Rodale Broadens Role of Top Editors and Unifies Print and Online Magazine Sales Teams

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Steve Murphy, President and CEO of Rodale, today announced several changes designed to broaden the role of the company's top editors and create more fully integrated print and online sales teams. Editorial, sales and marketing activities are being realigned around Rodale's key brands.

“This new strategy will ensure that we can rapidly respond to our customers' and advertising clients' needs, deliver our best-in-class editorial in any format our customers wish, and connect advertisers with our readers through a diverse mix of media”

Each brand group will be led by the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of each Rodale magazine. Editors-in-Chief will be responsible for the creation and the bringing to market of Rodale's brands' editorial content in all formats, including print, online, books, licensing products, or DVDs. Publishers will have full responsibility for sales across platforms, including online. The print and online sales teams in the editorial, marketing and sales groups will now be combined into one unified sales force. As a result of the new structure, Rodale personnel selling online services will expand significantly. Rodale’s nine magazine properties include Prevention, Men's Health, Runner's World, Women's Health, Organic Gardening, Backpacker, Best Life, Bicycling and Mountain Bike.

The newly unified sales force will be led by Rodale Magazines’ Executive Vice President and Group Publisher MaryAnn Bekkedahl, who will report to Rodale Interactive President and Chief Marketing Officer Bill Ostroff.

“This new strategy will ensure that we can rapidly respond to our customers' and advertising clients' needs, deliver our best-in-class editorial in any format our customers wish, and connect advertisers with our readers through a diverse mix of media," said Murphy.

As the authoritative source for trusted content in health and wellness worldwide, Rodale reaches more than 40 million people each month through its category-leading titles and integrated marketing solutions, with one of the industry’s largest direct-to-consumer businesses.

Ostroff, who joined the company in 2004, said the company aims to create multiple revenue streams within each brand by identifying marketing opportunities and developing highly creative programs. “We are committed to growing beyond our leadership position among consumers who are pursuing a healthy and active lifestyle," said Ostroff.

EDITORIAL

The brands will each have an online team comprised of an Online Executive Editor, designers and product developers, as well as a “Brand Development Editor,” reporting to the Editors-in-Chief, who will be responsible for the brand’s development in formats other than print.

SALES

According to Bekkedahl, dramatic changes in the strategies of advertising clients have created new opportunities. “We recognize the advertising market’s demand for integrated programs that bring marketers to our readers,” said Bekkedahl. “The consolidation of our sales efforts will enable us to leverage our entire sales team against all advertising opportunities, and position us to be more effective in delivering solutions to marketers’ challenges through our branded assets.”

* To support online sales efforts, the position of Online Advertising Director will be created for each major brand. Online Advertising Directors will work with the brand sales team to sell Rodale's Web sites and manage online inventory. They will report to the Brand Ad Director or Associate Publisher.

* Vice President of Online Advertising Sales Ron Bernstein will lead Rodale's Integrated Marketing Solutions and online network sales teams, which will sell integrated marketing solutions, multi-site online programs, and manage corporate accounts for Rodale. He will report to Bekkedahl.

* Rodale Custom Publishing, which develops, produces and distributes marketing communications programs, will continue to report to Bekkedahl.

MARKETING

Rodale’s marketing activities for each brand will be realigned to further unify and strengthen the company’s marketing assets.

* The marketing team that supports integrated selling will be combined with Rodale's online sales development team. This combined group will support both Rodale's Marketing Solutions and Online Network Sales teams and will be led by Senior Vice President of Customer Marketing Jim Berra. Berra will now focus his marketing and branding experience on both consumers and advertisers.

About Rodale Inc.

Rodale Inc., which was recognized by the trade publication Advertising Age as Publishing Company of the Year for 2006, is the authoritative source for trusted content in health, fitness and wellness around the world, reaching nearly 40 million people each month. The company publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines, including Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health, Runner's World, Best Life, Bicycling, Backpacker, Mountain Bike and Organic Gardening, and is also the largest independent book publisher in America with a collection of international titles, including The South Beach Diet and The Abs Diet franchises, and most recently Al Gore’s New York Times bestseller An Inconvenient Truth. Rodale's broad range of media platforms includes magazines, books, videos and extensive Web sites. The company is also a leader in direct-response marketing and has more than 26 million active customers in its database. www.rodale.com.