Cooking with Paula Deen

A Profile for MagazineLaunch.com

Like the lady herself, Cooking with Paula Deen is not at all run-of-the-mill.The magazine combines the refinement of a lifestyle magazine with the delicious recipes, Southern hospitality and spunky personality of Paula Deen.

Due to arrive on newsstands in mid-November, this bi-monthly magazine focuses on restaurateur, author and TV personality Paula Deen, her lifestyle and her sought-after recipes.Paula never meets a stranger and her warm and unaffected manner will have readers feeling like they’ve known her all their lives.

THE BIRTH

Publisher Hoffman Media has cut its teeth on magazines that appeal to women throughout the country and beyond. Just CrossStitch, Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, and Sew Beautiful are premiere titles in the stitching field.Southern Lady, TeaTime and Southern Baby meet the standards of women who are highly attuned to quality while Taste of the South is quickly becoming known for its delicious recipes that are quick to prepare and don’t send the chef to specialty stores for unusual ingredients.Red Hat Society Lifestyle is the official magazine of the one-million-member Red Hat Society.

Paula Deen, keynote speaker at the company’s most recent Southern Lady Celebration and recipient of its first “Southern Lady of the Year” award, is a guest contributor to Taste of the South.When Hoffman CEO Phyllis Hoffman and Paula Deen met, they discovered a mutual philosophy and sense of humor born from their Southern roots.As Deen sought new ways to satisfy the voracious appetite of her fans for all things Paula Deen, Hoffman developed a master plan for a magazine that the two could produce together. They got together, refined the plan and signed.In a matter of months, Cooking with Paula Deen was a reality.

The holiday-themed, first issue will contain scrumptious recipes for your festive gatherings, including Paula’s favorite Christmas meal.There will be edible holiday gifts you can bake, a tour of Paula’s new kitchen, her favorite cut flowers and decorating ideas to brighten every home.Future issues will feature her favorite getaways and plenty of photos of Paula, husband Michael Groover, sons Jamie and Bobby and, of course, her pups, Otis and Sam.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Cooking with Paula Deen will be a four-color magazine with a trim size of 8”x10.875.”Each issue will be 96 pages plus cover, printed on 100-pound stock 45# inside stock and feature 4/4 w/ bleeds.

The magazine will be printed on a heat set web.

TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS & CIRCULATION MODEL

Married women age 33 to 55 comprise the target audience for Cooking with Paula Deen, although this down-to-earth celebrity counts many men and single women among her legion of fans and they, too, will be highly interested in the publication.The magazine’s launch will utilize an extensive newsstand presence, direct mail and partnerships with the publishers of Deen’s cookbooks. A Website devoted to the publication, www.pauladeenmagazine.com, went live last month and subscriptions are pouring in. The popularity of Paula’s Website, www.ladyandsons.com, is also an important tool in marketing the magazine.

Hoffman wants to make sure that it reaches Deen’s many fans with information about the magazine.By allowing the company the space to give a better presentation – both in copy and art – of the final product, direct mail is the method that the company feels best accomplishes this mission.

First direct mail for the magazine went out at the end of August and tested a variety of creative/list/billing/format combinations.

The primary editorial contact for this magazine is Cindy Cooper, editorial director, at ccooper@hoffmanmedia.com. Public relations contact is Kathie Martin at kmartin@hoffmanmedia.com.

The media kit is available online at www.hoffmanmedia.com/media/paula/dimensions.htm.