The University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business is the nation’s number one rated graduate business school so when it comes to communicating with its alumni the expectations are high. Alumni communications must reflect the stature of the school, keep alumni connected to the business world and foster a sense of community—and Chicago GSB Magazine is the primary vehicle.

So when Melissa Bernardoni, the school’s senior associate director for marketing content and executive editor of the magazine decided the magazine needed to be upgraded she knew she could rely on GLS to assist. Running anywhere from fifty to more than 100 pages three times each year publishing the magazine keeps her staff moving fast—so she didn’t have time to worry about production and distribution issues.

Change requires coordinated teamwork

About two years ago Melissa and other school administrators decided the current publication looked too institutional, too much like a typical alumni marketing tool. They decided to upgrade the magazine, enhancing its appearance with an all new world-class look and feel.

While Melissa and her staff revised the look and editorial content, GLS Account Executive Wendi Breuer went to work researching new interior and cover stock, binding and cover coatings that would both stay within budget and present the precise look and feel they were looking for.

“Wendi worked with me to come up with something that matched the new editorial vision. In the end, we wanted something that looked and felt like Wired Magazine. Wendi worked hard at getting us paper samples and testing what kind of cover coatings we needed. She even called Wired to find out how we could get the look we wanted. The teamwork was fantastic and in the end we found the right combination for the launch—perfect bound, beautiful interior stock and a UV coated cover.”

University of chicago "Our prices went down when GLS started handling it because of their more advanced sorting capabilities; it’s just been a routinely positive experience."

— Melissa Bernardoni
— Senior Associate Director
— for Marketing & Executive
— Magazine Editor,
— University of Chicago

The results were positive

All the hard work paid off: “It was definitely well received,” says Melissa. “And it was a lot of hard work on their end. A lot of people wrote e-mail saying ‘this is great’ and ‘this book is really good, I love the content.’ Even though GLS’s contribution isn’t obvious, I believe the new packaging helped us draw people’s attention to the new content and the new stories we had to offer.”

Integrated capabilities make the job easier

The teamwork that led to an all new high-quality publication continues today. Melissa transfers huge InDesign^® files three times a year GLS’s state-of-the-art FTP download site that saves her time and makes it easy to work with an out-of-state printer. GLS handles the retouching of the color snapshots submitted by alumni. “They give the same level of care to those photos as they do to everything else,” she says. And in-house mailing capabilities save her money. “Our prices went down when GLS started handling it because of their more advanced sorting capabilities; it’s just been a routinely positive experience.”

A service-oriented touch—all the way

Melissa noted something else often overlooked. She says she doesn’t have a design background so she has often felt intimidated by other printers. “A lot of times I would feel strong-armed by pressmen who would say ‘this is as good as it’s going to get’ but the pressmen at GLS are fantastic! They offer advice and they’re willing to try things if I’m uncertain. They’re helpful and I’ve learned a lot from pretty much everyone there.”

Considering publishing a magazine?

Whether it’s modest or high-end, GLS Companies can make your magazine publishing a good experience and contain costs too. Think of us as Melissa does—a part of your team.

To learn more about the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business, visit www.chicagogsb.edu

Success Stories

Success Stories:

Staying Connected with Alumni, Chicago University Publishes Chicago GSB Magazine—with Style.

Many hands make the work easy

Change requires coordinated teamwork

The results were positive

Integrated capabilities make the job easier

A service-oriented touch—all the way

Considering publishing a magazine?

Many hands make
the work easy