Copied from the UW Photo list:
Nov. 15, 2002 THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE DIVE INDUSTRY circ: 4821
Dear Marketing Partners and Dive Professionals,
I want to take a few minutes to explain what will and will not happen as a result of our purchase of Skin Diver.
For starters, we purchased the paid subscriber names and the trademark only. Here is what we will be doing with them:
The Subscriber Names There were approximately 51,000 paid subscriber names on Skin Diver's file. Of that 51,000, about half are soon to expire and/or were low-quality subscriptions sold by agents.
Also, as you might expect, there was some duplication between Rodale's Scuba Diving and Skin Diver. Those people will have their RSD subscription extended. Out of 51,000 names, we are estimating that we will add about 10,000 quality subscribers to our file.
Here's the good news for you: We will not be raising our rates one cent beyond where they were set for 2003, well before we purchased Skin Diver. More quality circulation. Same rates. The Trademark While we're sad that some great people lost their jobs, the fact is the market was too crowded with magazines. That scenario hurt you as an advertiser by diluting the effectiveness of your ad dollars. So we won't be resurrecting a regular magazine with the Skin Diver name on it. We will use the name within RSD and we may use it for a special one-shot publication.
By all accounts, the DEMA show was very successful. I've heard more reports of orders written than ever before. Let's all take this as a solid sign that '03 will be a great year. And as always, RSD will be investing in new programs that will increase the number of active divers. Details will follow soon.
Thanks for your support.
Best regards,
Dane B. Farnum Publisher
