Bay fast becoming serious Swansea media contender

The Bay is turning into a serious little Swansea media contender.
Congratulations to Lesley Williams for making it through the first year of her own publication - and well done to all those who've supported it so far through advertising and readership.
The latest edition, datelined April, boasts 80 pages and a super-confident first three pages which urge support for the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal.
The main beauty in The Bay, however, is the increasing amount of editorial and the continuing elegance of the advertising design.
Editorially this month, there are attention-holding features such as a profile on Swansea Building Society CEO Alun Williams, an excellent fitness directory with Su George, a seared scallops and parma ham recipe from All Seasons' chef Sam Mullan and a preview of new Iris Gower novel House of Shadows.
Top ads in the Media Master's view include a carefully crafted quarter page for Swansea's Alison Broady Creative Gardens and a punchy promo for Street Dance Swansea.

The Bay mag new look brightens up Swansea

Breezing through the foyer at Swansea Civic Centre today, I was drawn to a copy of the new edition of The Bay magazine.
It's had a revamp - and it looks darned good.

The glossy has been A5 size so far - half of A4 - but has just made the impressive leap to B5. Roughly speaking, that's football programme size.
It weighs in at a thumping 80 pages and oozes confidence.
Particularly striking are the well-crafted ads - they display a lightness of touch and stylish texture that some in-house graphics departments find difficult to replicate.
Lesley Williams, who launched the magazine as a vehicle for low-cost advertising, is doing a fine job. Her editorial content is developing - this issue (February) features a competition with Aberglasney and a Welsh language column. The highlight is a dynamic treatment of the Walk of the Month, a seven-mile hike up and down the Lower Tawe Valley.
Advertisers who should be particularly impressed with this issue include jeweller Tyler Jenkins, the Marriott, confectionary retailer So Cocoa and new Swansea Thai restaurants Lemongrass and Thai Elephant.
Dick Barton's chippy has a good show too.
Pick up a copy of The Bay - I think you'll be impressed.

Going up! Swansea Bay glossy

News reaches the Media Master from Lesley Williams, the whirlwind force behind glossy lifestyle mag The Swansea Bay.
Her next edition is due out on February 5 – and it'll be in a new, larger format.
To date it has run as an A5 journal, traditional pocket-size. Now The Swansea Bay is gonna be B5, about the same size as a conventional soccer or rugby programme.
New features in the 25,000-circulation free magazine are set to include a Welsh column, written in God's language only, a fitness guide detailing Swansea classes for adults and kids, and a piece on why excellence in the written word is crucial when as business is updating or re-working its website.
Recipe of the month is "cawl with a twist," foodmaster Sam Mullan taking a traditional dish and transforming it for a stylish 2010 Swansea Bay dinner party.
Hot stuff, Lesley!
Incidentally, the ads in this mag are virtual giveaways for as little as £30 - and they're nicely done too. A wise buy, perhaps, if you'd like to drum up a little business in west Swansea.