Arts festival Luminato has signed a multi-year single-sponsorship agreement with U.S. magazine The Atlantic as part of the festival’s U.S. strategy that aims to promote Toronto as an arts destination.
Luminato is sponsoring the magazine’s entire upcoming summer fiction issue, which will feature works from Canadian writers like Margaret Atwood.
The sponsorship includes 20 pages of advertising for various Toronto area attractions like the Shaw and Stratford festivals, the Art Gallery of Ontario, as well as the National Ballet of Canada, said Luminato founder and co-chair David Pecaut.
Luminato’s ads were developed by Endeavour, the festival’s agency of record.
“The idea is really to promote the cultural and artistic excitement in Toronto to The Atlantic’s audience, which is 95% American,” said Pecaut.
Luminato has also commissioned various articles, in which authors answer the question “Is there a national literature anymore?”
The fiction issue hits store shelves June 5, the day the festival opens, and will be in circulation for 90 days, said Pecaut.
As part of the deal, the magazine will host panel discussions during the literary portion of the festival. Luminato will also distribute 25,000 copies at various venues throughout the festival.
Luminato ads also ran in the May issue of The Atlantic. The festival will also be promoted in ads in Canadian publications like Walrus, Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail.
Luminato joins a small list of brands that have partnered with publications for single-sponsored issues. In 2008, TV network ABC sponsored an entire issue of TV Guide, while HSBC bought New York magazine’s entire front-of-book last year.
Now in its third year, Luminato hosts world and Canadian premieres, special celebrations, artist residencies and free events. It hits Toronto streets June 5 to 14.
