» Hitting the Mark with a Magazine Brand Makeover » Creative Marketing Alliance

CLIENT PROFILE

IMARK Group is a member-owned marketing/buying group made up of over 1,100 independently-owned electrical distributors and more than 100 leading electrical manufacturer vendors working together to maximize profitability, increase market share and strengthen business relationships. This is the largest member-governed cooperative in the U.S. electrical industry with a membership that includes over 70 of the largest distributors in the country. Member distributors serve their local customers from over 2,000 branch locations, accounting for $15 billion in combined annual sales.

CHALLENGE

The client expanded its industry stature and purchasing clout with the acquisition of a competitor, who was the industry’s second largest electrical distributor buying group and a longstanding CMA client. CMA was able to leverage our firm’s deep understanding of the electrotechnology industry and full-service magazine publishing capabilities to win the assignment of producing its quarterly flagship magazine as well as refurbishing its graphic design and editorial content.

SOLUTION

CMA managed all aspects of the magazine’s overhaul and the relaunch of the publication to reflect its recent expansion. This includes management of editorial content, Hitting the Mark with a Magazine Brand Makeover design, layout, advertising sales and other logistics. The magazine currently reaches approximately 8,000 readers.

Graphic Design Makeover

To revamp the publication’s cover and page design formats, CMA created a bold and clean cover layout and gave the magazine a new brand identity by creating a new masthead and a new name for the magazine: IMARK Now. Highly readable, contemporary page designs driven by white space were created. While the design of the publication had previously been populated with illustrations, CMA’s makeover design was powered by both metaphoric and realistic editorial photography. New and existing editorial sections were color-coded and the table of contents was expanded to a spread with photos and short article summaries. Heavier cover and page paper stocks gave the 100+ page publication a hefty feel for impact.

Expanded and Re-Tooled Editorial Content

Based on the results of a survey in which members to prioritize their current and top business challenges and objectives for the year, CMA developed new standardized editorial theme sections to appear in each issue which address these topics. CMA created a sharper focus on industry issues, technological developments and management trends in members’ businesses, giving the magazine more editorial impact, immediacy and value.

Digital Edition

Simultaneous with the production of the print version of the magazine, a digital edition was developed and programmed so that IMARK Now could be read online with the convenience of turning the magazine’s pages with a cursor. The digital edition offers print advertisers an additional promotional venue online at no extra cost as their ads are linked to a specified website.

“CMA really hit it out of the park with the new IMARK Now magazine. It’s definitely coffee table-worthy!” –IMARK Board member

RESULTS

CMA’s comprehensive redesign of the publication, knowledgeable editorial management and aggressive advertising sales have bolstered the popularity and profitability of the magazine, transforming it into a true flagship publication.