• by Erik Sass , February 23, 2007

Hachette Filipacchi Media intends to leverage its considerable trove of consumer data with a new database marketing division, according to an announcement Thursday from President-CEO Jack Kliger. Headed by Vice President Pegg Nadler, the division will draw on information culled from a variety of sources, including the print and online presences of Hachette's wide array of lifestyle and enthusiast titles, among them Elle, Car and Driver, Home, Premiere, and Woman's Day. Nadler has managed direct response programs and organizational overhauls at marketing companies and divisions for over two decades.

Kliger explained: "The key to our success is how well we know our customers. We have had long, rich relationships with our readers through our brands because we connect to people through their passions. Those readers have come to love and respect our products. Now that we've expanded onto the web and mobile, in addition to TV, radio, books and branded events, the number of touchpoints with consumers has exploded."

With the move, Hachette joins other major magazine publishers with extensive database marketing divisions like Conde Nast and Meredith. Meredith began its pioneering database project in 1992, and today has about 85 million unduplicated customers logged. Conde Nast formed its Advance Marketing Database in 1993, and now has about 30 million unduplicated entries. With about 50 million readers in the U.S. for its various enthusiast and lifestyle titles, Hachette could be a heavyweight in database marketing.

The move comes on the heels of big changes at Hachette's French parent company Lagardère SCA, including the merging of magazine publisher Hachette Filippachi with Lagardère Active Media in October 2006. The reorganization, undertaken at the behest of corporate boss Arnaud Lagardère, put a single executive--Didier Quillot--in charge of both companies. Formerly the chief of European telecom giant Orange, Quillot's appointment signaled the opening of a campaign to streamline Lagardère's global publishing operations, moving them into digital content distribution more aggressively. Lagardère wants to strengthen the cooperation between Hachette and Lagardère Active North America, which has already worked with Hachette properties to create mobile content, including Car & Driver Mobile, Elle Mobile and American Photo Mobile.