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The Time Is MEOW...

Funding the launch of a multimedia magazine covering the lifestyle of the modern borderlands.

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The Time Is MEOW...

The Time Is MEOW...

The Time Is MEOW...

The Time Is MEOW...

The Time Is MEOW...

Funding the launch of a multimedia magazine covering the lifestyle of the modern borderlands.

Funding the launch of a multimedia magazine covering the lifestyle of the modern borderlands.

Funding the launch of a multimedia magazine covering the lifestyle of the modern borderlands.

Funding the launch of a multimedia magazine covering the lifestyle of the modern borderlands.

Katherine Gierlach
Katherine Gierlach
Katherine Gierlach
Katherine Gierlach
1 Campaign |
Tucson, United States
$2,511 USD 34 backers
7% of $34,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Overview
We are starting a new, multimedia magazine covering the lifestyles and landscapes of the modern borderlands. Our goal is to help connect our audience with all that is native to this region using print media, digital media, and events.

Who Are We?
MEOW is being founded by Katy Gierlach and Jared McKinley, who are no strangers to publishing. Having participated on many levels in local magazines, including the launch of one of the more successful periodicals in Tucson, we know what it takes to get a new publication going. However, we are aiming to do it a bit differently than it has been done in the past.

All of us at MEOW are lovers of this region. We live here because of the border, not despite. This place is special not just because of its rich history and culture; the modern borderlands is a place imbued with a creative and innovative spirit. And we feel that the region has been misrepresented, our problems embellished and exaggerated for political purposes at the cost of our local economies. We want to push back, and profile the region for what it really is.

TESTIMONIALS
Frank Williams, FWD Design
Jared and Katy are two of the hardest working and creative, yet grounded, entrepreneurs I have met. Never afraid to shake things up, their passion and love for everything in our community is ever present and their love for food, gardening and sustainable practices are unmatched. It is truly refreshing to be with like-minded folks and I am blessed to have them as friends, and business colleagues. Their newest venture will prove to be just what we need in the Southern Arizona community with a fresh perspective that will appeal to the masses…they are as real as it gets.

Ben Nisbet, Orchestra and Operations manager of TSO, Artistic Director of St Andrews Bach Society, and Concertmaster of True Concord, Voices and Orchestra
"I am thrilled that Jared and Katy, two people who have tirelessly explored seemingly every facet of Southern AZ's community and culture, have decided to take on a media concept that promises to enrich and enhance our already vibrant experience.  As a member of the culture community here in Tucson, I am excited about the possibility of an outlet that exists firmly in the 21st century."

Rebecca Safford, Owner of Tap & Bottle
"Tap & Bottle has been lucky to work with Katy and Jared over the past few years in event promotion, advertising and video work. As a business, they have pushed us to think of stories and experiences that go beyond what is already being done in Tucson. Meow Magazine will bring a unique and FUN voice to explain, inspire and express the amazingness of Arizona."

Curtis McCrary, executive director of Rialto Theatre, 191 Toole, and R Bar
"I have worked with Jared and Katy in various capacities over many years, and have been continually impressed by their dedication to making fun things happen in Tucson, and their carnival-barker-like ability to attract interest and attendance. I have no doubts that this will translate into a scenario where Meow Magazine will pack the house to such a degree, we're going to get in trouble with the fire marshal! Just kidding, we will comply with all laws and regulations, and turn people away IF WE MUST."

THE MAGAZINE
MEOW Magazine promises to be different than anything out there right meow. For starters, we are investing in our digital presence FIRST -- this means more than having a few blog entries, reposts of our print stories, and a smattering of postings on Facebook. For MEOW Magazine, taking our digital presence seriously means developing a program set up specifically to finance and publish regular multimedia posts: not just articles, but video, podcasts, photo essays, and more. And we believe in paying our contributors fairly for the work they produce.

And we aren’t leaving print behind. In fact, we think we have made some innovations in our print products as well. We will be producing lots of smaller publications focussed on specific subjects and targeted at specific audiences. There will also, eventually, be a full quarterly publication, distributed statewide.

We have restructured our advertising program to get away from the distracting, noisy nature that traditional advertising environments are, to become something more entertaining, useful, and congruent with the editorial. We are curating those advertisers, and designing the ad environment to be a service to the reader, rather than an hassle. Ads don’t have to suck.

MEOW Magazine, as the name might also imply, aims at having a younger, more edgy and fun tone. If you want the younger audience, you should speak in a way that resonates with them, use technology that they respond to, and you should hire a lot of young people.

Many people ask us, “Why MEOW Magazine?” It’s simple. MEOW is fun, lends itself to lots of language play, and is visually suggestive and memorable.

MEOW Magazine is a product of MEOW MEOW Media, LLC. We believe in implementing our marketing triumvirate plan for all we produce, which involves print media, digital media, and event production.

THE EDITORIAL
We are covering a wide range of subjects, separated into 6 categories:

Prowl
This is everything in the hood, outside the home: dining out, nightlife, stories on local retail shops, profiles of local movers and shakers, events, and calendars that help you find all the fun stuff happening in town.

Casa
Local lifestyle is unique because of our climate and our multicultural influences. In this section we cover cooking, gardening, home improvement, self care, and give tips on living well in the desert, all with a regional emphasis.

Arts
Arizona is rich in art and we aim to cover the gamut: visual arts, music (both modern and classical), dance, performance art, stage, and the literary arts.

Tour
Outside of Tucson there is a lot to do: we want you to explore your backyard, see all the beautiful towns in Arizona and just beyond, explore the wonderful nature we have, and find all the outdoor activities that enrich our lives and improve our health and mental well-being.

Region
There is much to cover when it comes to history, culture, natural history, and all the things that really define who we are. The stories about this region, whether they occurred a hundred years ago or a decade ago, are always fascinating. And who has more a more iconic landscape than we do, with our saguaros, ocotillos, and prickly pear?

Civics
We hope to guide our readers toward being good citizens: we want to help our audience be aware of local political issues, community stories, provide opportunities for civic engagement and volunteerism, and more. We hope to help our readers make educated decisions when voting, and help them understand all the current issues that require citizen input, support, or resistance. And we encourage our readers to watch where they put their money. 

THE BUSINESS
We have designed our magazine not only to succeed, but to reward the right people. All too often local media companies are top-heavy. When profits accrue, they usually go upward to pay for overhead, please shareholders, and the first elements to get cut when things get tough are the people who contribute the actual content.

We think this is wrong. So, we intend on staying independent -- we will not use traditional investors to fund this magazine nor take out big loans. Instead, we are content to grow slowly and surely. So far this has been beneficial to us because it has given us more time to plan, to budget, and to consider everything we are doing.

This is also why we decided to use crowdfunding. At first, like many, we were leery of crowdfunding. But we realized that our aim to be devoted to our audience (not shareholders or investors) makes us a perfect match for crowdfunding -- which is quite literally going to our audience for support. We are beholden to you.

We will be funding our company through our innovative ad program, which we have designed to be, as stated above, useful to the reader as much as it is useful to the advertiser. We have an extensive menu of products that we will draw upon to create packages, customized for each advertiser or advertising group. And we have created products for everyone: from the smallest to the largest local businesses. And we are always local first!

We are a modern, mobile company. Technology enables us to eschew the needs for an office, a needless expense that can drag on media companies. When needed, we have collaborators that can provide studio spaces for video and photo shoots. Most of our work is done in cafes, or in our living room.

Our profits will always be applied to the people who create the content. Everyone in MEOW Magazine works hard. There are no big bosses, no shareholders draining away profits while contributing little to our output. And as we grow, we will increase the wages of those contributors. Our largest expenses will be paying for our content, and marketing it through social networks, google, print products, events, and other marketing products driving traffic to our website -- all of which also produces profit. Our belief is that the success of our company should go toward the people who create the editorial. After a year of operation, those who have shown adherence to our mission, and have produced consistently, will become shareholders.

OUR IMPACT
Our mission is to connect our audience to the region: the landscape, culture, history, community, arts, people, businesses, events, and opportunities for experience. MEOW is for everyone who lives here, young and old. We are here to present the real borderlands (the historic and the contemporary), and aim to have a positive effect on our local economy, encouraging our audience to spend locally, travel locally, and live locally.

With every project we have been involved with before, we have aimed at bettering our community. We believe regionalism is the only future. And we believe in investing back into our community -- promoting local businesses, using local businesses, we even bank locally with Tucson Federal Credit Union. We use local printers and designers, we shop at local office supply companies, and we work daily to inspire our audience to do the same. Localism and regionalism is perhaps one of the most important movements happening in the 21st century; putting our money toward the businesses and organizations that give back to the local community. Put simply, we are Arizona’s most enthusiastic cheerleaders.

OUR CHALLENGES
Being independent comes with its challenges, which we have prepared for: because we are not relying on investors for our needed boost, we have had to grow slowly. However, maintaining this slower pace has not been without advantages -- we have had more time to carefully orchestrate our business.

As we go public with our ideas, we expect some imitation. We have already experienced this. But while people can borrow ideas, inspiration is impossible to steal, and we never rest on our laurels. We are always working to evolve our products and concepts, staying acutely aware of the changes and needs of the audience. With all that we have already produced, there are always new ideas and products being developed, constantly. The website, magazine, and event designs are never finished.

Katy and Jared have extensive experience and success in creating and selling ad products. But if our ad sales don’t take off right away, we have structured our business to continue to produce, regardless; our overhead is low, and our budget is malleable. We can do a lot with a little bit of money and can respond quickly to changes in sales. Just take a look at what we have done already on our website: everything you see there was done on a shoestring budget. 

WHAT WE NEED
We are asking for a boost to help us get out there. This is what the money will do:

  • Assist the transition of our webpage from beta mode into full production
  • Pay for printing cost on our first print products.
  • Help us launch our advertising program (digital and print).
  • Pay for our content as we transition into full production.
  • Begin our own marketing program with the use of print products, social media, web marketing, and events.
  • Help us purchase the needed tools: new computers, cameras, lighting, office supplies, etc.
  • Pay for materials and tools needed for selling ads.
  • Pay for needed software used for production, business organization, bookkeeping, and internal and external communication.
  • Pay for startup web and graphic design and editing.
 

Whether or not we reach our goal, the money we raise will still be used on all of the above items, scaled down to accommodate a modified budget that will prioritize paying contributors and selling advertising products.

 

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT US
Besides supporting us with campaign dollars, you can support MEOW Magazine in a number of other ways:

  • Share our IndieGoGo Page and help us get the word out.
  • Read MEOW. Every day.
  • Follow us on social media, and share our social media pages with your friends.
  • Advertise with MEOW. Contact KittyKatt@MeowMeowMedia.com for more information on advertising with us.
  • Come to our events.
  • Support the advertisers that support MEOW Magazine.
  • Share our editorial.
  • Join our team.
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Choose your Perk

featured

Cool Cat

$100 USD
Dang, look how stylish you are! Walkin' around in your limited edition MEOW shirt! You know what makes this shirt even cooler? It's made locally. Printed by the awesome people at CREAM Forever and pockets crafted and sewn at Qmulative.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
Estimated Shipping
August 2017
2 claimed
Ships to United States of America

What the Cat Dragged In

$10 USD
High five! Bigs hugs! We're gonna shout your name from the rooftops! Or at least thank you on social media and in our first print edition.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
0 claimed

Purrfect

$25 USD
Show your support and let all your friends know "The Time Is MEOW" with a locally printed, all-weather Sticker. We also wanna give you a hug, high-five and shout out on social media and our first print edition!
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
4 claimed
Ships worldwide.

The Cat's Outta the Bag

$50 USD
Hey friend, how you gonna tote around all that awesomeness? In a "The Time Is MEOW" tote bag of course! You better save a little space in there for a sticker and a huge thank you on our social media and in our first print edition.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
Estimated Shipping
August 2017
8 claimed
Ships to United States of America

The Cat's Pajamas

$250 USD
Did you ever want your name in print? Us too! Let us help you with your dream as you help us with ours. We're going to put your name in our Masthead online and in print - FOREVER. YUP, forever. You're permanently being thanked for your generous donation.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
Estimated Shipping
August 2017
1 claimed
Ships to United States of America

Paw-some!

$500 USD
You'll be receiving the first ever MEOW compilation of local artists on vinyl and digital download. Produced locally and curated especially by Kitty Katt and Katy - it will be an amazing mix of what music Tucson has to offer. Your next party soundtrack will be off to a great start with this compilation.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
  • 1st MEOW Compilation on Vinyl
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 claimed
Ships to United States of America

A-MEOW-Zing!

$1,000 USD
You absolutely are a Very Important Person to us! You've earned MEOW VIP status - FOR LIFE. That's right. We want you to come to any and all of our events, for free. We'll even send you a fancy(ish) membership card to show off everywhere you go.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
  • Lifetime VIP
  • 1st MEOW Compilation on Vinyl
Estimated Shipping
August 2017
0 claimed
Ships worldwide.

The Cat's Meow (Business)

$2,000 USD
You just earned yourself a free weekly digital ad. For a whole year! **if you are not a business but want to give at this level, we will run an ad for your favorite local business or nonprofit for the first year.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
  • Digital Ad
Estimated Shipping
August 2017
0 claimed
Ships to United States of America

The Cat's Meow

$2,000 USD
Get your name tattooed on Kitty Katt's back alongside the MEOW cat logo! Guys, he's crazy. Let's make him do this ;)
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
  • Your Name Here
Estimated Shipping
August 2017
0 claimed
Ships to United States of America

Fat Cat (Business)

$5,000 USD
You have purchased a full page ad in our first print publication! How exciting! **if you are not a business but want to give at this level, we will run an ad for your favorite local business or nonprofit for the first year, and give them a full page ad in the first print issue of MEOW Magazine.
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
  • Digital Ad
  • Print Ad
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 claimed
Ships to United States of America

Fat Cat

$5,000 USD
Get your likeness added into a thank you video! That's right, we're going to take your image, animate it (that way we do) and put you in our end-of-campaign thank you video! Tell all your friends - you're famous and in the movies!
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
  • Your Name Here
  • Your Face Here!
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 claimed
Ships to United States of America

ERMERGERD (Business)

$10,000 USD
Holy Moly! We don't even have the words! But we have just the spot for you - your business (or the business/nonprofit of your choosing, if you're not a business owner) will be the sponsor of our first six videos. Yes, our first six videos will be brought to you - by you!
Included Items
  • Big thank you and shout out!
  • MEOW Sticker
  • The Time Is MEOW Tote Bag
  • Limited Edition MEOW T-Shirt
  • Masthead
  • Digital Ad
  • Print Ad
  • Lifetime VIP
  • 1st MEOW Compilation on Vinyl
  • Animated Sponser
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 out of 4 of claimed
Ships to United States of America
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