lynda reeves . . . building a brand

andrea utter

Finding quality Canadian decorating and interior design products used to be a difficult task. When Lynda Reeves was an interior designer more than 20 years ago,she found American magazines were really the only place to turn to find the perfect lamp, rug or accessory. She carried clippings in her purse knowing that it would be impossible to locate the stuff in Canada.

But it was clear to her that Canada did have its own thriving industry of home decorating products. There was just no avenue through which to find it. She became frustrated that there was nowhere to turn to find the products at Canadian retailers. That’s when she decided to act.

“It was really my own need as a consumer that led me to want to start the magazine,” Reeves said.

In 1986, when Reeves got her hands on the then struggling magazine, she refined its content and packed it with accessible Canadian sources.

Canadian Home Publishers was born.

Now Reeves is president and managing partner of the recently renamed House & Home Media, publisher of House & Home Magazine and Gardening Life Magazine and host and executive producer of House & Home Television.

When Reeves took over the magazine she had no idea television was in her future. But her dedication to providing quality home décor content and to building the House & Home brand meant that TV was a natural extension.

The magazine’s content had a clear focus and personality, and for Reeves the only way the show would make it was to translate that personality accurately and consistently.

“Our show is the magazine brought to life. It has to be a direct reflection. It has to tie into the story content of that issue, that month,” Reeves said.

Where other magazine shows might hire a production company to interpret the content of a magazine, Reeves refused to follow this path. Cobi Ladner, the magazine’s editor and Reeves’ right-hand woman, said that when the idea of the show presented itself, H&H Media was very clear that passing their content to a production company was out of the question.

“Our content, to us, is everything. It can’t be interpreted by someone else or it isn’t our content in our minds,” she said. “The only people who can do that is us.”

This is where it gets tricky. H&H wanted to do the show themselves, but they already had full time jobs with the magazine. Who would produce the show? Who would develop and host it as well as provide editorial content?

Lynda Reeves was the clear choice despite her already hectic schedule.

She is the keeper of the brand. “You’re never going to see things in the magazine that I don’t want to be there,” Reeves said with a laugh. In the same way, what goes on the show is what Reeves wants on the show. To make the show resemble the personality of the magazine there really was no other choice. She is the face of House & Home. When a consumer sees her, they see the brand.

Naturally Reeves became the host of House & Home Television. And because she drives the content, she also became executive producer. Since Ladner has been editor of the magazine for 13 years Reeves felt comfortable shifting part of her focus to the show.

“Over the years (Lynda) sort of backed out of the role in the magazine,” Ladner said. “She was sort of in a position where she could do (the show) in that she always loved the content, she loved the design and decorating and so it gave her a kind of creative outlet.”

Like multi-textured throw pillows on a leather sofa, the show compliments the magazine. “There is a direct marketing tie-in that sends readers to the stand to learn more about what they saw that day on television,” Reeves said.

The relationship is symbiotic. The magazine sends readers to the show to get more content that is presented in a different way. The show sends viewers to the magazine to get more tangible content that can sit on a coffee table (one they saw featured on the show of course) to be flipped through at leisure.

But clearly, in this media marriage, one partner wears the pants, or more correctly, the skirt.

“The magazine is the mother ship,” Reeves said. “(It) does the research for the stories.” It can do this because of its sheer manpower. The many design editors at the magazine vet a huge amount of content, something Reeves says is impossible in television. “(It) could never be done for a daily TV show because it’s too expensive.”

The magazine “is vital to the credibility and the depth of research on the show,” Reeves said. “I don’t worry about the content when it comes from the magazine because I know it’s going to be first rate.”

Because the magazine is monthly and the show is daily, there is never enough content in one magazine issue to fill an entire month of airtime. So, to a lesser extent, the show has begun feeding content to the magazine as well.

“When the show started to develop they would start to have content to feed us,” Ladner said. “They have found some really, really great homes because they travel a little more than we do . . . so it has started to work like that in the last couple of years.”

Although they are in an intimate relationship in terms of content, the show and the magazine exist, in most other ways, independently from each other.

Aside from Reeves, very few people work for both the magazine and the show. Sheri Graham Delagran, production supervisor for House & Home Television is one of the few. “I am the one who is considered the link between television content and magazine content,” she said.

Before joining the television team Graham Delagran worked for the magazine and is, therefore, familiar with its mechanics. Through meetings with senior editors she gathers content and decides what would translate well to TV.

“It’s tricky,” she said with a chuckle. “We’re still trying to figure that out.”

“Sometimes the idea starts evolving into a different story than what it was in the magazine and you have to allow it to be its own thing, because a lot of times it just doesn’t work for TV.”

Michael Quast, former vice-president of TV media at H&H, made the transition happen. “My job (was) to try to help Lynda find the right expression for the magazine . . . and to make sure it translate(d) well for television,” Quast said.

“People watch television to be inspired, to be moved by the pictures, to be challenged by the story, to be entertained in quite a different way than when they’re dealing with print.”

But there are some sections that work in both the magazine and on television. ““Ask a Designer” is one that translates really well because you’re talking directly to the consumer,” Quast said.

The feature home segment is an excellent example of a story that covers the same topic but uses different tools. On the show, Reeves tours a home, guiding the viewer from room to room offering analysis on elements of its design. While the same home may be featured in the magazine, Reeves is able to bring attention to more specific details as she tours the home on camera. “That’s an example of a segment that’s unique to TV, but still carries the same signature or thumbprint (as the magazine),” Quast said.

Reeves stressed the importance of altering the magazine story for TV. “We take the material from the magazine and we make it into something different. It’s a different animal on television,” she said.

Retaining the brand, however, remains paramount.

“The TV show is the engine that drives the brand,” Reeves said. “Without it the brand recognition would never be where it is.”

Reeves says that although it’s difficult to measure whether the readership of the magazine has increased since the show hit the airwaves, she believes it has.

“We’re the number one media brand in the country in home. How did we get there? Well, we had the first (Canadian) home show and we’ve been on the air for (almost) eight years and we’re aired more than any other home show in the country, so it has to be part of the reason.”

Almost 20 years after taking the magazine clippings out of her purse, deciding not to stand on the sidelines and dream of having access to what was largely an American world of design, Reeves has become the leader of one of Canada’s most successful publishing empires.

“Apart from being a brilliant business woman she lives and breathes design and décor. It’s what turns her on, it’s what makes her passionate, it’s what gets her excited, it’s what gets her out of bed in the morning I’m sure,” says Quast. “She’s much more than just a host.”

Photos: courtesy