DGWB Gets Double Exposure; Laer Lands Four New Clients
There’s a whole lot of shaking going on with publications aimed at Orange County’s glitzy gold coast.
Donna Bunce, longtime editor of society freebie Newport Beach 714 magazine, is moving to Newport Beach-based Coast magazine, which covers fashion, design, art, events and more. An advertising representative from 714 is joining Bunce at Coast, which recently was acquired by the Orange County Register’s recently formed OCR Magazines division.
The departure of Bunce, who starts as Coast’s executive editor this week, is a big loss to 714, according to industry insiders. Bunce had been with 714 for about nine years and was viewed as being synonymous with the publication.
But Seth Baker, president of Baker Newspaper Group, which publishes 714 and Beverly Hills 213 magazine, says business will continue as usual. Two new editors already are in place, and the magazine recently hired three new columnists, one of which will work out of the Newport Beach office, he said.
Things, however, weren’t ironed out at one of 714’s sister publications, San Diego’s 619 magazine. A while ago, Baker said he pulled the plug on it when he realized it wasn’t going to fly after a few issues.
Meanwhile, Christopher Schulz, publisher and chief operating officer at Freedom’s OCR Magazines, is happy with his new hires (Coast also picked up a former Los Angeles Times ad rep). Bunce, who will focus on fashion society and feature writing, has been respected by Coast for years, Schulz said.
“Donna will contribute in a number of different areas because she knows the market well and is well thought of as a journalist.” Schulz said.
Plus, Bunce’s in-depth knowledge of the community should help Coast increase and maintain its connection to its marketplace, which includes Newport Beach, Corona del Mar and north Laguna Beach, Schulz said.
The changes come amid word that a new OC lifestyle magazine is about to jump into the fray of pubs honing in on the gold coast.
Michael Kong, publisher of Angeleno magazine, a lifestyle publication in Los Angeles, confirmed he’s hired a staff, including two top Coast magazine execs who will carry the titles of co-publishers of the new mag, called Riviera.
Similar to Angeleno, which takes on a distinctly glitzy feel, this oversized publication is set to cover fashion, design, entertainment and more in OC, and target affluent residents, particularly in Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, with controlled circulation, an inside source said. It also will be available through subscription.
Some publishing insiders, who say the market here is small and already saturated, consider launching a high-end magazine in OC risky. Plus, they say the stakes get even higher in light of a softening economy, which is already hitting publications, particularly newspapers.
Shock Value
DGWB Advertising in Santa Ana pushed the deathbed factor in new copier commercials that recently broke for Toshiba American Business Solutions Inc. in Irvine,a move that got it a little more attention than anticipated.
The 30-second spot zeroes in on an apparent 50-something heart attack victim. His eyes are closed and he’s being jolted back to life with electric paddles. As orchestral music plays, the man flashes back to different times in his life, where he’s with his wife and family,and waiting by copiers.
“Don’t waste your life in front of the copier,” says a voice-over. The tag line follows from Toshiba: “Don’t copy. Lead.”
The Toshiba Corp. division’s first-ever TV spot sparked a cover story in the New York Times’ business section about shock advertising.
Jon Gothold, partner and executive creative director at DGWB, said the agency didn’t set out to shock people. Instead, he said it was making a statement about people, particularly those in “corporate America” who feel guilty about working too much. That feeling becomes even more intensified when people are on their deathbeds, he added.
Still, DGWB seems to have accomplished its task and some for Toshiba.
“Our task was simple: let folks know in a powerful memorable way that Toshiba’s in the copier business,” Gothold said. “We really needed to do something to get people talking.”
Toshiba is spending $10 million on a print, radio and television campaign to help give it an edge over its three biggest competitors: Canon Inc., Ricoh Corp. and Xerox Corp.
Laer Touting Hotels, Others
Laguna Hills-based Laer Pearce & Associates has been busy bolstering its client list.
The public relations firm recently won four new accounts without reviews for undisclosed amounts. It plans to handle the branding and positioning of two new hotels,in Anaheim and Laguna Woods,for Ayres Hotels, a Southern California hotel chain based in Costa Mesa. Both are set to open in the spring.
Meanwhile, the OC firm was contacted by Boulder, Colo.-based Wild Oats Community Market Inc., a natural foods supermarket, to publicize the grand opening of a new Irvine store. The store, scheduled to open at the end of February, is set to be the first Wild Oats location to offer a gourmet world deli, expanded cooked-to-order entrees and an increased shopping selection.
Laer Pearce also is set to handle media relations for two events at Chapman University and won a new undisclosed land development account involving residential and office work.
