IMPACT Mag Lets Readers Choose 20th Anniversary Cover

Choose From Top 20 IMPACT  Cover Athletes

IMPACT magazine is celebrating its 20th anniversary by asking readers to vote for their top cover athletes to grace its September 2011 issue. The magazine chose its top 20 cover athletes over the past 20 years based on their impact on sport, community and country. It was no easy task as there have been more than 140 elite athletes and sports personas who have been featured on the cover in the past two decades.

Calgary Flames Star Theo Fleury was the first to take IMPACT's cover position.

Readers Vote for Anniversary Issue Cover Athlete

Readers were asked to choose their favourites from that list. Since the end of July, readers could vote at www.impactmagazine.ca or on Facebook for the likes of Olympic medallists like Jarome Iginla, Simon Whitfield, Clara Hughes, and Mark Tewksbury. More than 3000 votes were cast, demonstrating a keen interest in IMPACT's reader community. This contest was a clever way to get readers to interact online and have a say in what happens with the print publication.

A Personal Vote for Catriona Le May Doan

It'll be interesting to see which female and which male athlete will take next month's cover. Given the many sporting heavyweights in Western Canada and in particular, Calgary, it's anybody's guess who will claim the cover. I personally voted for two-time Olympic Champion, Catriona Le May Doan. Not only is she the cream of the crop in terms of athletic achievements, she's also involved in endless community initiatives, plus she's hilarious. Okay, she happens to be a friend, but I would have voted for her regardless. Looking forward to the big reveal!

--- Colleen Seto

AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Share Your People News!

Yes it's true. I tuned in to the Royal Wedding. I didn't really intend to (though I do enjoy Royals watching), but I was having trouble sleeping and got up to watch the telly since I knew I'd have to get up to feed Annabel shortly anyhow. I missed the actual ceremony itself, but saw much of the pomp and circumstance leading up to it (including Princess Beatrice's horrendous hat. What was she thinking!?). And then of course, I watched the ceremony several times afterward as it was replayed endlessly the next day. And I was not alone. Millions of viewers tuned in. And millions wanted to savour the moment with memorabilia including People magazine's Royal Wedding issue.

According to an article in Audience Development, the issue was People's largest in four years with 220 pages. They even altered their publishing schedule so consumers wouldn't have to wait until the following Friday to get the collector's issue. Plus, the People website got a record 162 million hits on the day of the wedding. Sales figures for the issue have yet to be released, but I expect they'll be high.

Which leads me to wonder what sort of other events garner this much attention? Are there events which your magazines dedicate whole issues to? If not, should there be? How can magazines use special events relevant to their audiences to develop content around and drum up both circulation and ad sales?

Let me know your thoughts.

AND, let me know about your people news and events, too. I'd like to share the various happenings of Alberta magazine folks on this blog so your fellow colleagues can keep up. So let me know what's happening at your magazine. New hires? Retirees? Kick someone to the curb? And share your personal excitement such as weddings and babies too! It'll give us some new water-cooler talk plus maybe eliminate some awkward social moments. (Although I must admit, I really quite enjoy those!)

--- Colleen Seto AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Feature Speaker - Scott Bullock

Meet today's feature Alberta Magazines Conference speaker - Scott Bullock.

With a 29-year career as a frontline circulator, national distributor, educator and entrepreneur, Scott has a unique insight into the industry. He is the owner of circulation consultancy firm Circ3, Smart Circulation Solutions, and has worked as circulation director for both consumer and B2B magazines, including Toronto Life and FASHION. He is also the creator of Coverssell.com. 

Intrigued? You won't want to miss his session at the 2011 Alberta Magazines Conference: 

Covers that Sell, Covers that Fail