A lot of planning and foresight goes into the redesign of a magazine. Since its first issue 18 years ago, On The Bay has built a solid and enviable readership base on its reputation for quality, dependable journalism, in-depth coverage of local issues, a comprehensive distribution plan, and large-format advertising. When we approached this task of redesign, we knew we wanted to build on these strengths in a big way, and then add even more.
A reader’s relationship with a magazine is different than with other forms of media. Magazines are tactile, physical entities that reside in various places around one’s home — and many readers hang on to each issue for future reference. The way each reader interacts with a publication is as unique as the individual themself, and we wanted our redesign to capitalize on this concept.
What about you? Do you read On The Bay front to back, or back to front? Do you read the shorter articles first? Perhaps you skip straight to “Fenceposts” for some wit from our columnist Dan Needles. Maybe you look at the ads first and save the features for the weekend, or maybe you devour the whole publication all at once. We took all of this into consideration and started by creating more flow. We then created more permanent departments, diversified the subject matter (from pets to travel to automotive), overhauled the layout and added an array of fresh voices to the magazine.
“The way each reader interacts with a publication is as unique as the individual themself.”
We have a new home décor and home features section, brought to you courtesy of our Style & Décor Editor Anya Shor. She’ll have a regular column along with her “Must-Have” product picks — sourced at local retailers — to inspire you to make your home more comforting and inviting.
We will continue to promote local environmental issues, as can be evidenced by our multiple-page spread on environmental photographer and filmmaker Edward Burtynsky, and our dedication to ample space for feedback from our readers. There’s no shortage of reader mail, thanks to an onslaught of proposed developments in our region — especially the industrial developments — that require ongoing scrutiny and threaten to undermine our quality of life and the natural beauty here. Our Georgian Bay, our countryside, and our Escarpment are sacrosacnt, and we will continue to honour them.
On the advertising side, we’ve received many calls from businesses — both within our region and beyond — who are clamouring to speak to the market we so solidly connect with. We’ve added a lot of value to our offering, and this will continue to grow. We created new advertorials for businesses who have a more in-depth story to share with our readers. These are labelled as such so as not to confuse our readers, and to continue our tradition of reliable, unbiased editorial. We created more prime positions for advertisers (on the right!) and advertisers can now take advantage of preferred placement by booking permanent spots, next to their desired departments, throughout the year, promoting a consistent brand message.
Welcome to our redesigned issue of On The Bay. It builds on our legacy, it’s a compelling read, it brings unparalleled value for advertisers, it’s new and bold, and the best is yet ahead.
Sincerely
David Loopstra
Publisher,
On The Bay
