Hearst Magazines will make history Aug. 2 with the launch of its first weekly title.
Called Quick & Simple, the newsstand-only women's service magazine takes direct aim at cross-town rival Time Inc.'s 9-month-old monthly All You. Initial circulation is 500,000, just like All You.
The oversized magazine costs $1.49 versus All You's $1.47, sharing the focus on real women instead of celebrities. Content will include advice on quick and easy recipes, affordable fashion, healthy living and home decor, along with contests and weekly coupons.
“It's been the retailers that have been telling us there's room for this low-priced women's service magazine on newsstands,” Quick & Simple publisher Bernadette Haley said in New York. “It's very much geared to that newsstand buyer, someone who's picking it up and going, 'I want this.'”
The magazine is biweekly till the Oct. 4 issue. There are no plans to sell subscriptions — another first for Hearst.
Quick & Simple targets busy women in their mid-30s with children. The magazine will reach that demographic through distribution at Kmart, Target, Dollar General, Wal-Mart, Kroger and Winn-Dixie stores. All You is distributed only at Wal-Mart stores.
The first issue includes home health remedies, easy hairdos, a fast-food diet that works, recipes for smoothies, ways to sleep better, chicken dishes, eggs and no-cook desserts. Also in the 60-page book is advice on how to establish an emergency fund, protecting against identity theft and how to wear white this summer. The cover is glossy.
At www.quickandsimple.com, consumers will have access to contests and sweepstakes. The first promotion seeks photos of the child's best Halloween costume. Results will be published in the magazine to cross-promote the print with the online version and vice versa.
Charter advertisers are Bic, Chips Ahoy, Capri Sun, Kikkoman soy sauce, Post Raisin Bran, Unilever's Wishbone salad dressing and Glad.
Susan Toepfer is editor-in-chief of Quick & Simple.
