Heart & Soul Magazine Purchased by Brown Curry Detry Taylor Associates, LLCVeteran journalist George E. Curry among owners; the 18-year-old national wellness publication to expand focus to women of color and reemphasize fitness
By: Heart & Soul 
Special Issue. “We are excited about our acquisition of this important brand and readers will quickly notice a revamped, first-rate print edition and more engaging digital version of Heart & Soul,” said Brown. “We will focus on repositioning the brand back to fitness, health and wellness and broadening the content, the audience, and the advertisers.” Heart & Soul has historically targeted African-American women. In one of its first moves, BCDT will broaden the magazine’s audience to include all women of color, one of the fastest growing segments in the nation. Racial and ethnic minorities constituted 91.7 percent of the U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2010 and are projected to make up a majority of the country’s population by 2042. By broadening its audience, Heart & Soul becomes the only national publication that targets multicultural women ages 21 to 55 in the health, fitness and wellness category. “When you look at the statistics and see the significant health disparities that exist between Caucasian women and women of color, you look for ways to close those health gaps,” Brown explained. “Women of color are disproportionately affected by a number of diseases and health conditions and many of those problems can be avoided or minimized through optimizing nutrition and regular physical activity. Heart & Soul will provide readers valuable information, expert advice and relevant resources that will help reduce the disparities and improve the lives of all women of color.” BCDT, which stands for Brown, Curry, Detry and Taylor, was formed by four highly-respected media and marketing veterans: Clarence I. Brown, George E. Curry, Patrick H. Detry and Pamela E. Taylor. All the principals have past ties to Heart & Soul. Brown was responsible for daily management of the magazine when it was owned by BET, Curry was editor of Emerge when Heart & Soul was part of the BET magazine group and Detry and Taylor provided consulting services to Edwin Avent, the former owner. “It helps that all of us are familiar with our new acquisition,” Heart & Soul was first published in 1993 as part of a joint venture between Reginald Ware and Rodale Press. It was later owned by BET, Vanguarde Media and, more recently, Edwin V. Avent. The new owners have relocated the magazine’s headquarters from Baltimore to Silver Spring, Md. M.A. Graham & Associates was responsible for identifying and attracting the capital to complete the transaction. Garland Group LLC provided financial services support during the acquisition. About BCDT Principals Clarence Brown, President and CEO – Brown managed the Black Entertainment Television (BET) magazine group that once included Heart & Soul, Emerge, YSB and BET Weekend. He was Vice President of Operations and Associate Publisher of the BET Publishing Group and responsible for managing an annual budget of $15 million. Brown was also instrumental in creating MSBET, a joint venture between BET and Microsoft. Prior to joining BET, Brown worked for Time magazine for 12 years, serving as Makeup Manager, Manager for Special Advertising, and Traffic Manager for Time U.S. George E. Curry, Executive Vice President, Content – Curry is the former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA). He was also a reporter for Sports Illustrated and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before serving as a Washington correspondent and New York bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune. Curry was elected president of the American Society of Magazine Editors, the first African-American to hold the association’ Patrick H. Detry, Executive Vice President, Advertising – Detry worked at some of the top ad agencies in the world, including J. Walter Thompson, Benton & Bowles (now DMB&B) and UniWorld Group before moving to the sales side of the business. He was the top sales person and Director of Ad Sales for BET Interactive, bringing in such major advertisers as GM, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Ford, DaimlerChrylser and Nike. Prior to joining BET, Detry sold advertising for Time, Redbook, USA Today, TV Cable Week, Sky Radio and Black Rock Digital. Pamela E. Taylor, Executive Vice President, Marketing – Taylor has spent more than 25 years directing strategic marketing, promotions and advertising for such blue-chip companies as Spiegel, Sears, United Airlines, Hewlett-Packard, Soft Sheen Products and McDonald’s Corporation. For McDonald’s, she served as Account Director for The Marketing Store, the global promotional agency of the company. In that capacity, she managed all U.S. Hispanic, African-American and Asian promotional sponsorships activations. She also worked in advertising, managing key client accounts at Burrell Communications Group. About M.A. Graham & Associates M.A. Graham & Associates specializes in identifying and securing growth and acquisition capital for small businesses. The group works with experienced management teams seeking to acquire businesses or expand their existing platforms. M.A. Graham & Associates acts as a strategic partner in assisting businesses to enhance performance and create long-term value accretion. The owners have collective experience in excess of 50 years in private equity, financial management and marketing. (http://www.magrahamandassociates.com) About Garland Group Garland Group LLC is an accounting and corporate finance consulting firm specializing in providing acquisition support services to high growth private entrepreneurial companies. Garland Group, LLC is a Certified Public Accounting firm registered in Maryland. (http://www.gargroup.com) Photo: https://www.prlog.org/ End
|
Account Phone Number