New National Magazine Targets College Students

Posted on August 27, 2004

GenZ Magazine, a new magazine for college students, launches this fall with its debut issue and website launch. With an initial outreach to over 100 campuses, GenZ Magazine is the first ever to be pre-inserted exclusively into college bookstore bags. With initial circulation of one million copies in the fall of 2004, GenZ Magazine expects grow to 1.5 million by the spring of 2005.

Published by Campus Connections, GenZ blends lifestyle and feature stories specific to the college environment and coverage of topical issues and practical information, ranging from career advice to travel and politics. Published twice a year at the beginning of each semester, GenZ Magazine launches together with the GenZ website.

"With annual combined spending of over $200 billion, college students are a powerful force in the consumer marketplace. For generations, advertisers have been trying to figure out how to reach this elusive but highly desirable demographic," said Cristian Stenstrom, Chief Executive Officer, Campus Connections. "We believe we have found the answer and, based on the outstanding response to our first issue, advertisers seem to think so too."

GenZ Magazine, genz.com and its parent company Campus Connections is the brainchild of three young business people who are recent college graduates themselves, Christian Thornburg, Cristian Stenstrom and Heather Tillett. According to Thornburg, "While still a student at Notre Dame, I struggled as the loose pamphlets and advertisements I had received in my book bag caught a breeze and blew away, and I recognized that the insertion of loose advertisements was an idea that could be improved upon. Marrying the concept of a cohesive magazine with content specifically pertinent to college students inspired us to create GenZ Magazine and genz.com."

Campus Connections has an exclusive arrangement with NACS, the National Association of College Bookstores, for the initial publication of GenZ Magazine. Campus Connections said it has also forged an alliance with Follett Corporation which will increase its range and circulation in 2005.