• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 21, 2007

Hearst Magazines is set to introduce a new month-long, multiplatform marketing push targeting beauty consumers. The "30 Days of Beauty," modeled on its successful "30 Days of Fashion" in September, will coordinate editorial content in five big Hearst titles: Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, O and Redbook.

Each magazine will include four "book"-style inserts covering hair, sponsored by Nexxus; skin, sponsored by St. Ives; fragrance, sponsored by Coty; and color, sponsored by Maybelline. The books will feature 30 "insider" beauty tips, as well as integrated sponsor content and free gift-with-purchase promotions. Online ads, including email and text-message blasts, will direct consumers to a Web site, www.30daysofbeauty.com. The Web site will host a series of giveaways of a spa package and Movado jewelry, as well as video demonstrations of beauty techniques by Hearst editors.

Hearst is also coordinating a promotional push for the "30 Days of Beauty" with checkout displays and related materials at Walgreens, Kohl's and Macy's. These point-of-purchase promotions include the offer of a black patent leather cosmetics bag designed by Stephanie Johnson. Finally, to wrap up the month on October 24-25, Hearst will host a party for about 4,000 attendees at the West Side Lofts in New York City, where they can sample and buy products, receive complimentary makeovers, and take home a beauty gift bag.

Bill Hostetter Named Publisher of Discover

Bill Hostetter has been named publisher of Discover, Discover Media CEO Bob Guccione, Jr. announced this week. Hostetter, an ad sales veteran with almost two decades of experience, was most recently at BusinessWeek, where he was a senior account manager and category specialist responsible for developing national strategies for multiplatform partnerships in print, TV, online and conferences. The role of publisher is a new position at Discover. After purchasing the magazine in November 2005, Guccione has led a wide-ranging revamp of the magazine, including a redesign and cutting so-called "junk circulation."

Future US to Publish Nintendo Power

Future US is taking over publishing duties for Nintendo Power, a popular magazine for video gamers with insider tips, reviews and guides for new Nintendo video games. The title was formerly produced in-house by Nintendo of America Inc. Future US is also taking over production duties for the magazine's Web site, www.nintendopower.com, a popular destination. The first Future-published version will be the December 2007 edition. Initial circulation is posted at 300,000.

More Reality Series from Hearst

Seventeen is teaming up with MySpace to produce a documentary series about 15 young women entering college as freshmen. "Freshman 15" will debut in October, and will include online and print content documenting the girls' travails and triumphs. The series will launch with articles in the print edition of October's Seventeen, while the magazine's Web site offers tips and advice about going away to school. The girls will also maintain multimedia MySpace profiles describing their lives with blogs, photos and videos.

In recent months, Hearst also introduced mini-series of "mobisodes" for CosmoGirl and Popular Mechanics. The first video content for CosmoGirl was a drama centered on the problems of three female best friends during their junior year of high school. Popular Mechanics will get a different series, with real mechanics and designers delivering technical wisdom biweekly, each episode no longer than three minutes. As with the CosmoGirl drama, the Webisodes can be watched at Popular Mechanics' Web site, in addition to mobile devices.