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VP has found success with selling advertising, marketing subscriptions, designing, editing, printing, and mailing more than 30 magazine titles, 10 of which are their own. In terms of consumer publication titles, VP is second in Michigan only to Detroit-based Crain Communications.
services, Live Steam decided to partner with them. Before long, VP bought Live Steam and over time used
the acquisition to springboard into a collection of magazines.
“The magazine business is
extremely
competitive and really dif cult to break into. It’s not all
successes,” Goff explained. Magazines were often tested in a market and pulled if they didn’t get enough subscribers to justify their existence. But VP has found success with selling advertising, marketing subscriptions, designing, editing, printing, and mailing more than 30 titles, 10 of which are their own,
titles that include Machinist’s Workshop, The Home Shop Machinist, and Digital Machinist for metalworking hobbyists; and The Pointing Dog Journal, The Retriever Journal, and Just Labs for dog enthusiasts. In terms of consumer publication titles, VP is second in Michigan only to Detroit-based Crain Communications.
Once VP learned how to run its own publications, the company began offering support services to other magazines. American Bonanza Society, a group of owners and
pilots of Bonanza, Baron, and Travel Air aircraft that also publishes a magazine, became VP’s rst “custom” publishing client. ABS retained ownership of the magazine, but VP performed all of the publishing and ful llment services, including advertising sales and handling membership transactions. VP’s success in ad sales for ABS converted their magazine into a positive nancial outcome for the association, with advertising revenues surpassing membership revenues for the very rst time. From that point onward, VP has been retained as a consultant for various other publications and associations.
Another unique market where VP has concentrated is foodservice marketing. This focus grew from the early partnership with Chef Pierre, a pie company that was later bought by Sara Lee. When Goff rst started working with Chef Pierre, it was a small growing company. “We grew together and they taught me the foodservice business,” Goff explained. As Chef Pierre grew, they had increased demand for print and marketing support, and VP grew to meet their needs. This partnership led VP to become a leader in the foodservice marketing niche and all related support services, including ful llment, rebate processing, marketing analytics, data management, direct marketing, lead management, and website and mobile app development.
TAKING TO THE SKIES
VP’s relatively remote location in northern Michigan presented both perks and challenges. One advantage was that Goff could offer more competitive pricing than his downstate and out- of-state competitors due to the lower cost of living up north. Shipping through the U.S. Postal Service meant that the increased distance
from customers did not increase transportation costs, since everything shipped for a at rate. However, once Goff was ready to expand outside of the local region, making sales calls became increasingly dif cult. He was spending too much time driving longer and longer distances to nd new clients.
When VP was about 15 years old, a friend suggested that Goff buy his own airplane in order to more easily travel around the country to call on customers. Goff had never even considered learning to y, but he thought it could be a good opportunity for the business. He became a certi ed pilot, bought a plane, and began using that mode of transportation to expand VP’s reach.
“Aviation played a huge part in the growth of this company in that it allowed me to get out and visit with an awful lot of people,” Goff explained. Having a personal aircraft was an excellent alternative to ying commercially or
10 Traverse City Marketing Times • Fall 2014
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