Real Living offers readers the chance to win a personalised cover

The September issue of Real Living proudly offers an Australian publishing first: 10,000 readers have the opportunity to create their own front cover of the magazine’s Christmas 2010 edition and have it bound to a FREE copy of the issue.

Thanks to a partnership between ACP Magazines, nineMSN, and Microsoft, readers of the monthly homes and lifestyle title can easily upload and edit their favourite family pictures to create their own vibrant Real Living Christmas cover.

All readers have to do is visit http://realliving.ninemsn.com.au/office and access the embedded Microsoft Office 2010 functionality, which lets them upload their own photos and add their own coverlines.

Each personalised cover will be printed and bound to a Christmas 2010 issue of Real Living and delivered in mid-December – free of charge – to the person who designed it, who can keep it for themselves or turn it into a wonderful Christmas present for a loved one.

They will also be able to share their custom cover with their family and friends on social networking sites.

The initiative enjoys considerable marketing and promotional support, including in-magazine pages; nineMSN drivers to the website page; and public relations and trade marketing activity.

The Christmas issue of Real Living will feature a high-impact double-page spread showcasing several custom covers that demonstrate how “Microsoft Office 2010 Makes Real Living Great”.

ACP Magazines Group Publishing Director Phil Scott said: “This Australian publishing first is a credit to the dynamic editorial and sales team at Real Living, great partners, great products and sensational brand alignment across multiple channels. The promotion delivers readers instant engagement with their favourite magazine brand and exceptional integration for Microsoft, while reinforcing Real Living’s innovation in print and the digital environment.”

Real Living Editor Deborah Bibby said: “It’s the bumper September issue and Real Living’s fifth birthday – so what better way to say thank you to our readers than launching an opportunity to personalise their favourite magazine online and share it with friends and family this Christmas? It’s a completely engaging tool and a great alignment of three strong brands coming together to create a clever, fun concept that really delivers.”

Real Living National Sales Manager Milena Calic said: "Bringing to life bespoke covers of the Christmas issue showcases true integration with the Real Living brand and Microsoft. It delivers an authentic reader experience with true engagement and longevity. It also demonstrates the power of PBL Media, with ACP's magazine brands and nineMSN's technical know-how working together to bring a seamless experience to the target audience and an Australian magazine first.”

Joanna Stevens Kramer, Central Marketing Group Director at Microsoft Australia, said: “This promotion gives Microsoft true engagement with the Real Living audience. The quick-and-easy cover design process instantly sends the message that with Microsoft Office you can ‘make it great’.”

Once 10,000 personalised copy covers have been printed, the mechanism will still be available on the nineMSN website. After that readers will continue to be able to customise their own front cover and share it on social networking sites.

Real Living is a monthly homes and lifestyle magazine helping readers live a stylish, enjoyable, real life. Each issue is packed with pages of inspiring images, easy DIY projects, the hottest products in the stores and all the advice they need to transform bricks and mortar into a home. The Real Living website complements the magazine.
 
The Real Living personalised Christmas 2010 cover initiative is a collaborative effort between ACP Magazines, nineMSN, Microsoft and their direct marketing agency Wunderman and media agency Universal McCann.

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Contact:
Margaret Fearn
Fearnace Media
M: 0402 259 064