says that while the Aeroplan Arrival project has not yet resulted in new hires, the partnership is proof that his company is on the rebound.
“We’re well into recovery mode,” says Barbieri. “We’ll be announcing more business wins in the near future, but this is clearly, to the outside world, the first indication that we’re well on our way to future growth.”
Redwood executive editor Dick Snyder is currently presiding over Aeroplan Arrival, which is scheduled to be published three times per year.
