San Clemente-based Grind Media will discontinue publication of Skateboarder Magazine a year shy of the digital publication’s 50th anniversary.
Norb Garrett, the company’s senior vice president and group publisher, issued a video statement to the magazine’s fans in which he pointed to market conditions as the main culprit for the folding, which will take place Oct. 15.
“We’d been, as you have, super stoked on everything we’d been doing digitally with the magazine in the last three issues, growing audience, expanding to over 180 countries, and just done a great job kind of leading first with digital,” Garrett said in the video. “So the decision today has nothing to do with whether the digital mag was working or not. It really has everything to do with how the business is, unfortunately. The business overall in the skate industry, as you guys all know, is super-tough right now.”
Fans mourned the publication’s demise.
“Dude, severely bummed! Thanks for all the good years, and so sorry to see you guys go,” read one comment posted on its website.
Grind Media recently acquired six action-sports magazines from Bonnier Corp. in Winter Park, Fla. The purchase resulted in two skate titles under one roof competing for limited readership—TransWorld SKATEboarding, the new addition, whose circulation hovers around 100,000, and Skateboarder, a niche publication that was treading new online territory.
“We felt we could keep them both, at first,” Garrett said. “Skateboarder was digital-first and was focused on developing audience on the Web, and it did just that. And if all was perfect and if the industry was on fire, we could have (succeeded). The market was such that we decided to focus on the brand that was a leader in the skate category.”
GrindMedia’s parent company, Source Interlink Media LLC of El Segundo, owns more than 75 publications and 100 websites. Both are owned by Source Interlink Cos. of Bonita Springs, Fla., with annual revenue in excess of $1.1 billion.
Biofans
Biolase Inc. is feeling quite popular these days—the Irvine-based manufacturer and distributor of dental lasers recently counted its 100,000th Facebook fan, up from the 4,000 it had less than a year ago.
The company relaunched its Facebook page last September and made the social media platform an integral part of its engagement with customers and patients.
“Biolase appreciates the value of social media in marketing communications, especially since positive word of mouth resonates so well with our stakeholders and is actually amplified by social media connectivity,” said Orlando Rodrigues, the company’s vice president of marketing, in a news release. “Our social media strategy is a key part of an integrated marketing effort designed to more directly connect patients and consumers seeking dental care and dental practitioners.”
Biolase also maintains Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube accounts.
In other Biolase news, the company is also navigating through contentious times. It’s currently fighting back against a short seller who Biolase’s chief executive alleges made comments that were intended to drive down its stock price (see story, page 3).
Agency Lands Account
CarMD.com Corp., an Irvine-based manufacturer of automotive diagnostic equipment, selected Cesari Direct Inc. as its new agency of record in North America following an extensive agency review.
The Seattle-based agency will handle all aspects of the direct marketing strategy for the company’s line of products, such as the CarMD Vehicle Health System. Cesari Direct’s scope of work will include TV ad production and media buying, along with integration of Web, print, radio and social strategies.
“We chose Cesari because they are experts at turning products into worldwide brands, and we are confident that they will be able to drive measurable results and greater awareness for our story of innovation and growth,” Austin Chae, director of direct response marketing for CarMD, said in a news release.
The agency’s other clients include George Foreman Grill, GoPro, OxiClean, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Sonicare and Rug Doctor.
More Important Things
Jordan Palmer, co-managing partner of marketing company The Arch Network in Costa Mesa, rushed off last week to join the Chicago Bears. He will fill in for quarterback Matt Blanchard, who recently broke his hand during a game against the San Diego Chargers.
“I was in the office two days ago interviewing interns,” Palmer said during a press conference. Pointing to his scruffy beard, he added, “I didn’t have an opportunity to buy a razor … I’m excited and feel blessed to be here.”
Palmer played in the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders in Oakland on Aug. 23.
He graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso. Palmer spent four years as a quarterback for the university’s Miners before the Washington Redskins drafted him in 2007. For the next six NFL seasons, he played with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Palmer’s older brother, Carson, is a quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals and the 2002 Heisman Trophy winner.
The Arch Network’s clients include EvoShield, Elite 11, GoPro, BestDressedNFL and The Maple Union.
