Ad rules shift to accommodate rival brands
Rogers Media has won the advertising sales contract for Kraft’s custom publication What’s Cooking and it’s French counterpart, Qu’est-ce qui mijote. Rogers won the assignment through an RFP issued in mid-2013, formally taking on the assignment last month.
Brandon Kirk, vice-president of sales for Rogers Media, said that in addition to standard ROP advertising, the partnership will include integrated programs spanning both print and digital.
Kirk said that Rogers currently has several pitches in motion with advertisers in key categories including food, home and beverage alcohol. The first issue being sold by Rogers is the Summer 2014, which arrives in May.
Kirk told Marketing that Kraft has eased up on some of the restrictions it has historically placed on advertising in What’s Cooking. This will enable Rogers to sell ads – for non-competing brands – to traditional Kraft rivals like P&G.
“There’s a material change in what they’re doing, so there’s more opportunity in terms of partners that can now run in and with the brand,” said Kirk. “Historically they would have had a larger ‘no-go’ list, a selection of a large group of advertisers they couldn’t include in the brand. They’ve loosened up those restrictions considerably.”
The English and French editions of Kraft’s magazine have a combined circulation of 1.2 million and reach more than 4.8 million Canadian adults and more than 1.8 million women aged 18-49 and 1.9 million women aged 25-54.
Kirk said that the complementary nature of Rogers’ stable of titles, which includes Chatelaine, Today’s Parent and Enfants Quebec, makes the Rogers offering attractive to advertisers.
Kirk said that sales representation agreements are a growing part of the Rogers’ business. “Anything we can do to provide really attractive solutions for advertisers in the market are key, and with a brand like What’s Cooking and an audience of this size, it really positions us very well in terms of reaching more than 50% of women in the market,” he said. “That is unparalleled reach.”
