Canadian Magazine Industry News
2 July 2008,     HALIBURTON, ONT.
Recently-launched Cottage Central gears up for summer
A new magazine for cottagers.

Ontario cottage country is a little more crowded this year—at least as far as the magazine market is concerned. In April, Cottage Central, a controlled-circulation monthly targeting vacationers in central Ontario, was launched.

The monthly’s publisher is Renzo Rosati, a first-timer who got his training in the media business as an ad sales manager with Osprey Media.

While handling accounts in Haliburton, Ont., where he lives, Rosati says he received inquires from buyers wondering why there was no monthly magazine aimed specifically at cottagers in the region. He pitched the idea to Osprey, but the company declined, so Rosati decided to launch it on his own.

Currently, 5,000 copies per issue are being distributed, mostly for free through Canada Post and local businesses, which are also the primary advertising target.

There’s no shortage of titles covering laid-back summer lifestyle, so to differentiate, Rosati is targeting Cottage Central to “the regular cottager, the guy who doesn’t home a $500,000 cottage in Haliburton, the guy who comes up on the weekend.

“We’re not focused strictly on cottage life,” he adds, “but on the entire area of central Ontario and things to do in it.”

Subscriptions are available for $39 and full page ads sell for $644. While the initial plan was to go monthly right from the start, Rosati says he’s considering curbing back frequency during the winter. “It gets pretty quiet here,” he says.

— M.U.
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