The Week - Part of Your Integrated Marketing Strategy? - Shane Vaughan

Note: This post originally appeared on Balihoo's old blog on 12/16/09 by Katie Bergerud

I’ve worked in media for nearly 10 years and one of the best parts of my job is staying on top of new media outlets and what they can offer my clients. About 5 years ago I was visited by a media sales executive presenting a new publication – The Week

Typically when a new publication is released the circulation is sketchy at best and the editorial can be dismal but this one captured my attention. The Week was inspired by a briefing developed during the Carter administration to keep the President up to speed on all domestic and international news stories that hit during that week. It was designed in a way to be read by President Carter in about 45 minutes on short Air Force One flights. The briefing covered all major stories globally and highlighted coverage from liberal, conservative, and local news outlets to deliver a balanced perspective on the issues covered. The Week has continued in this format and distills the best of U.S. and Foreign Press into 44 pages and is read by roughly 500,000 readers every week.

I rarely endorse a media property but this one is worthy of sharing. If you're in the process of developing a media planning strategy or integrated marketing strategy that hits this demo, it's worth a look. It is the only news outlet that I read faithfully and without it I would have no idea how The Wall Street Journal, The LA Times, and The Al Sabah in Baghdad covered this week’s events in Iraq. In today’s world of media there is an abundance of politically diverse and passionately unique perspectives covering every story - The Week allows me to sort through it all. A must read in my opinion.

Tags: media planning strategy, integrated marketing strategy, integrated marketing plan