• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 21, 2012

Retail behemoth Walmart has partnered with Condé Nast to create five issues of a 12-page magazine-catalogue with its own editorial content, according to Women’s Wear Daily. The publication, called BeautyScoop, offers custom editorial content, including “expert advice from the editors of Allure, Glamour and Lucky.”

The first issue appeared in July; the last issue is out now.
 
Walmart distributed 500,000 issues of each publication in-store, and mailed another 2.5 million to the homes of Walmart shoppers. The project in its entirety cost millions, according to the Condé source cited by WWD.

The deal, arranged by MediaVest, was intended to bestow some of the “editorial halo” of Condé’s publications on the Walmart brand, although the publisher’s name doesn’t appear anywhere on the publication. (Allure, Glamour, Lucky and Self are among Condé’s more mass market titles.)
 
Walmart already has a deal with Time Inc. making Walmart the sole newsstand distributor of Time Inc.’s All You magazine -- which, along with the wide gulf between the images of the two companies, makes the Conde Nast collaboration somewhat unexpected.

However, Condé Nast and Walmart are already collaborating on another project, WWD adds.
 
Time Inc. recently retooled All You, introducing more reader-generated content as part of a new editorial treatment beginning with its December issue. The December issue introduced a new editorial feature, “Real Talk,” highlighting readers’ tips and reviews and answering reader questions. Comments from Facebook, bloggers, and the All You Web site are also showcased throughout the magazine.

On the advertising front, the magazine’s “Reality Checkers” -- a group of around 50,000 readers who have opted in for dialogue with the magazine’s editors and advertisers -- are encouraged to test products and share reviews, which may then appear in ads in the magazine.