“All three titles are part of the same renaissance that is now revitalizing the Western Canadian magazine world,” writes Alexandra Gill of The Globe and Mail. “How so? In addition to the redesign of several established magazines (Western Living, Vancouver and Fashion Vancouver), a number of regional publishing companies are now expanding aggressively. And in the past two years, more than a dozen new titles have emerged, with a particularly strong showing from a new generation of edgy arts-and-culture magazines.”
Magazines published in Western Canada have experienced great success in recent years, according to the article. Among the factors contributing to this up-tick in publishing include advertisers coming out of a recession and the 2010 Olympics.
“Shields points to Canada Wide Magazines and Publications, a regional company that is planning to grow its operation from 30 to 50 magazines,” writes Gill. “As part of that strategy, Canada Wide recently purchased the travel magazine 99 North and bolstered its editorial content. It has also grown Garden Wise into a truly regional magazine as popular in Seattle as it is in Vancouver.”
Many Canadian magazines are aiming for audiences outside of Canada; one of the most prominent is HoBO, an “eclectic quarterly covers everything from art to travel and fashion. With its oversize format, heavy matte stock, gobs of white space and gorgeous photo spreads, it oozes high style.”
The highly glossy pub, with a circulation of 10,000, is very popular throughout the Vancouver region, according to the article, largely due to its fashion shows and parties it uses to fund the kitchen-table startup. Yet, whether it (or other magazines like it) will have success in promoting a more international audience outside of Canada remains to be seen.
