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Now celebrating its second year, Corpus Christi Living magazine has proven a successful marketing tool for area advertisers. A high-interest publication that mixes compelling content with relevant retail advertising, Corpus Christi Living costs advertisers only 1.3 cents per piece — including printing, postage and all — to reach 300,000 of the city’s highest-income homes each year.
“If you sell any type of product or service, this is the place to advertise,” sales manager Bob Hotchkin said. “Anything else with the same reach will cost 18 to 30 cents per item.”
Mailed free each month to 25,000 of the city’s highest-income homes, Corpus Christi Living delivers content to 50,000 different homes every two months. (Every other month, in two-month cycles, the publication is mailed to different ZIP codes.) It is often inserted into Corpus Christi Business News, adding an additional 10,000 a month to circulation.
“Corpus Christi Living is unique to the Coastal Bend market,” Hotchkin said. “It’s the only piece mailed specifically to higher-income households. It includes well-written content that people want to read, meaning they tend to keep it around longer than a group of mailers that are just all ads.”
What started as an ad mailer two years ago, morphed into a magazine last May when Texas Publishing owner Dan Alvey decided to take the publication to a new level of reader interest and usability.
“Consumers are more likely to pick it up, which benefits the advertisers,” Alvey said at the time. “That, in turn, benefits consumers who will find savings, discounts and information about local businesses inside.”
The publications works, Hotchkin added.
“What advertisers get is a steady stream of customers who see their offers and who will either pick up the phone or drive to their place of business,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about. Customers.”
The proof comes when talking to the owners of Oasis Motors, Sandi’s Red Hot and Blue Diner, Alpha and Omega Siding and Windows or Postal Annex, to name a few.
My business has doubled since I have started advertising with Corpus Christi Living,” said Sandi Clark from her business at 704 Ayers St.
“Advertising in Corpus Christi Living has really helped me grow my business,” said Gayle Thomas, owner of Postal Annex at 6537 S. Staples St.
The sales staff at Oasis Motors makes sure they know what day the latest issue hits the mailboxes. With a two-page ad in each publication, they want to be ready for the steady stream of customers it brings.
“We have advertised in the Corpus Christi Living magazine for close to a year now and have been very happy with the result,” said Curt Hills, owner of Oasis Motor Co. in a testimonial ad published in April. “I wish it would have been available years ago!”
Texas Publishing has a number of local publications and marketing platforms, including Corpus Christi Business News, 101 Fun Things to do in Corpus Christi magazine, 101corpuschristi.com, ccbiznews.com and the Corpus Christi Area-Wide Telephone and Internet Directory. It is a locally owned and operated company with 16 years’ experience in the Corpus Christi market and 40 years’ experience in the Texas Hill Country, where the company owns another phonebook, a newspaper, a travel magazine and a radio station along with complementary websites.
“I’m a local business owner, and I support local business owners,” Alvey said. “Locally owned businesses put more of their profits back into the community, which keeps a city economically strong and helps provide opportunity to its citizens. It’s a win-win.”
Corpus Christi Living highlights the work and dedication of those locally owned and operated businesses, which are featured on the cover each month.
“We want to let our readers know who their neighbors are, who they are doing business with and what’s out there that they may not be aware of,” Alvey said. “There’s a lot more to come, and it’s all geared to promoting Corpus Christi business owners — the people who are committed to this community and are working to help it grow and prosper.”
Corpus Christi Business News readers will find Corpus Christi Living magazine inserted into this May issue. If you don’t get one in the mail, check out the website for a digital version at 101corpuschristi.com/living.
