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New owners, BCDT & Associates, close deal on purchase of Heart & Soul
magazine
 (February
7,
2012)
Heart & Soul
magazine, the 18-year-old national wellness publication, has been
purchased by Brown Curry Detry Taylor & Associates, LLC (BCDT), a media
content company based in Silver Spring, Md. Clarence I. Brown, BCDT
president and CEO, announced today that the company acquired all assets
of Heart & Soul Enterprises, LLC, the parent company of the magazine,
from its owner, Edwin V. Avent, a Baltimore-based businessman.
"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,"
explained Brown. "Because we have a history with Heart
& Soul,
we are uniquely positioned to take it to a higher level."
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's top post. He is a
syndicated columnist and author of three books.
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.
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. (www.magrahamandassociates.com)
Go to Target Market News homepage
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