• by Lynn Russo Whylly , March 29, 2007

Hallmark: The brand connotes warmth, home and family. For years, we've used their cards to convey our feelings. We've dabbed our eyes while watching Hallmark movies, and even found the perfect gift at one of their nearly 4,000 Hallmark Gold Crown stores. But will women want a magazine from a greeting-card company? Perhaps, say some observers.

"I think it's a great brand extension," says Samir Husni, chair of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi, who named Hallmark Magazine one of the hottest launches of 2006. "When you have people living in the media age, it's so important for each brand to be everywhere and in every medium to remind consumers of that brand."

The secret to competing against the likes of Martha Stewart Living, O, The Oprah Magazine and Real Simple, however, is not in the distinctive editorial. It's in having solid cross-branding opportunities for advertisers. "They included us in an e-blast to 10 million people before the launch issue and we got over 137,000 entries to TheFabricofOurLives.com," says Pam Gentile, associate director of advertising for Cotton Inc., who finds the two brands to be a perfect match.

Hallmark also offers advertising in the e-cards portion of their Web site, as well as partnership opportunities with retailers that advertisers might not otherwise have considered.