RE #37. Yes, the publishers were sometimes well paid but they grew their income along with the success of their publications. Most publishers started on 100% commission in difficult times (unlike the editors who were paid no matter what) and it was sink or swim. But the publishers invested in the company and the company invested in them. At least until the past few years when it all fell apart. Having made bags of $$ for RCI the "A" team publishers were perceived to be too expensive and thus it was decided by mgmt (such as it is) that "the brands are bigger than the people" so off with their heads. Sadly, for the support teams left behind the brands were not bigger than the people as is evidenced by the brochures that are now called magazines and the mgmt with egg on its face.

Just checked out the premiere issue. Overall, looks pretty good, but I'm not the target audience. There isn't an adequate zoom function to allow for online reading, so I can't share my thoughts on the content. So ... online good, if readable. And I second the comment: magazine launches good; magazine closures bad.

The website www.renocontractor.ca is now live, and our launch issue is in Canada Post�s hands.
On behalf of publisher David Chestnut, and the rest of the Renovation Contractor team, I�d like to thank those of you who had words of encouragement.
But I had to admit to being puzzled by all the hostility shown in this comments section towards something no one had seen.
We�re a small industry and, in my experience, almost universally a supportive and collegial one. While I've followed this comment thread, I chose to let the finished product speak for itself.
To address the circulation issue though, 30,000 is our launch press run. You gotta start somewhere, right?!? But readers are encouraged to pass along their copies and direct friends and colleagues to the site where they can sign up for their own free sub.
Having just finished the first issue, I know our readers will come away feeling informed, engaged, and entertained, and can only hope that our advertiser base will continue to grow � as I'm sure our readership base will ��so that we can provide more quality content in the future.

Cheers,
Allan Britnell
Managing Editor

Regarding #35... gimme a break. So all the big ex-Rogers publishers were treated so badly? For years they were well paid by Rogers and received some very nice bonuses. And when they were let go they also got, some very, very nice severance packages. Rogers hardly treats people unfairly. And besides, many ex-publishers ran their own magazines into the ground by mandating the copy was always advertiser friendly. And if their editors dared to cross that line, they were fired. So get real.

It seems to me that coming in with a higher ad rate allows you more room for discounting. And it's less problematic down the road to reduce the discount than raise the rate card. As for having a website, is that all that necessary for the reno trade? It seems to me most of the target readers are more comfortable grabbing a tattered, stained copy for repeated reference than clicking on to a website.

So many of the people who comment on this kind of start up have to get over the fact they're not the target reader.

#31: why wouldn't one bite the hand that squeezed, slapped, pushed out and locked the door?

#32 is correct. The hand forced out almost all its experienced (read expensive) staff in 2008-2009 in the name of cost-cutting. Some of these same people are launching competitive b2b magazines and easily and soundly beating Rogers at its own game. And why not

Re comment #31 - ah, if only you knew what a vicious hand that was (is)....anything they suffer now will be reaping what they have sown.

It never ceases to amaze me when I pass by a sign of a failed business that shortly thereafter there is a new announcement sign of a business catering to the same demographic but with a new twist. Restaurants that fail as Chinese, reopen as Italian only to fail anew and become Chicken places and fail again.

That location and demographic is simply not for restaurants.

Canadian Contractor is failing badly after a significant launch because the market will not support it. The demographic of 30,000 contractors whose names were originally plucked from a mailing list simply doesn’t get to the 100,000 contractors who would make the publication effective. The ROI for an advertiser isn’t there. Money can be better invested elsewhere.

So now we have the same person under whose watch Canadian Contractor failed starting a newer version of the same idea, a publication for the light construction industry.

Let’s let the originators of the concept, Rogers, continue with their efforts. What will be different in this new publication ? Nothing.

Yet another publication by someone who is biting the hand that previously fed him.

Advertisers and agencies aren't dumb. They all know there are more than 30,000 reno contractors in Barrie alone and national circulations of only 27,000 or 29,000 to this job group is like pissing in the wind.

To Wondering: The magazine's web site is under construction but is signing up readers for an email newsletter. Visit: renocontractor.ca

Where is the website? I would have thought that a new mag trying to build true qualified circ would have their site up before launch. None of the contractors I know could be found in the yellow pages or D&B. Best of luck...

Jeff and Norm: I think this banter could lead to a good real-life TV show: Grammar Wars on A&E. :) I'd watch!

@Jeff: I'm neither; I'm just a semiliterate production guy trying to give the experts the benefit of the doubt on something that bugs me a lot (or has that become "something that bug's me alot"?)

And don't get me going on "through the overnight". I could carry on about that one all through the today.

@Norm: Good point on the contraction thing. I suppose technically you could argue that the apostrophe is replacing "vation." But I'm dubious that it was the intent. Considering that both HGTV and the production company (Smashing Pictures) have website profiles which spell it both with and without apostrophe in willy-nilly fashion, it looks more to me like editorial laziness than stylistic choice.

By the way and for what it's worth, I'm an Art Director, not an editor. And I do wish them luck. (Nice to see launches rather than closures these days!)

We've received many comments about Renovation Contractor's page rate, thanks to all who wrote. Masthead typically uses the one-time, full-colour, full-page rate as a benchmark ad rate. It's worth keeping in mind that few ads are sold at the one-time rate; most are part of a program. Using Renovation Contractor's media kit, here are some of the rate ranges for perspective, along with rates from Rogers-published competitor Canadian Contractor:

Renovation Contractor:
Full-page, full-colour:
1x: $8,350
6x: $7,400

Quarter-page, full-colour:
1x: $3,112
6x: $2,740

Renovation Contractor is slightly oversize (9" x 10.875") and is promoting an initial controlled circulation of 27,000.

Canadian Contractor:
Full-page, full-colour:
1x: $10,440
6x: $9,260

Quarter-page, full-colour:
1x: $3,890
6x: $3,430

Canadian Contractor is standard-size and has an ABC-audited circulation of 29,000.

Perhaps Jim Caruk can share something on his business model -- how he expects $8,300 to fly in a trade book, and be sustainable. It's necessary... or have Masthead do a follow up, to add context to the above discussion.

Dear Masthead, Please revisit this story, and put all of these comments in perspective. A trade book with a one-time rate of more than $8,000 sounds crazy. Let's see.

So you want smaller renovators who don't belong to associations to advertise to their peers instead of to consumers which would be where they would get their bread and butter and thus be able to afford your $8300 full page rate? Interesting! Good luck!

The spelling of 'loosers' in #17 was intentionally sic, just so y'know. Sheesh.

Serving your readership? Sounds more like you will be serving your advertisers - the ones foolish enough to buy into a list from the Yellow Pages lol.

Yes, we have Rogers "enlightened" b2b management to thank for the renaissance of trade books in Canada. Their egregious cost cutting and preference for Yes Minister managers has left the net without a goalie in many markets.

@Jeff H: I feel your insanity. You see words pluralized with an apostrophe -- or even worse, a single opening quotation mark -- all over the media. What a bunch of loosers [sic]. Of course, we grownups aren't savvy enough to use electronic media (love that Rogers cellphone ad) so there's effectively nobody to notice most of it. But I do wonder if Real Reno's is correct - you don't use apostrophes to pluralize, but you do use them in contractions. Is there a linguist in the house?

It is our intention to serve our readership better than they have ever been served before. It is that simple. May the chips fall where they may. Good Luck to all, and thank you for all the kind support.

I agree with comment # 9, 8 Grand for an ad on an unproven circulation list? Sounds a little greedy to me.

There is no doubt that David and his partners will succeed. Passion will always triumph. Way to go David!

Congratulations Mr. David Chestnut.

"... might even take some business from his old employer Rogers Media" — isn't this the purpose of this new venture? Not the first disgruntled ex-Rogers publisher to start a magazine and probably won't be the last.

"ad content will be geared to the trade"!!!!???? Ad content will be geared to whoever buys an ad.

Great to see a new trade book on the scene and who knows more about the contracting market? Looks like you hit a home run Davey. Congrats.

How much for a page? $8,350!!! Are you serious? That's a whopping CPM of over $300/m!! Outrageous! It's not even perfect bound or on outstandingly high-quality stock and even then that does not warrant such prices. This must be your first time venture in publishing. Good luck!

With Chestnut at the helm this magazine is bound to succeed, might even take some business from his old employer Rogers Media, were he ran Hardware Merchandising and Canadian Contractor magazines. Dave has great relationships in building industry. This will be interesting to watch. Congratulations Dave!

Another celebrity contractor who's head is getting too big for his hard hat. How is this any different than what's already out there?

A point of clarification: In the article above, Jim Caruk says there is no magazine for contractors written by contractors. Not true. The editor of Canadian Contractor magazine, a Rogers title, spent some 20 years as a contractor before becoming Canadian Contractor's editor.

I guess he did renovations to work his way through journalism school, just like the managing editor.

I'm sure he will have lots of great insight for readers in the contracting industry, but I hope that he surrounds himself with editors who know that plurals don't need an apostrophe before the "S" like in his show Real Reno's. (sic)

That's been driving me crazy for ages!

Sorry folks, but this is far from Mike Holmes. His is consumer, according to the article, this is directed at the trade. I agree the building market needs another entry. Anyone who has dealt with the crew fronting the Mike Holmes magazine knows the unbelievable level of arrogance they give off. Too bad, the concept it great, and even though Mike Holmes has grown to a level where he's more USA than his Canadian roots, he still has a good message and reputation. Maybe Mike better look at how his name is being promoted by his publisher's team. I wish Renovation Contractor the best of luck. A hot market, and great timing.

I wonder if this is why Mike Holmes decided to do the all American handyman by himself

ah...just like Mike Holmes...