Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Weddingbells magazine has lasted longer than a lot of marriages.
The St. Joseph Media title is marking its milestone anniversary with a series of advertiser-sponsored contests and giveaways, including a “$30,000 giveaway” that includes a $10,000 wedding dress from Kleinfeld Bridal Boutique at Hudson’s Bay; $10,000 in wedding bands from Birks, and a $10,000 honeymoon in the Cayman Islands.
The wedding industry has grown into a $7.2 billion business in Canada, producing considerable competition for Weddingbells since its 1985 debut, particularly in the online search and social space.
“There’s way more competition for advertising dollars, and I think a lot of [advertisers] are taking money and literally putting it into search,” said Lilia Lozinski, senior vice-president, group publisher for St. Joseph Media. “If I’m a florist in Calgary, I want to be top of the [results page].
“When people say dollars are migrating to digital, it’s not that they’re migrating to publishing websites, they’re migrating to Google search or Facebook.”
While acknowledging that Weddingbells’ ad sales from 2013 to 2014 were “down marginally,” Lozinski said bridal remains buoyant compared to some other publishing categories.
The bi-annual publication’s 376-page spring/summer issue – featuring a roughly 70:30 ad to editorial ratio – recently arrived on newsstands. Weddingbells publishes five regional editions that combine national and retail advertising.
The publication has also built a robust online business, with Weddingbells.ca garnering more than 1 million page views and between 90,000 and 125,000 monthly unique visitors.
Its Pinterest page has also become a leading online destination, growing to 122,000 followers from roughly 40,000 six months ago. The site’s highly visual nature makes it appealing to brides preparing for their wedding, said Lozinski.
“At the end of the day it’s about whether this vehicle works for vendors, so if we’re generating leads for them and people are walking in saying ‘I saw this in Weddingbells,’ that’s a good thing,” said Lozinski.
The publication has also introduced a new online contest, “Canada’s cutest couple,” featuring prizing from Air Transat, Charm Diamond Centres and accessories company Delilah. The winning couple will be featured in Weddingbell’s fall/winter issue.
That fall/winter issue will also feature a contest for a destination wedding. Destination weddings have been growing in popularity in recent years, accounting for approximately 15% of all Canadian weddings, up from 7% in 2009.
“People want their wedding to be special and unique and have their stamp on it, so people are really looking to personalize things and not do what somebody else has done,” said Lozinski.
