Feit Family Ventures plans to introduce With This Ring, a publication focusing on both traditional and alternative weddings, in the second quarter of 2007.
The launch period coincides with the summer wedding season. The New York-based magazine will cater to weddings for every relationship including gay and lesbian weddings, interfaith and interracial weddings and unique-destination weddings. It will target younger and older couples.
“With This Ring will have the common thread of romance in general,” said Jonathan Feit, the title’s publisher and editor in chief. “No matter what the political or socioeconomic element is, the notion of a wedding is two people who want to spend a life together, and that is a happy occasion to be celebrated.”
The publication is based on the winning entry from the Magazine Concept Contest hosted by Citizen Culture Magazine. Boston University students Stacy Chamberlain, Rowena Yow and Tia Albright submitted the entry.
The quarterly magazine will cost around $6. Circulation of 100,000 to 200,000 is expected. Besides circulation and newsstand marketing, With This Ring plans to partner with organizations, publishers and other companies to arrange direct circulation and bundle marketing.
“All marketers, especially in the media, don’t talk about selling covers, but about selling content,” Mr. Feit said. “It’s about providing messages in more varied ways and about reaching new customers.”
One of these new ways of marketing is approaching bridal and wedding stores in areas of different incomes.
“We will approach a bridal store in a great location in Miami who sells magazines, but we will also go to one in the Bronx,” Mr. Feit said. “With our magazine, customers will see something different besides the traditional white bride on the cover and will hopefully think that our magazine is a little different and that we will take care of them.”
Mr. Feit cites The Knot and the edgier bridal magazines as his top rivals, but he also sees competition coming from gay publications.
“Instead of taking the gay publications on, our strategy is to ally with them,” he said. “The issues of marriage are in their best interest, too, so we hope to have a co-op with them.”
With This Ring has yet to search for advertisers. The company will start with gay-friendly advertisers such as Travelocity and Subaru, then expand into bridal, catering and jewelry advertisers, he said.
Feit Family Ventures is a three-part publishing group that includes the Young Professional Index, the Magazine Incubation Group and now With This Ring.
“I think that weddings are weddings and that they should be seen as such and all moved into the mainstream on equal footing,” Mr. Feit said. “If you want to get married on a beach instead of in a church, that’s good enough.”
