As a large magazine publisher with a 30-year history in the West, Canada Wide had an incredible content library.  With original articles and photography spanning travel, food, entertainment, gardening, golf, business and much more, Canada Wide’s content library is second to none in Western Canada.  In fact, as we started working with them, the At Large team quickly realized that Canada Wide’s real opportunity lay not just in the depth of their content, but in the breadth as well. 

Despite the internal mandate to get their existing magazines online asap, we felt there was much MORE that Canada Wide could do online.  Yes, they needed to launch online versions of their existing publications, but their real return on investment was going to come from attracting NEW audiences and building NEW products that would appeal to both existing and new clients and advertisers.

So, we began with a strategy.

For Canada Wide we led meetings with management and editorial teams, and did lots of thinking, in order to come up with a detailed web specification document that included things like:

• Revenue models
• User scenarios
• Individual site architectures
• Content Management System specifications
• Staffing recommendations
• Metrics and ROI planning
• Online Advertising Specifications and Pricing Recommendations

 
Once we had sign off on the web specification document we were able to provide a timeline and budget for the development of Canada Wide’s online product offerings.  The goal wasn’t just to launch a website or two, but to build a viable and profitable online business that would leverage the great content already being developed by Canada Wide, while also attracting new audiences to their online offerings.

With the strategy, budget and timeline in place it was time to jump into execution.

At Large Media designers and developers created a series of original e-newsletters and websites for Canada Wide, as well as a robust and flexible Content Management System that could drive all of their new content, both now and in the future.  At the same time that we were managing the development of the first series of sites and newsletters, At Large consultants were also assisting with the hiring of an internal new media team at Canada Wide. 

Working hand-in-hand with the new internal team, At Large continues to provide ongoing strategic and technical support to Canada Wide.  This includes everything from server management, metrics support, sales strategy, pricing strategy recommendations, and future planning.  With such a vast opportunity in front of them, we have high hopes for Canada Wide as they start to truly leverage their incredible content assets and editorial talent across new media platforms.

For a list of all At Large Media projects, please see this page