Custom Publishing

Printer RR Donnelley & Sons Co. has acquired Sequence Personal, a New York-based custom publishing and advertising-personalization company.

Rodale has rebranded its Rodale Custom Publishing division to Rodale Custom Content & Marketing.Though the move comes after both Meredith Corp. and Hearst Corp. beefed up their marketing capabilities, the company is not simply riding an industry trend, said Valerie Valente, senior VP and publishing director at Rodale.

Digital agency Zeta Interactive launched digital coupon and insert software through Zeta Next Page, its Web-based publishing platform, on March 1. The platform allows brands to create digital coupons to replace their print counterparts, as well as circular and newspaper inserts.

The nonprofit Lance Armstrong Foundation has launched LiveStrong Quarterly, a custom publication aimed at cancer survivors and their advocates. The magazine was developed by Spot On Media.

Health publisher Rodale announced December 15 it has promoted Gregg Michaelson to president, integrated marketing and sales, CMO. He had been EVP of customer marketing for the company. In his new role, Michaelson will lead Rodale's print and digital ad sales, custom publishing and other marketing initiatives.

A customized publishing model using digital printing has the potential to help media companies recover from bleeding revenue

Exclusive Beauty Supplies (EBS), a distributor of beauty items for salons, is launching a custom magazine called X Factor this summer as part of its push into new distribution territory. EBS, which works exclusively with independent salons, recently extended its distributing license from its home state of Florida into Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The company tapped Marketing Matters to help create and distribute its 24-page glossy following a multi-agency review.

PrivatAir, a company that offers private flights to VIPs and executives, has signed Ink Publishing to helm a relaunch of its custom magazine in July. The 6,500-circulation quarterly, PrivatAir — the magazine, is offered on board PrivatAir flights and on all business-class services operated by partners Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and KLM, and at some luxury hotels in Europe and the Middle East. It's also direct mailed to PrivatAir clients and subscribers worldwide.