"Scott has really helped put more teeth in The Beaver's newsstand performance, providing immeasurable support to our marketing and circulation efforts around the re-design. Constructive, supportive, and result-driven, he's become an invaluable member of our team."

Deborah Morrison, Publisher

The Beaver, Canada's History Magazine, celebrated its eighty-fifth anniversary in 2005, and is the second-oldest continuously published magazine in Canada. 

The first task was to conduct a comprehensive Cover Analysis. The findings have helped inform decision-making on cover themes and treatments ever since.

The process is highly collaborative, with the art director, editor, and sometimes the publisher contributing suggestions, and the cover evolves during a series of development stages.

The results speak for themselves…

Five of six issues published in 2005 outsold the same issues in 2004:

• Apr/May 2005 was up 20%
• Jun/Jul 2005 was up 75%
• Aug/Sep 2005 was up 22%
• Oct/Nov 2005 (85th Anniversary Issue): sales up 86%
• Dec 2005/Jan 2006 ("Silk Trains"): sales up 172% (Best seller in 85 years, i.e. #1 of 510 issues published). It was shortlisted for the Canadian Newsstand Awards.
• An increase for 2005 issues of 69% overall

And 2006 was a banner year for The Beaver at the newsstand. All six issues outsold the same issue in 2005:

• Feb/Mar 2006 was up 164%
• Apr/May was up 96%
• Jun/July was up 70%
• Aug/Sep was up 104%
• Oct/Nov was up 61%
• Dec/Jan was up 27%

Overall, sales were up 66%. Sell through efficiency improved. The Dec/Jan issue was the Best-Selling issue in the magazine's history, and it was awarded Best Cover (Mid-Size Circulation Category) at the National Newsstand Awards.

Plus, we were able to raise the cover price from $5.95 to $6.95, a hike of 17%, effective with the Jun/Jul issue. This resulted in newsstand revenues jumping by 87% in 2006.

In 2007, with four issues now final, all four have set new records, too, with sales up again by 32% overall. That makes 12 straight issues that have broken records (13 of 15 since the consultation commenced). Since 2004, sales are now up 192% and generate 241% more revenue per issue.

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