The Cookie That Won't Crumble

It is hard to find any good news coming from the print industry. But among the headlines of declining circulation and decreased ad pages, comes a bright and shiny success story: Cookie. An Associate Sponsor of this year's M2Moms-The Marketing To Moms Conference, this lifestyle magazine for the modern mother—with an innovative editorial mix that includes fashion, home décor, travel, entertainment and health for both mom and her family—is succeeding where most print publications have failed. What’s the secret to keeping Cookie from crumbling? Cookie publisher Carolyn Kremins gives us some insight into why her magazine continues to connect with today’s moms.

Patti Minglin: In a time when we are hearing such dire news about the print industry as a whole, why do you think Cookie continues to do well from both an advertising and readership perspective?

Carolyn Kremins: Cookie’s success is due to a combination of factors.

We offer a unique editorial product that focuses on the woman inside of the mother, and we speak to all of her passions from fashion to beauty, travel to tech, home to finance. No one else is connecting with her on this level, and as a result we’ve captured a valuable, affluent audience who consider us core reading. Because she doesn’t have time to read other magazines we offer an unduplicated, fresh new audience. Which leads me to why advertisers value Cookie as a marketing partner. We deliver influential and motivated consumers combined with powerful programs that give their brands tremendous exposure. While the industry in general is experiencing a slow patch, we are maintaining our momentum thanks to a powerful editorial product and our unique readership.

We are thrilled to have made Adweek’s Hot List in 2009 for the second consecutive year.

Minglin: Congratulations—that’s an impressive list! As a former print media person, I am especially impressed with how your print publication is enhanced by your growing online community. How has the print/online relationship evolved over the past several years—especially in light of the growing influence of social media?

Kremins: Social media is at the very core of Cookie. Word of Mom™, as we have coined, epitomizes the social media phenomenon. More than any other consumer, Cookie moms spread the word about the products they love, which is why our Word of Mom™ Readers’ Choice Awards are successful. Women are influenced by their peers, and Cookie gives them a platform to communicate with thousands of other women.
 
Our website, Cookiemag.com is always evolving. It offers consumers another level of interactivity via fresh content, blogs, videos, newsletters, and behind-the-scenes scoops. We recently launched a recipe of the week newsletter and had 16,000 people sign up in just a few weeks.

Minglin: What’s the next big thing for Cookie?  What exciting projects, features, events, etc. are you working on at the moment?

Kremins: We’re in the midst of Kids’ Restaurant Week in New York City, Chicago, and D.C., which wrapped up Sunday, June 28. We’ve received an unprecedented amount of media press. In fact, restaurants and sponsors are calling from multiple cities to get involved for next year.

We also just kicked off School Year’s Eve with PTA, which is our new national holiday celebrating the entire back to school season. And truly, it is the real start of the New Year for families across the country. This is the time of year mom is marathon shopping for clothing, planning meals, snacks, and parties, as well as planning vacations, buying a new car for carpooling—the list is endless.  And Cookie women are still spending. Based on our recent Back to School Survey, eight in ten Cookie women tell us that they will probably spend the same or more on back to school this year as they did last year. Cleary they have back to school on their minds already. Our School Year’s Eve website just recently launched and hundreds of consumers have signed up to get a School Year’s Eve party kit. Check out schoolyearseve.com.

Next, we will be gearing up for Kidsfest, a fun, celebrity-filled event benefiting Free Arts NYC, and then there is our signature program, Cookie’s Word of Mom™ Readers’ Choice Awards. Winners are announced in our December issue and will be congratulated at an awards ceremony in New York City.

Minglin: Wow—that is a lot of activity in addition to producing a top-notch magazine every month. While Cookie is on the top of my regular reading list, what (other than your own magazine) are you currently reading?

Kremins: The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, industry trades including WWD, Ad Age, and The Week magazine.

Minglin: I just finished reading The Outliers and found it fascinating. Thank you, Carolyn, for taking time out of your really packed schedule to give us some additional insight into Cookie's success!