THE SCENE MAGAZINE
Using Exclusive Local Content Of Interest &
CREATIVITY To REACH A TARGETED Audience Since 2002
The SCENE is a two-sided entertainment magazine of hyper-local, exclusive content dealing with topics readers enjoy most, including dining, events, live music, cultural arts, nightlife, fitness, style and more.
AUDIENCE Our magazine reaches an ACTIVE, ATTRACTIVE and AFFLUENT audience that targets ACTIVITY LEVEL and SPENDING OPPORTUNITIES, rather than "demographics" of age, race, occupation or income. We know SCENE readers are active because our print edition is only available where consumers are already out of their house, engaged in action and usually spending money. Our distribution plan ensures each issue reaches people who go out, attend events and participate actively within the community. Every issue is consciously picked up and enjoyed by an engaged reader, leaving no copies wasted in a lawn or garbage can as the result of an unsolicited, unwanted delivery. We know SCENE readers are interested in their personal appearance, health, style and physical fitness. Most readers exercise consistently and many participate in sporting events ranging from fun runs and fitness challenges to sailing regattas and competitive kayak races.
DIGITAL & MOBILE DISTRIBUTION:
We know SCENE readers thrive to stay upto-date on new restaurant openings, nightlife trends, local live music schedules, community events and charity fundraisers. We know SCENE readers appreciate those who are artistically gifted, enjoy looking at photos of attractive people, occasionally imbibe in adult beverages and tend to be social and very supportive of their local community. Most importantly, after 15+ years working with some of the most demanding clients in many of the most competitive industries – including food service and hospitality – we know SCENE readers are a highly desired “demographic” even if one can’t simply categorize them by age, race, occupation or income level.
The awareness and familiarity with The SCENE brand has been built from the aggressive distribution of our popular print edition consistently for almost 16 years. But don’t let that suggest we don’t know and love digital. Our print edition is what makes us special, but we compete in digital and have been taking advantage of advancements on that side for years. From static HTML to Flash to online video to our current site to the our upcoming data-driven mobile site utilizing a powerful, Google-search-friendly community content management engine, we are always striving to stay ahead of the current norm. Thanks to the exciting development of the cross-platform-friendly HTML5 language, more evolution in the digital and mobile platforms are coming. Learn more to follow.
More copies, pages & readers than any local magazine for 192 months straight & counting.
REACH: TRADITIONAL The biggest asset for The SCENE is people look forward to picking up EACH and EVERY issue and do so by CHOICE. As discussed earlier in this media kit, people seek to read about fun activities, dining, nightlife, family friendly events, live music and other reasons to get out and participate — to take action! BUT the key is getting the magazine out to people not only interested in reading it, but likely to use it in the decision process on when and where to spend money. Reaching people primed to spend money — usually already spending money — and influencing those readers has been a strength of The SCENE since the beginning. NO PUBLICATION OFFERS THE REACH THAT THE SCENE HAS! THE SCENE IS AVAILABLE IN MORE PLACES THAN ANY OTHER PUBLICATION IN THIS MARKET. That was the case in 2002 when this market was crowded with publications and remains true 16 years later after most publications have disappeared while The SCENE has continued to grow and increase circulation. From our original signature A-frame, vertical racks that have been a familiar sight since 2002 to our new (2018) outdoor racks, no local publication has invested more into distribution and distribution racks. In 2006 we added our high traffic magazine racks that hold up to six times as many issues as the vertical racks that we found ourselves needing to replenishing in some spots almost daily. One result of The SCENE being named the “Official Entertainment Guide” to the area by both the Bay Area Houston Convention & Visitor Bureau (BAHCVB) and the Tourism Division of the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce was the BAHCVB sponsored the purchase of SCENE Hotel Display Racks in area hotels and visitor centers. The SCENE is a favorite of the local hospitality and tourism industry because no print information source provides more valuable information to visitors to the area whether they are looking for a venue to listen live music, enjoy a meal on the water or find something to entertain the kids. We have acquired outdoor racks from defunct publications in 2008 (Computer User Magazine) and recently in 2018 (Houston Press). THE SCENE ENJOYS TARGETED, BONUS DISTRIBUTION ABOVE ALL OTHERS. Whether included in goodie bags at a major charity luncheon or event, passed out to officials in town for an important meeting or included in visitor packets at an industry conference, The SCENE is actively distributed to a very valuable audience in ways not obvious to the general public. If there is a major festival or event locally, chances are The SCENE is not only involved, but often onsite and passing out the current issue to those in attendance. We are proud of the circulation of our print edition and are happy to answer any questions. Contact us at ads@scenelive.net!
REACH: DIGITAL Our print edition sets us apart from other media and marketing vehicles, but we love digital! We know digital and use multiple content platforms and technology to increase and supplement our reach and bring added value for clients. OFFERING A SUPERIOR, LOCAL ORGANIC REACH ON SOCIAL MEDIA. The SCENE has a potent social media following and we stay up on the current algorithms to stay strong and utilize a disciplined strategy to grow brands, push events, assist our clients controlling their narratives and expand our audience. THE SCENE UTILIZES A MATURE AND ENGAGED EMAIL FOLLOWING DATING BACK TO 2002. The SCENE launched a weekly weekend preview e-mail blast in 2002 and has continued sending it out successfully for years, even through the age of unwanted e-mail spamming. We have the philosophy that if you provide subscribers with a useful service instead of blatant advertising, they will not only keep subscribing but actually look forward to the e-mail every time. (Weekly e-mails stopped for a few years, but at the request of many it has returned and the subscriber list has grown to more than 20,000 and still gets an open rate three times the industry standard.) In its current form (pictured at left), our weekly Weekend Previews shares more than 150 upcoming events (live music shows, festivals, tap takeovers, art openings, banquets, etc.). The SCENE will never send out blatant solicitations or sell its e-mail subscriber information. THE SCENE MAGAZINE IS PROUD TO BE AN ORIGINAL AND PROFESSIONAL MEMBER OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST DIGITAL MAGAZINE NEWSSTAND / MOBILE APP. ISSUU is the fastest-growing digital publishing platform in the world, named as TIME's 50 Best Websites, a Webby Awards honoree and one of the top-visited web sites on the planet with 80 million monthly readers and 6.7 billion monthly impressions. In the first year since gaining acceptance as an ISSUU Professional member, The SCENE's library of issues had closed in on 4 million (3,962,658 as of 9/9/2011) unique page views. Issues of the SCENE are also accessible via ISSUU on all mobile devices using the groundbreaking EasyRead technology which makes reading magazines far less painful on small screens and more recently via the ISSUU Mobile App which launched in 2014. The SCENE's overall unique page views has now surpassed 40 million. One example: During the first 30 days our December 2013 issue was available on ISSUU, we received 51,183 visitors with the average time guests spent enjoying the issue was almost 9 minutes (8:54). NEW ROBUST DIGITAL/MOBILE PLATFORM & MORE LAUNCHING AS PART OF OUR SCENE v16.0 CAMPAIGN. As we approach our 16th anniversary of publication and promoting all that is special and unique about our area, we will be launching multiple brands on different platforms and mediums. First and foremost is a completely new and robust digital platform which will be launching in Spring 2018. This platform will be featuring what we are calling the ‘Local Graph’ (Facebook has the ‘Social Graph’ and Google has the ‘Knowledge Graph’) and will contain a mobile optimized local content engine, directory and calendar making it easy to quickly locate events and venues on the move. This will replace our current Google-friendly CMS website and to say we are excited about this new software we have been testing and working with is an understatement. This is just one step in a rather aggressive expansion strategy which also includes a new weekly SCENE-powered podcast launching in April 2018 and a new SCENE-powered video show launching by Summer 2018.
IMPACT & RESULTS NOT ALL MAGAZINES ARE CREATED EQUAL “I used to manage a million-dollar advertising budget and your magazine is the first time I’ve been able to see direct and immediate results.” ~ Keith Lilly, Owner of Dickinson BBQ / Marias (formerly president of Cafe Express)
“I only do two billboards plus your magazine because The SCENE is everywhere, and people pick it up! It’s my favorite magazine.”
“Clear Lake is a unique market "We have already received a ton of new business and the magazine for us because we are cutting has not even been out for a full week yet! Thank you so much SCENE Magazine! Best money spent on advertising yet! Amazing!" print in every ~ Adam Folden, South Shore Harbour Resort Food & Beverage Director market except here where we are increasing our "Our staff has people tell them all the time that they learned about investment with The SCENE. ” ~ Barry Terrell, Owner of T-bone Tom’s / Tookie’s / Tookie’s Seafood
Noah’s Ark in The SCENE. We know it helps and will be with The SCENE for as long as we are in business. ~ Fred Lyttle, Owner of Noah’s Ark
LAUNCH WITH FORCE The single best investment any new venue can make is in a SCENE agreement including a cover sponsorship. TABC records have been set and the stories of momentum right out of the gate are legendary and speak for themselves. Not joining The SCENE is like competing in the most competitive and fluid industry with one hand tied behind your back.
~ Emily Benoit, Marketing at Hospitality USA (Sherlocks Baker St. Pub, Watson House of Ales, City Oven, D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe and Local Pour)
MARKETPLACE We cover and participate in the most economically potent, technologically dynamic and desirable relocation destination in the United States* *Multiple sources including Business Insider, New York Times, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Commerce, Forbes, U-Haul International's Migration Trend Report among others.
“Whether you call the cluster of waterfront communities that make up our marketplace the ‘Jewel of Houston,’ ‘Waterfront Capital of Texas,’ ‘Clear Lake Area,’ ‘Galactic Coast,’ ‘Coastal Playground to Middle America,’ ‘Space City,’ ‘Home of Manned Space Flight,’ ‘Energy Capital of the World’ or ‘Bay Area Houston,’ there is no doubting the region’s economy and quality of life rank as the nation’s highest using any measuring stick.” - John Ennis, SCENE Publisher FACT: Our marketplace is home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), Mission Control, the Astronaut Corps and the base for the development, testing, training, and operation of all U.S. human spacecraft missions. FACT: Our marketplace is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any region outside of New York City. It has the highest pay in the country when adjusted for the cost of living and has been described nationally as an “economic juggernaut,” as the country’s “top job creator” and the “last area into the recession and first out of it.” FACT: Our marketplace is home to three thriving ports: the Port of Houston, the Port of Texas City and the Port of Galveston which have resulted in Texas being the nation's top exporting state for 11 consecutive years. Individually, the Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in foreign waterborne tonnage (14 straight years); first in U.S. imports (20 straight years); second in U.S. export tonnage and second in the U.S. in total tonnage (20 straight years). FACT: Our marketplace has been at the forefront of the oil and gas industry from the early 20th century and has since developed into the Energy Capital of the World. This area hosts many of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world and supports the highest concentration of energy and chemical related companies in the nation. No other metropolitan area maintains the nexus of chemical manufacturing resources, technology, and expertise to stimulate economic development opportunities for stable growth. FACT: Our marketplace is a dynamic tourist and entertainment destination with most of the State’s top tourist attractions including the beaches of Galveston Island, Space Center Houston, Kemah Boardwalk, Moody Gardens, Battleship Texas, San Jacinto Monument, Armand Bayou Nature Center, the Clear Lake Recreation Area, superb shopping, year round golf, more than 30 waterfront restaurants, an impressive line up of live music venues and the nation’s greatest concentration of sailboats, yachts and pleasure craft. FACT: Our marketplace includes many of the the nation's top healthcare institutions, including the world-famous Houston Medical Center. It has become an international medical treatment destination and is considered the most active life science research and entrepreneurial medical community in the nation.
The SCENE has earned a reputation for leveling the playing field by showcasing small, independent and locally owned businesses in a dynamic way on a big stage, once only available to the largest of corporate brands. We have been complimented on the magazine’s ability to make a “small dog look big,” and we give mom-and-pop businesses an advantage locally when competing against better-known national brands. And as a result we have caught the attention of many of the best known national and regional brands and have worked with them to thrive in this affluent but competitive marketplace. Big or small, The SCENE is the proven vehicle to bring attention and business to your brand. Below is a sampling of some of the better known brands that have been marketed in The SCENE.
STRENGTHING BRANDS OF ALL SIZES