After choosing to pause two of its travel titles during the height of COVID-19, the Signature Media team directed their resources elsewhere – creating a series of custom-published titles for key clients.
Signature Media’s move into custom publishing for key clients is a good example of how publishers can leverage their skills and audience to collaborate with brands outside of their existing magazine titles.
The debut publication is the Signature Luxury Travel & Style Ultimate Guide to Antarctica, a free ebook produced in association with Quark Expeditions. Other titles are currently underway and will be released in the coming months.
Signature Media CEO and Group Editor Cathy Wagstaff said “During the height of COVID-19 we made the difficult decision to pause the publication of two of our travel magazines; we instead used this time to launch our now rapidly-growing custom publishing arm. This new business extension enables us to help our clients tell their stories in a visually stunning and engaging way.
“We have been thrilled with the feedback we’ve received from the first of these custom titles, and look forward to sharing the others we have in the pipeline. This has been a great opportunity to work closely with key clients to help them achieve their media goals.”
The 46-page Ultimate Guide to Antarctica is a multimedia ebook that brings to life the experience of visiting the world’s most southern continent through written features, maps, soundtracks, and videos – inspiring readers to start planning an expedition cruise with Quark.
The ebook aims to allow readers to discover what it’s like to travel to Antarctica through a first-person narrative, as well as understand the different destinations, and what they can expect to see and do at each. Quark’s team of guides and experts are profiled, and information about the company’s commitment to sustainable tourism and conservation is highlighted.
The free ebook is being distributed across Signature Luxury Travel & Style’s digital titles including solus EDMs, newsletters, and social media channels. The release is also being amplified via Signature Media’s other titles, including LATTE Luxury News, Vacations & Travel, Signature@home and Holidays with Kids.
Signature Media also said that its recent purchase of Vacations & Travel magazine allows it to value-add to its new custom-publishing arm by pushing distribution across multiple databases.
Signature Media is a boutique publishing house producing family and travel media titles, including three B2C print titles, two print annuals, two e-books, and a B2B weekly update for advisors in the luxury travel space, LATTE Luxury News. The company’s flagship title Holidays with Kids was the first family travel magazine in the world.
TMSN recently spoke with Signature Media Associate Publisher Cara Wagstaff about further ways the publishing house adapted its offering to serve its readers and clients during the COVID-19 isolation restrictions that put a halt to the travel and tourism industry. Read the interview here.
