• Advertising Age, Wednesday, February 18, 2009 9:45 AM

In the midst of a housing meltdown, Reader's Digest Association is launching "Fresh Home," a home-improvement magazine set to arrive on Feb. 27. The magazine is adopting and adapting much of its editorial content from a sibling title in Australia. "You could call the tactic cheap or you could call it smart," says Alyce Alston, president of RDA's home and garden group.

The company hopes Fresh Home's focus on thrifty, do-it-yourself projects will appeal to young homeowners, especially in an uncertain economy. Advertisers include Ikea, Elmira Stoves and Benjamin Moore, which is using the title to help introduce a new brand of paint called Ben.

The quarterly's first issue will include 33 ad pages. It will start out with a paid circulation of 300,000, sold through subscriptions and on newsstands, including distribution at chains such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Safeway. The plan is to eventually publish six or 10 issues a year.

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