CochraneConnects officially launched Sept. 24.

Five years ago, Sherry Shaw-Froggatt launched AirdrieLife, a then-biannual, 48-page magazine that focused on life in the community of Airdrie, Ab., a small city of about 30,000 located just north of Calgary. Like Airdrie’s population, which grew by 29.8% from 2001-2006, the magazine blossomed—the now-quarterly issues regularly carry 128 pages.

Shaw-Froggatt has applied everything she learned over the past five years to create a new publicaton called CochraneConnects, which launched last week. “I’ve created a nice formula,” the publisher says.

When Shaw-Froggatt began researching her new publication, she sought a town with a “solid economic development and growth plan.” Cochrane, which, according to Shaw-Froggatt, retains strong ties to its cowboy roots, experienced a population boom in the 1990s, when the size of the town increased by 66.2%. Located about 20 minutes northwest of Calgary, Cochrane is today home to about 14,000 people, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada.

Shaw-Froggatt, who lives just outside Airdrie, describes both her magazines as being like a “big teddy bear” for the communities they serve. “It’s not hard news. It’s all lifestyle—people, places and events. It’s about celebrating the community,” she says. “It also has a good business-to-business element.”

The debut issue of CochraneConnects features a cover story profiling local families who talk about why they have chosen to live in Cochrane. To produce the magazines, Shaw-Froggatt uses 14 different contractors to handle everything from editorial to sales. Brandi Dickman served as editor for the premiere issue.

The new magazine, printed on FSC-certified paper, was delivered door-to-door to all households in Cochrane, as well as to surrounding postal codes. About 10,000 copies were distributed to Calgary addresses based on household income. The City of Cochrane, the Cochrane Chamber of Commerce and Communities West have all come aboard as partners, helping to support the publication through advertising.

The rate for a full-page, four-colour ad in CochraneConnects is $2,400.

Related links:

• Profile of Airdrie [AlbertaFirst.com]
• Profile of Cochrane [AlbertaFirst.com]