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... to nourish a lifestyle magazine for the new millennium. ... to provide readers with advertising for life-enhancing products with integrity. ... to help the reader create and sustain joy in their life through lucid and passionate examples of how that can be accomplished. ... to celebrate the art of living from a new perspective. ... to address, celebrate and illuminate the emerging culture. ... to lead by example, showing that living one's truth can change one's life for the better. ... to open the hearts of all people, one person at a time. ... to bring about to a peaceful world by contributing to the inner peace of its residents.
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Solimar readers are the American mainstream - educated, successful. Their lives are filled with activities, friends, family, work: all of the ingredients for twentieth century happiness. Yet with the new millennium upon them, they thirst for something more. The goal of Solimar magazine is to quench that thirst with a style and integrity never before seen on any newsstand. Ever. We will change the face of publishing by changing its heart. At the vanguard of publications for the year 2000, Solimar takes the reader beyond the celebratory year and into a new age of life and living on this planet. Other magazines may look at the art of living. Solimar looks at the heart of living. Solimar is nationally recognized writers, innovative artists, extraordinary photographers. Solimar is exceptional new voices, thought-provoking new visions, mind-stretching new perspectives, outstanding new talent. Our contributors understand deeply and personally the unique Solimar perspective. Solimar magazine combines accurate fact reporting with engaging, emotionally satisfying storytelling. Our stance is positive, playful, upbeat and fun, yet we welcome the difficult and controversial for in-depth treatment. We embrace all life-affirming paths and celebrate the commonality among all philosophies. Because it's you! Discover ways to create love and happiness in your everyday life. Our stories show you how others have, so that you can be inspired to find your own unique way. Because it's family! Experience the harmony of a family in which life is fun, people are good, and goals are attainable. Learn to love wholly and truthfully from those who have been there. Because it's community! Take an excursion into improving your friendships, your neighborhood, your town. Turn the pages to find uplifting, yet down-to-earth, stories that will help you make a difference in your community. Because it's global! Journey to explore earth's most inspirational destinations. Wake up the intuitive nature within yourself and connect with the world outside the windows of your soul. Merge with emerging cultures and grow with them. . . . This is Solimar. Filled with ordinary people sharing extraordinary perspectives, Solimar encourages readers to discover how living from the heart can transform all corners of their lives, from careers to relationships to fashion choices. Solimar is about waking up a new perspective in everyone so that life in the new millennium becomes a new and rewarding adventure. Solimar is the magazine of the new millennium. Solimar is a subsidiary of Solimar, Inc., a rapidly-growing San Francisco Bay Area company dedicated to helping people live from the position of an open heart. Founder and CEO Sunni Taliaferro is an internationally-known speaker and teacher appearing regularly in the media. She has also created the Sunni's Garden Party workshop which assists young women in clearing the past and bringing their lives and futures into bloom. "There is more to life than what you may see," teaches Sunni. "Solimar will help you discover the wonders of life and change your perspective. When you change your perspective, you change your thoughts. When you change your thoughts, you can change anything!"
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At Solimar, our natural style is relationship marketing and we intend to forge relationships with readers, advertisers and vendors that will only strengthen as the decades progress. We will partner with our distributors to build excitement with our retailers, committing significant funds to in-store promotions and retailer SPIFs. We are already focused on working with national corporations, associations and other businesses to cooperatively market Solimar subscriptions with their products and create joint promotional opportunities. Targeted interest groups and associations will also include a subscription to Solimar as part of their benefits package. Augmented by an aggressive, multi-media advertising campaign and dynamic public relations, Solimar will be among the most exciting and eagerly anticipated new publications to launch in decades. In our first year alone, we are committing over $500,000 to TV, radio, print and outdoor advertising. The magazine will also gain additional exposure at Whole Life Expos in San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta and Chicago, as well as other trade shows that target our audience. Our "Just Be Cause" TV, print and outdoor campaign features our spokesmodel, "BE Guy," promoting the core message of the magazine: Be the Cause of your own life. The BE Guy will also make appearances at retail outlets to catch the attention of consumers and retailers alike. Along with the BE Guy, we will generate a buzz at events in related markets (radio listener parties and trade shows) through the presence of the Solimar BE Team. The BE Team is made up of the core group responsible for Solimar magazine - including the publishers, managers and production crew - who are making themselves visible and accessible to the world. Subscriptions will be generated with direct mail, clearing houses, at trade show events, in TV spots, radio spots, articles and interviews as well as through our web site. By August 2002, Solimar will have reached more than 7 million readers with 22 issues published. Single-copy sales will exceed 250,000, paid subscriptions will top 100,000 annually. |
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Summer Solstice, June 22, 1999 New Models for Families; Y2K: Why the Hysteria? Autumn Equinox, Sept. 23, 1999 New Attitudes about Sex; Resurgence of Meditative Labyrinths Winter Solstice, Dec. 22, 1999 How the Internet Impacts Us Spiritually; An Examination of the Media Spring Equinox, March 21, 2000 Spirituality in Business; The Third Way in Politics Summer Solstice, June 22, 2000 Sustainable Development; Parenting |
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Features - 25%
Self - 20%
Family/Relationship - 23%
Community - 14%
World - 18%
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Where is Solimar distributed? At bookstores, newsstands, gift shops and specialty stores, as well as to subscribers. The special preview hits the newsstand in March 1999, with daytime television star Kathleen Noone featured on the cover of the 25,000-copy limited-edition run. Solimar is being distributed by Big Top Newsstand Services with the preview issue appearing at checkstands in 264 Borders Books, as well as other chains nationwide. Fifty thousand copies of the Summer Solstice 1999 issue will be launched nationwide in June. Our subscription target is 40,000 paid subscribers by the end of the first year, 60,000 by the end of the second year, and 100,000 by the end of the third year.
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Target Markets: The target audience for Solimar magazine is a diverse group, primarily, but not exclusively women, who share in common distinct demographic characteristics, political convictions, civic behavior and consumer purchases. Almost one-fourth of the adult population in the United States, 44 million people, are on a new path representing a dramatic transformation that has been rapidly expanding in American culture, a result of extensive and fundamental shifts in values, world view and lifestyle. This emerging group, the Cultural Creatives, has been identified and studied by American LIVES of San Francisco. Their research revealed "that Americans live in three different worlds of meaning and valuing: Modernists, Heartlanders, and Cultural Creatives." The Cultural Creative world view traces its roots to the spiritual movements of the nineteenth century, most notably American Transcendentalism. Cultural Creatives gained strength as Western intellectuals discovered and embraced the diversity and coherence of other religions and philosophies. The momentum increased in the 1960s, when millions of young Americans - the Baby Boomers - joined human potential, civil rights, peace, social justice, ecology, and women's movements at a dizzying rate. While conservative commentators often believed each of these movements was a fluke, important only to a few vocal zealots, these ideas are, in fact, coalescing into a new, cohesive world view. Ironically, Creatives, unaware of the scope of the group to which they belong, tend to view themselves as alone and separated from mainstream America. American LIVES' research clearly indicates that Cultural Creatives place very high value on having new and unique experiences. On the deepest level, they are keenly attuned to global issues and whole systems. Their cognitive style reflects this "big picture" orientation, taking in information efficiently from a variety of sources, seizing upon something they find interesting, and exploring it in greater detail. They want "whole-process stories, and are likely to want the stories behind the stories as well. They are defined by an image of a photograph taken by an astronaut of the earth - a blue pearl suspended in the liquid black of outer space." Sustainability is central for Creatives, who are also known for their love of foreigners, travel, and the exotic. They buy more books and magazines than average and tend to be innovators and opinion leaders when it comes to food and beverages. They like to cook with friends, eat out a lot, and try natural and health foods. They are aggressive consumers of cultural products, and their decorating style is typically eclectic, with a lot of original art on the walls. Creatives define the leading edge of exotic vacation travel, favoring tours of temples in India, back country treks, eco-tourism, photo-safaris, Mayan ruins, and Zen-Vipassana-Sufi-Yoga retreats. They don't do package tours, and are likely to seek locales that are "off the beaten path." Six in ten Creatives are women. The median age is 42, making them a significant subgroup within the Baby Boomers. They are found in all regions of the country, although they are slightly more likely to live on the West Coast. Despite their noted altruism and nonplussed attitude towards success and making a lot of money, most are in the middle- to upper-income range. Of the three world views, Cultural Creatives are more likely to have graduated from college, with 30 percent earning post-secondary degrees. Research also shows the Creatives buy more books and magazine than average. Creatives are leading the way in the development and implementation of ecological sustainability. They believe in limits to growth and focus on rebuilding neighborhoods. Nature is sacred to Creatives, and they are willing to spend time and money to clean up the environment and stop corporate polluters and global warming. Creatives walk their walk, with 75 percent involved in volunteer activities, compared to the national average of 60 percent. They volunteer an average of four hours a month, compared with the national average of one hour per month. Voluntary simplicity is embraced by Creatives, and they emphasize social concerns. The Creative world view holds that rebuilding and healing society is a direct result of healing the self, spiritually and physically. A dominant focus of this world view is strengthening the family, particularly by addressing the problems of violence and abuse of women and children. They are as likely as other world views to live in family households. Cultural Creatives are likely to be altruistic, self-actualized, and spiritual. These highly complex, interrelated beliefs and values center on the inner life. Creatives are creating a new sense of the sacred that incorporates personal growth psychology, the spiritual realm, and service to others. They are much stronger in their orientation to holistic health and alternative health care than average consumers. Cultural Creatives are perhaps best defined by their desire for authenticity, and have invented the term as consumers today understand it. They continue to challenge and redefine conventional wisdom, and gain momentum as they discover the strength in their numbers. Our magazine, Solimar . . . Living in the New Millennium, is at the crest of these trends, poised to take an active leadership role as our society undergoes a major realignment. The emergence of Cultural Creatives in America is a positive, hopeful portent for our society, promising the chance to create a positive new paradigm. Watts Wacher, a futurist with SRI International of Menlo Park, California suggests that "we're at the point in history of the fifth renaissance. About every five hundred years, there's a change in the perspective of truth. The last time this happened was when Columbus came here in 1492." Will the Cultural Creatives be the prevailing view and voice of the new millennium? We think so. |
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Positioning - General: "THE lifestyle magazine of the New Millennium"addressing the human condition, unconditionally. Designed for mass appeal with a high-end look and exquisite design. Non-discriminatory editorial focus on extraordinary people, visions, places and beings. Something for everyone to believe in and learn from. The only periodical featuring lifestyle information from major stars and public figures that is otherwise unavailable or not discussed. Unique, inspiring, powerful. Positioning - Specific: Geared towards establishing Brand Equity for magazine and generating initial subscription base of 10,000. Preview issue positioned as "Collector's Edition" and dispensed free-of-charge in limited quantities to press, VIPs, celebrities and first time subscribers "while supplies last." Initial launch promoted with the unveiling of Preview and Premiere Issue covers with celebrity attendance at gala events in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Booth presence and subscription drive at Whole Life Expo in all primary and secondary geographic target markets. Presence advertised on radio and TV. Initial launch, west coast only prime time TV ads on PAX Net affiliates to approximately 10 million potential viewers. Expanded to national advertising on same network after premiere issue launches. Print advertising campaign with the theme "Be Cause." Targeted West Coast primary dailies, weeklies and regional glossies. Grass roots distribution campaign with one-on-one contact with retailers to enhance in-store positioning for rack buys.
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Born of imagination and commitment to make the extraordinary happen, Solimar, Inc. has surpassed everyone's hopes and more than a few wild dreams. The moment of inspiration was in December 1996. In March 1997, Solimar was incorporated, and Wings of Solimar . . . an Angel Gallery opened in September 1997. Nearing the end of our second year in business, we have accomplished nearly every goal we set out in our original business plan, including opening the gallery itself, presenting workshops, offering our Angel Messenger singing telegram service, and starting our non-profit organization, Angel House. In addition, we have revised our business plan to include our magazine, Solimar . . . Living in the New Millennium. Solimar and its CEO, Sunni Taliaferro, are fast becoming recognized as leaders in social issues in both national and local press, including Emerge, Essence, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Francisco Examiner, The Contra Costa Business Times, The Tri-Valley Herald, The Hayward Review, and Networking News. Sunni is regularly featured on "Seeing Beyond," a nationally syndicated inspirational radio show, has been interviewed on numerous radio stations throughout the country and has been featured on Channel 7 KGO's "Market Place." We have developed a following of racially and ethnically diverse clients, and gallery revenues have skyrocketed, increasing 80 percent over the first year. In the second year, gallery revenues have shown consistent growth of 30 percent. The organization has grown from an initial gallery staff of six in August 1997 to a diversified company with twelve full-time staff members, five consultants and more than a dozen freelance artists, writers and photographers in December 1998. In 1998, Solimar presented six major art shows with internationally acclaimed artists, including Joanne Koenig-Macko and Gary Markowitz. Koenig-Macko's work was displayed at the White House as part of it's international tour to world leaders, and Markowitz is an internationally collected painter. Solimar offers 44 workshops that are invariably well attended. Workshop presenters range from local talents to nationally recognized authors and speakers, including John Randolf Price, Doreen Virtue, and Carol Adrienne. Sunni presented seven sessions of Sunni's Garden Party, as well as a special four-part workshop series during which she gathered material for a book on her transformation and personal process for realizing her dreams. Since August 1997, Solimar's mailing list has grown from 350 to nearly 5,000 entirely through self selection. That number continues to increase at a rate of six percent monthly. This explosive growth is due in part to the fact that Solimar has consistently reached people through a variety of avenues, not just those who come into the gallery. Other contacts include The Solimar Muse and the Wings of Solimar web site, which gets over 1,000 hits per month. Sunni personally receives an average of 20 letters per week from people expressing their gratitude for her work. From January to November 1998, Solimar's monthly newsletter, The Solimar Muse, grew from a single sheet to a 16-page, saddle-stitched, four-color glossy magazine. Following this phenomenal success, both the vision and the business plan were expanded to include a national magazine, Solimar . . . Living In The New Millennium. The preview issue of Solimar was published with an issue date of Spring Equinox 1999, and the launch issue will be published for Summer Solstice 1999. Solimar actively participates in a number of trade shows and events to develop name recognition and brand awareness. To date, they have included the Whole Life Expo, KKSF Earthday celebration, and the Lafayette Art and Wine Festival. The response to Solimar at these events is consistently enthusiastic. Solimar maintains an active leadership role in the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, which we joined in July 1997. Since then, we have sponsored five major Chamber events and participated in nearly all Chamber activities. "Wings of Solimar is a welcome addition to the Lafayette community," says Ann Denny, Executive Director of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. "They have done a great deal to raise not only funds, but awareness for the causes they support." Restaurant owner Susan Guerguy, another local sponsor says, "Whatever Christina is behind, I'll support it." Solimar is the first private business to be granted the privilege of posting banners on the city street light poles in Lafayette, an honor bestowed by the City Council in recognition of the benefit Solimar and it's events have brought the community. In the first year of gallery operations, Solimar donated over $12,500 dollars to non-profit organizations and raised over $80,000 in cash and donations for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) with a holiday promotion at Christmas 1997 and the Earth Angel Faire in June 1998. Solimar staff and employees have donated over 300 hours of their own time and effort for the promotion, coordination and administration of charity events. In addition, they have been instrumental in gaining the support of other businesses within the Lafayette community in the form of donated time, effort and goods. Sunni is the spokesperson for the Contra Costa chapter of CASA and has been a vocal advocate for establishing children's arts programs in the community. At Solimar, we are very proud of all that we have accomplished, and so very grateful for all of the support, assistance and inspiration - divine and human - we have received. There is one accomplishment that is most near and dear to our hearts. Already in the initial stages of acquiring federal tax exempt status, Angel House, a non-profit organization serving as a resource center for the women and children of Contra Costa and Alameda Counties will be in full operation by the year 2000. Unlike crisis centers and service agencies, Angel House will specialize in healing the wounded spirit that resides inside women and children who have been victimized by abuse, violence and disease. Through individual counseling, group support, art, conversation and friendship, Angel House seeks to create a "partnership in healing" where each person discovers the courage to heal and the hope to begin the journey of recovery. >>>> At Solimar, through love, passion, dedication, and hard work, we produce extraordinary results. We dream a deeper dream, and then make it happen! |
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| All content is copyrighted by Solimar, Inc., all rights reserved. Solimar magazine can be reached at contact@solimarmagazine.com. Webmaster Julia Stege can be reached at contact@graphicgirlz.com or you can reach her through Graphic Girlz online at http://www.graphicgirlz.com. | |