If you are a regular reader of this tailgating blog, you may have already noticed a drastic change in the layout and look of things around here. Those of you long time and loyal readers may recognize the current look is indeed the old look we had prior to the start of 2012. The reason for the switch is due to the fact that our partnership with the start up magazine Tailgating Digest has dissolved.
We originally made the announcement on Twitter this morning tweeting:
FYI – The partnership between our blog & the start up magazine Tailgating Digest has ended. Lack of advertisers prevented mag from starting.
The long story short is due to the current economic conditions, Tailgating Digest was not able to move forward as had been originally planned. In a healthier magazine advertising environment, the magazine may at some point in the future try to relaunch. But as of yesterday, Tailgating Digest will discontinue its pursuit to publish a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to the lifestyle of tailgating.
About a year and a half ago, we were approached by the publishers of Tailgating Digest and offered an opportunity to co-brand our website and the magazine together. The idea of a brand new tailgating magazine coming onto the market was intriguing and exciting all at the same time. The concept of having editorial input as to what goes into the magazine and being a part of something from the ground up appealed to us and was one of the main reasons we chose to partner with Tailgating Digest.
We changed the look and feel of the website in February to reflect the new partnership and took on some of the branding of the magazine. Between February and now, we fielded numerous emails and questions asking us if we had sold the website to a magazine because the change in look was so drastic. Assuredly, the content and those writing it did not change. It was just the look and layout of the website that had changed but the knowledge and attitude remained the same.
Unfortunately after months of attempting to secure advertisers for the magazine, the numbers were not there to justify pursuing taking Tailgating Digest further. A better economic environment that is more conducive to starting a new magazine may be needed for Tailgating Digest to attempt to launch again. But until that time comes, we here at Tailgating Ideas will continue to keep our fingers on the pulse of the world of tailgating with in-depth product reviews, recipes, tailgating techniques, new and fresh ideas and of course, our unique style and humor.
We are sorry to see Tailgating Digest was unable to get off the ground but we assure you TailgatingIdeas.com is here to stay. Welcome back and get ready for some great content. Football season and therefore prime tailgating season, is right around the corner.