Coast magazine and its sister publications are feeling the effects of the soft economy.
Chris Schulz, former publisher of Irvine-based Freedom Communi-cations Inc.’s specialty media group, which includes Coast and other titles, said the magazine has seen a drop in real estate advertisers. The magazine has sought to offset that with more local retail ads, he said.
Coast’s ad sales are flat from last year, Schulz said. Schulz, whose last day at the magazine is today, said Coast focuses on high-end advertisers by targeting upscale homes in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and other areas along the coast.
OC Home, another Freedom magazine under Schulz targeting the middle market, has been hit worse.
The publication will publish its last issue in June, Schulz said.
Coast is planning some changes of its own.
The magazine is going to a bigger print format in July and debuting a monthly section highlighting high-end design and decor in Orange County called Coast at Home.
That will hopefully entice more advertisers, Schulz said.
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Action Sports Retailer show: annual holiday event just wrapped up in Costa Mesa |
But it is staying true to its focus on local people, things and events, he said.
“The intense local focus will be key to our future,” Schulz said.
Freedom is looking for a replacement for Schulz, who took a job as president of Malibu-based CurtCo Publishing’s Gulfshore Media division, which includes Gulfshore Life and Sarasota Magazine. Schulz is moving to Florida for the job.
Schulz said the move will build his career and had nothing to do with any changes playing out at Freedom or its flagship paper, the Orange County Register, which has seen recent layoffs.
Schulz said it was a hard decision.
“I love Orange County. I like the market. I like the magazines,” said Schulz, who is keeping his Orange County home.
The rest of the staff is staying the same, including longtime editor Justine Amodeo and society editor Donna Bunce, he said.
Future Fashionistas
Costa Mesa-based clothing company Hurley International LLC is grooming future fashionistas.
The maker of clothes inspired by surfing and skateboarding recently held a fashion show at the Irvine Spectrum Center, where students from different high schools each created a five-minute show featuring Hurley garb. The winning school got a $5,000 donation for its art and music program.
Retailers, including Huntington Surf & Sport, Hobie and Jack’s Surfboards, sponsored different schools.
Students also got to design their own clothes for Hurley, which is part of Nike Inc. The winners’ designs will be sold as special edition pieces on Hurley’s Web site.
Holiday Tradeshow
It’s a wrap for Action Sports Retailer’s holiday tradeshow recently held in Costa Mesa.
The event drew hundreds of buyers on the hunt for garb to sell during the holidays from OC’s biggest surf- and skate-inspired brands, including Irvine-based Billabong USA and Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc.
Bob Abdelfattah, co-owner of Jack’s Surf Shop in Huntington Beach, said he had five appointments each day and saw about 10 to 15 brands with help from his staff.
“It is so much easier to see brands here than in the store,” he said. “It saves me three to four days in the office.”
San Juan Capistrano-based ASR started this show in 2006 after stores asked for it.
Ancestry Work
PainePR in Irvine recently hired a worker after bringing in a client.
Cherie Whyte, former public relations director at MKM, a marketing shop in Huntington Beach, came on board.
The hire comes on the heels of PainePR being hired by Ancestry.com, part of Provo, Utah-based Generations Network Inc.
PainePR’s local office will lead the marketing work for the account. It will get help from the shop’s Los Angeles and New York staff.
Mike Ward, director of public relations for Ancestry.com, said the shop will help promote the site to a national audience.
Ancestry.com, which launched in 1997, gives information online to help people learn about their family history.
Daryl McCullough, PainePR chief executive, did not disclose the size of the account but said the work was “significant.”
PainePR is owned by Canada’s Cossette Communication Group Inc.
