ACK-Media partners with National Geographic Society

ACK-media and National Geographic Society announced a partnership to publish the Indian editions of National Geographic Magazine (NGM), National Geographic Traveler (NGT) and National Geographic Kids (NGK). India's leading magazine distributor, India Book House owned by ACK-Media, has been distributing the International edition of NGM and NGT in India for many years. All the three magazines will be published monthly.

National Geographic Society's Indian edition of the magazines will provide the evolved Indian readers greater access to original content of the publication that has set the standard for excellence in reporting and photography for more than 100 years. Further localization of the content is expected providing advertisers a platform to reach the elusive, discerning and affluent Indian audience. The first Indian edition of the magazines is expected to be on stands mid 2012 though the advertisement and marketing partnerships will be built right away.

Samir Patil, CEO & Founder, ACK-Media elaborated on the publishing details, "We bring to table the widest reach (10,000+ vendors), long experience (60+ years) and deep relationship with Nat Geo brands since we have been distributing for many years. With Future Ventures a majority shareholder in ACK Media we also bring unique strengths in the retail and merchandizing space. We have aggressive plans for e-commerce; dedicate retail presence, retail kiosks and other kinds of innovative points-of-presence in malls, books stores and modern retail."

Manas Mohan, Business Head, National Geographic India said, "We have a unique Direct to Customer strategy both in terms of Physical Mailers as well as E-commerce. Overall we think we have the only full-service distribution model in India. We are also making significant investments in this area to address unique challenges for example, customer preference for Cash-On-Delivery. Our target audience for the NGM is everyone! Regardless of age or gender, NG provides a personal space for everyone to connect with the world and the magic of civilization, in a unique way that only NG achieves. Our target audience for National Geographic Kids is all parents, teachers and kids (the magazine age range would be roughly 6 to 12). Our target audience for National Geographic Traveler is the growing number of middle and upper middle class families of India who are aggressively exploring travel and leisure options both in India and abroad.

We are also setting up a very experienced team to handle the advertising sales across all our brands, and do believe we would be able to give advertisers unique platforms for interacting with their customers."

The Indian edition of the magazine expands the international reach of the National Geographic Society in the Asian market. It will be produced to the exact same standard of the Society, in the same format and the familiar yellow bordered cover.