The Reader's Digest Association, Incorporated has signed an agreement with the William
Morris Agency to expand its brands into new entertainment distribution channels,
including television, radio and motion pictures. Reader's Digest is publisher of the
world's most widely read magazine as well as books, music CDs and videos, and
other magazines including Taste of Home, the nation's largest-selling food
magazine, and The Family Handyman, the leader among home-repair
publications.
Working together, Reader's Digest and the William Morris Agency will capitalize on
the publisher's assets to create original media programming, movies,
cross-promotional marketing opportunities and new businesses.
"With its unique constellation of popular brands, superior content and an
unparalleled database of 70 million American households, Reader's Digest is ideally
positioned to expand into a variety of entertainment venues," said John Mass,
senior vice president of William Morris Consulting, a division of William Morris
Agency. "Our job will not only be to capture the company's existing content and
channel it through various entertainment platforms, but to also create new content
and revenue-generating opportunities."
Frank Lalli, vice president for development at Reader's Digest, said: "With the
William Morris Agency, we are set to create exciting content for every media
distribution channel imaginable, beginning with television, film, radio and the
Internet. Everything that we produce will reflect our high standards and advance our
mission to inform, entertain and inspire as many people as possible."
To begin expanding the global publisher's reach into the entertainment industry, the
William Morris Agency will create and execute entertainment-based marketing and
business initiatives in three key areas: original television and radio programming,
cross-promotional marketing and new business ventures. The agency will work with
Reader's Digest to identify content that could serve as the basis for original
television and radio programming. William Morris Agency will create alliances with
individual talent, including writers, directors and producers, who can work with
Reader's Digest to create that programming. Additionally, the agency will develop
new revenue-generating business opportunities between Reader's Digest and
relevant media and entertainment properties. It will also create cross-marketing
and promotional opportunities for various Readers' Digest properties.
William Morris Consulting designs entertainment-based business solutions for some of
the world's most recognizable brands, including Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, the
NFL and Saks Fifth Avenue. Through offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and
London, William Morris Consulting also works with Harrah's, Maxim and Texas
Instruments.
