A new media brand launching this week targets tweens—and the marketers who want to reach them.
The brand is called Kewl, a nod to the way tweens spell “cool” in their text messages. It bows with a free quarterly magazine, a Web site and a TV show, all covering music, entertainment and celebrities popular with kids under 13.
Three entertainment marketers have collaborated to launch the brand: DIC Entertainment, Geffen Records and Poets Road.
The magazine debuts with 500,000 free copies distributed nationally at retail outlets catering to tweens, including Claire’s, FYE, Sam Goody, Skechers, Suncoast and Toys ‘R’ Us. Contests in the magazine give readers a chance to win hundreds of different items, from Ed Hardy T-shirts and Pure Allure jewelry with Swarovski crystals to autographed CDs and posters from Geffen and ZVue hand-held video players.
Kewl’s second issue is slated for June 2007.
The magazine serves as a platform for a TV series called Everything Kewl, hosted by SPG: The Slumber Party Girls, a girl band on the Geffen label. Each episode will feature information and reviews on movies, games, music, TV, gadgets and style for tweens. The TV show is slated to debut later this year, but no date or network has been set.
Meanwhile, the brand’s Web site, KewlMag.com, launched this week, with contests and user-submitted content, such as music and movie reviews, videos and shout outs. The site will eventually host clips from Everything Kewl.
“Kewl will be an ideal platform for advertisers seeking to reach this unique audience,” said Mike Bundlie, executive director for Kewl and head of interactive for DIC. “Kewl Magazine delivers compelling visuals and editorial and is the first music-focused magazine geared specifically to tweens.”
An April 14 launch party scheduled for the Gibson Baldwin showroom in Beverly Hills will star SPG: The Slumber Party Girls, with other celebrity appearances and product giveaways from Gibson (autographed guitars), MeBath (bath and beauty products), Mossimo (clothing) and Izze (soft drinks).
Kewl Magazine features coverage of celebrities including singer Gwen Stefani, Zac Efron (Disney’s High School Musical), Drake Bell (Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh) and Miley Cyrus (Disney’s Hannah Montana).
DIC Entertainment, a fully integrated global brand management company, serves as the worldwide licensor for brands such as McDonald’s, Strawberry Shortcake and Horseland.
Geffen Records, a division of Universal Music’s Interscope Geffen A&M, is the world’s largest music company.
Poets Road, Inc. is a new media design and brand development firm based in Burbank, CA.
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