Last month, KO Média secured an exclusive agreement with L’actualité magazine to handle its ad sales. As part of the collaboration, both parties are developing a special issue called Le Quebec Inc, which will offer targeted advertising solutions. It will be the first special issue the companies will launch, with more planned.

Marie-Andrée Picotte, marketing and distribution director at KO Média, says that all special issues will allow advertisers to promote their brand through sponsored content and co-create customized issues to suit their needs.

“These new initiatives create fresh opportunities for our clients to reach a broader and more diverse audience while continuing to benefit from our creative media team’s expertise,” she says. “By leveraging the analytical and data-driven capabilities of our partner M32, we can design powerful and impactful campaigns that meet our clients’ specific needs.”

Set to be published in several installments throughout the year, Le Quebec Inc. will highlight Quebec businesses of all sizes and offer advertisers the opportunity to sponsor the article of their choice. According to Picotte, the series is in line with KO Média’s broader goal of promoting provincial businesses and supporting Quebec’s economy.

The company, which is also the publisher of Véro, Elle Québec, Elle Canada, and K pour Katrine magazines, has also been boosting its brands’ ad business.

Just before partnering with L’actualité, it announced that Elle Québec and Elle Canada had launched Elle Men, a 16-page publication within Elle meant to catch the attention of a larger male audience. The issue features shopping guides and interviews with male celebrities, like former NFL player Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who appears in the first edition talking about his recent HPV awareness campaign.

Although Elle Men is not a permanent addition, Picotte says it could become an annual (or more frequent) feature if it is successful with advertisers. They are also open to creating additional special sections on various topics if there is advertiser interest.

According to KO Média’s most recent data, the total readership of its three magazines has increased over the previous years, reaching 4.8 million monthly active readers in January 2024. Elle Québec‘s digital version reported a 13% increase in readership last year, while the digital version of Elle Canada increased by 14%, and its print edition by 10%. Meanwhile, Véro grew its print and digital readership by 8%, reaching 837,000 people each month.