Reader's Digest Association Announces Significant Enhancements To Taste Of Home Publication

NEW YORK and MILWAUKEE, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., the global multi-brand and multi-platform media and direct marketing company, today announced that it is making significant enhancements to its Taste of Home publication to build on the incredibly strong customer engagement levels that have made Taste of Home the No. 1 food magazine in the country.  The announcement is the latest in a series of steps the Company has taken to increase investment in its core media brands such as Reader's Digest, Taste of Home and The Family Handyman.   

Beginning with the June/July issue, Taste of Home will have a new, higher quality look as well as 20% more pages of content that its readers savor.  New product features include:

• a perfect binding to make collecting the magazine more meaningful
• an expansion to 122 pages – 20% more content, including an increase in healthy recipes and content
• heavier cover stock
• six pages of clip-and-save recipe cards
• a more customer-centric publishing schedule focused on the holiday season
• a new logo

"The clamor for more Taste of Home continues to grow from readers and advertisers alike," said Robert E. Guth, CEO of Reader's Digest Association.  "Today's announcement is the latest in a series of investments Reader's Digest Association is making in our core media properties.  Others include the launch of Taste of Home in Canada this summer, the frequency increase of Reader's Digest to 12 issues per year, and the continued expansion of iPad editions to all of our U.S. magazines. This focus has been highly successful in enabling us to grow our advertising base and attract new readers to both the print and digital formats."

The channeling of more resources into Taste of Home is directly tied to readers' growing enthusiasm for the popular magazine on print and digital platforms.  In print editions, Taste of Home was recently ranked No. 1 among its competitive sets (epicurean and women's service and lifestyle) in both reach and reader engagement by Gfk MRI, the industry standard for magazine audience ratings.

In digital the numbers are just as compelling. Taste of Home posted double-digit gains in digital copies served in CY12, following its 2012 expansion to iPad and Android platforms.  In addition, unique visitors to TasteofHome.com grew 51% in 2012 and have more than doubled since 2010. 

"This bigger, more beautiful book size gives our readers more of what they crave, and the expansion to 122 pages gives advertisers more opportunities to share their message with our highly engaged audience," said Catherine Cassidy, Editor-in-Chief of Taste of Home.  "Print and digital engagement levels for Taste of Home continue to soar and for the second consecutive year, Taste of Home increased its share of market in terms of ad pages."  

According to the Fall 2012 MRI index, Taste of Home reaches 11.1 million readers, far more than any of the other publications in its competitive set. Notably, Taste of Home also ranked No. 1 among readers who consider it a favorite publication as well as those who have read all four of its last issues.

About Taste of Home
Taste of Home is the leading multi-platform producer of information on food, cooking and entertaining, serving home cooks engaging media that capture the joy and comfort received from food made with love. Taste of Home magazine has a circulation of 3.2 million and publishes Simple & Delicious magazine six times a year; top-selling bookazines; newsstand specials; and popular cookbooks. Tasteofhome.com is a top destination for engaging audiences with kitchen-tested recipes, how-to techniques, cooking videos and lively community forums. Learn more at tasteofhome.com. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
Reader's Digest Association (RDA) is a global media and direct marketing company that educates, entertains and connects consumers around the world with products and services from trusted brands. For more than 90 years, flagship brand Reader's Digest, the world's largest circulation magazine, has simplified and enriched consumers' lives by discovering and expertly selecting the most interesting ideas, stories, experiences and products in health, home, family, food, finance and humor. Taste of Home is the world's largest circulation food publication and is the leading multi-platform producer of information on food, cooking and entertaining. Other brands include The Family Handyman, Birds & Blooms, Country, and many other enthusiast titles in the U.S. and internationally. The company provides content in print; online; via digital download on iPad, mobile apps, Kindle, KindleFire, Nook, Sony Reader and Zinio; books and home entertainment products; Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. Further information about the company can be found at www.rda.com.

For further information contact:
The Reader's Digest Association
David Press Tel: 917.721.7046

SOURCE The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.