Canada Wide Media-owned BC Business turns 40 this year and, with newly minted editor-in-chief Tom Gierasimczuk at the helm, the March issue has had a total makeover.
Gierasimczuk (a former editor-in-chief of Marketing) has also launched a daily online newsletter for the publication, a new website at BCBusiness.ca, and will launch the first iPad issue mid-March. About 25% of people now access BC Business from their mobile device, he said.
“The brief was how can we build on a trusted journalism brand and how does that differentiate us from a start-up,” said Gierasimczuk. “We really tapped the heritage of trust and audience, and then asked the audience what they wanted, asked them where they were, where they consumed media, what kind of media they consumed, and then we served up the products that you see now.”
The regional business title has total print circulation of 26,000 and more than 13,600 subscribers.
Gierasimczuk said the new magazine design focuses on easier reading and more visual content, but is still packed with information. The online newsletter features about four new stories a day. “That allows us to be a business newspaper in addition to a monthly magazine,” he said.
Gierasimczuk said that while they have significantly ramped up the editorial output, they haven’t added staff; instead they have redistributed editors to work across all platforms and handle different sectors such as technology, natural resources and marketing.
The redesign and addition of the daily newsletter and website has opened up three additional channels for advertisers, he said. For example, while the website has the typical display advertising and leader board, it now offers advertisers promoted content that run alongside the editorial. Advertisers can also buy packages that offer video and slide shows. Colliers International, for instance, currently has promoted content on the website, a business profile advertorial in the magazine, and video story units shot by BC Business staffers.
At present, the balance of advertising revenue comes from print (85%) compared to the approximately 15% earned from digital sources, said Gierasimczuk, who added that he expects digital to grow quite quickly. The ad/editorial ratio has stayed the same at close to 50/50, and there are no increases to ad rates, he said.
Gierasimczuk, who is also vice-president of editorial for the Burnaby, BC-based Canada Wide Media, oversees TV Week, BCLiving.ca, Westworld and several trade magazines. He said that in the future he’ll be looking at ways to make better use of the technology, resources and content across all products and platforms.
“When you consider things like promoted content and increased video production that we can do on behalf of our clients, you really start getting into the whole argument of ‘Can a publisher be a marketing solutions company?'” said Gierasimczuk. “We firmly believe that we can be.”
