• by Michael Shields , July 8, 2004

In his new role as group publisher at TransWorld Media, Brad McDonald should have no problem overseeing any and every function within the group's magazines, because you name it--he has probably done it himself.

McDonald's career in publishing began as a BMX action photographer at the age of 15. By 21 he had launched Ride BMX magazine, followed by three other launches over the next several years.

At those startups, he wore all hats. "I was selling ads, typing up subscription information, writing, editing," he said. "I have a pretty well-rounded background."

Now at the ripe old age of 33, McDonald is in charge of TransWorld's network of "action sports titles," which includes seven consumer books and two trade magazines that, taken together, deliver a respectable circulation of 600,000--made up mostly of hard-to-reach teen males.

This network, owned by Time 4Media, a subsidiary of Time Inc., has already developed a devoted and still expanding fan base, while gradually earning the attention of major advertisers.

"We've made a lot of progress," McDonald said. "We've got a lot of people coming to us. A lot more RFPs." McDonald said that in the past, just having the physical presence to handle advertising was a challenge. Now, TransWorld has offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

The list of big name national advertisers signing on this year includes McDonald's, Wrigley's, Nokia, Kohl's, The Army, Apple Computers, Campbell's, and Virgin Mobile.

"There is just a lot more interest from marketers in teens," he said. TransWorld's books, which include TransWorld Snowboarding, Freeze, TransWorld Skateboarding, TransWorld Surf, TransWorld Motocross, and others, reach a particular kind of teen--one who is uniquely engaged with these magazines.

"The readership is our biggest selling point," he said. "They are "die-hard." There are not a lot of casual skateboarders."

Recently, the company conducted a readership survey for its Motocross title, which yielded particularly high scores on reader satisfaction. "The level of commitment and passion is huge," added McDonald.

The Motocross and Surf titles, both launched in 2000, are showing the strongest circulation growth of late. TransWorld Surf is, in fact, the only TransWorld book that is not tops in its category in circulation. "Ultimately, we will be number one," he said.

One place where TransWorld's audience growth is not seen is MRI. While they claim a huge readers-per-copy figure of 10, (saying that teens share magazines more than most readers), which translates into a mega-audience of 6 million readers, independent audience measurement would surely add to the titles' legitimacy.

Right now, McDonald is mostly working on how to keep his newer advertisers happy. "Our biggest problem is, how do we accommodate non-endemic advertisers and their positioning requests?" he said.

Television Premiere

Premiere magazine is making its first foray into the TV business by teaming up with American Movie Classics to broadcast its Premiere Women in Hollywood luncheon on Sept. 14. The event will air on Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. on AMC as part of a broader, all-day network package that will feature the films of prominent Hollywood actresses.

Premierehas produced its Women in Hollywood issue for a decade, yet they were not necessarily planning to find a broadcast outlet for the event.

"We were fairly aggressively approached," said Vice President and Publisher Paul Turcotte. "Clearly, it [is] something I want to continue."

While the movie-fanatic title wasn't planning on going to cable per se, the move fits in well with the magazine's recent push to promote its film clout outside of the publishing realm. "This event highlights our authority in the industry," Turcotte said. "It extends the brand in a way that makes sense."

Premiere's line extension extends beyond just media opportunities. The magazine continues to maintain a presence at major film festivals, include those at Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca, and has also established an awards show specifically for costume designers called the "Timeless Style Awards."

These extensions are partially driven by a surge of business for the title. Ad pages are up 72 percent year-to-date. "The industry we cover is responding with dollars," Turcotte said.

Schmooze News

* Luxury Spa Finder is throwing a kickoff party on July 16th at Clodagh Design International in New York from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

* Details magazine is hosting "Magazine Night" at the Half King restaurant in New York on July 12 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Editor in Chief Dan Peres, Executive Editor Andrew Essex, and Editor-at-Large Jeff Gordinier will be on a panel with family lawyer Brett Kimmel to discuss marriage, paternity suits, and infidelity.

Kimmel is featured in the magazine's August issue in an article titled "The Pit Bull of Paternity Suits: If You Pay Child Support, Pray That Your Ex Doesn't Hire Brett Kimmel. Just Ask P. Diddy."