VIPLineup.com was launched in August 2002 as The Lineup, a weekly e-magazine created to enhance the lifestyles of urban professionals, and satisfy the demands of a population that is self described in some or all aspects as:

"…too old for the club scene, too active to ‘just sit at home at watch TV', too busy to navigate through all of the various media to find appealing activities, searching for more ways to socialize with their peers, currently living or aspiring to live an affluent lifestyle, and having an affinity to entertainment and events of African American origin…while maintaining a cross cultural perspective and lifestyle with an attraction to traditionally non-African American events."

FORMATS

The Lineup is a weekly e-magazine, featuring a listing of Top Pick recommendations on entertainment and lifestyle events, member privileges, editorial columns, and a photo gallery. VIPLineup.com is the complementary website to THE LINEUP e-magazine. It provides the full text version of the editorial columns, as well as an expanded listings database (primarily San Francisco and East Bay events) covering a 60-90 day period.

VIPLineup.com

• Music & Festivals - R&B, Jazz Fusion & Soul…plus select mainstream crossover artists
• Galas & Events - upscale Fundraisers, Galas, Special Events & Networking events…includes African American community plus select mainstream activities
• Performing Arts & Exhibits - includes African American artists plus select major mainstream
• Dining - a select listing of bars, restaurants and clubs; with an emphasis on establishments featuring live jazz entertainment
• Photo Gallery - people, places and events around the Bay Area
• Movers and Shakers - Online interviews with selected centers of influence in the Bay Area
• National Events, Island Festivals, What's Hot...

AUDIENCE - 15,000 Adults, age 25 – 54. Aspiring, educated, urban professionals

THE LINEUP was launched in mid-August 2002 to selected African Americans in the San Francisco and East Bay area fitting the profile of "30 - 60yrs of age, aspirational, college educated and affluent." To date it has grown by self-selected viral email and "word of mouth" channels to a much larger and broader audience. Our best estimates indicate an audience that is 68% African American, 25% Caucasian, and 7% Other.

MEDIUM	Weekly e-magazine and web site
CONTENT	Select entertainment and lifestyle listings, and 7 editorial sections
COVERAGE	San Francisco and East Bay
AUDIENCE	Aspiring, affluent, educated
Size	15,000 adult "opt-in" subscribers
Age	25 - 54, avg 38 years
Ethnicity	68% African American, 25% Caucasian, 7% Other
Gender	60% female, 40% male
Affluent audience • Opt-in subscriber base • Multicultural appeal Selective & diverse event listings • Quality & relevant editorial

BRAND/APPEAL - VIPLINEUP/THE LINEUP is a brand differentiated from other lifestyle media

• Although appealing to a spectrum of readers, VIPLINEUP/THE LINEUP is particularly attractive to the urban professional, who regardless of ethnicity is drawn to the focus, quality and diversity of the event listings and editorial content.
  
• Its multicultural appeal will likely continue to broaden over time, while specifically gaining market share in the affluent segment of the African American market, where this unique weekly e-magazine and web site stands alone in the lifestyle category.
  
• Reflective of the Bay Area community, VIPLINEUP/THE LINEUP speaks to a reader that is not simply categorized by ethnicity or age, but is defined by their mindset.

Rather than addressing the audience as a person with one interest, one style and one perspective

– we see them and speak to them as multidimensional.

ADVERTISER RESPONSES: Click>>

KEY FINDINGS - African Americans are active online consumers, who respond more to online offerings and purchase more clothing and music online than the general online population.

• Email Offers - A new landmark study from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) found that email offers, particularly those sent to in-house customer lists, produced the highest overall return-on-investment (ROI) for marketers focusing on soliciting direct orders, generating leads or building store traffic. (October 13, 2003)
• Source Preference – 85% of online African Americans have a strong preference for news and information from the African American perspective.*
• Internet Access – 43% of online African Americans access the Internet using a broadband connection compared to 36% of the general online population.*
• Ad Response – A majority of African Americans read online ads, and 46% find them informative compared to 26% of the general population.*
• Consumer Action – African Americans are active online consumers, purchasing more clothing/apparel online (48% vs. 41%) and more music/videos (44% vs. 39%) than the general online market.*
• Children Influence – 74% of online African Americans say the Internet has had a positive effect on their children.*
• Online Activities – Top three online activities for African Americans are #1: check/send email, #2: access news/headlines and #3: play online games ... African Americans also listen to music online and watch videos more than the general online market.*
  

* Digital Marketing Services Survey of 800 Internet users, African American and Non-African American, May 2003

WHAT OUR SUBSCRIBERS ARE SAYING...

The Lineup is great! Thanks for all your hard work.
- Mary Ratcliff, editor of the SF Bay View newspaper, San Francisco

I have enjoyed your updates on things happening in the bay area. You have great concept and an extremely easy way to check a variety of venues by date and category.
- Frankie Ross, Vice President - Merrill Lynch

Michael D's The Lineup" is the best!!!! It's more informative and more thorough than any of my local sources to know what's going in the East Bay/San Francisco Bay Area.
- Alona Clifton, Trustee for the Peralta Community College District, Oakland

This is a great newsletter, Michael, I haven't seen anything as comprehensive and exciting in a long while. Thanks for the invite to participate.
- Mary Brill, General Manager, The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society

This is a great list! No need to be bored in the Bay Area with a list like this on hand!
- Cheryl BryantBruce, MD, President/Founder, The Gregory Center