Magazine Publisher Specializes in the World of Paws and Jaws

The privacy and sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship is time-honored and bound by law--unless the patient is a poodle.

Taking advantage of that distinction is Harvard-educated M.B.A. Douglas Drew, who runs HealthyPet, a magazine based in Santa Monica with an audited circulation of 3.2 million copies, a figure 28 percent higher than last year.

In 2000, Drew founded Zoasis Corp., a software company designed to help veterinarians access lab results online. He stumbled across HealthyPet and bought it. But trust emerged as a crucial issue. That's because he needed the veterinarians to trust him with their client list so he could send his magazine to pet owners.

"That was a big leap in the veterinary industry and it had a lot of naysayers from the beginning," Drew said.

To protect the doctors, Drew claims his company has developed "an air-tight confidentiality agreement." It specifies that the information can't be shared with others.

So far, the system has worked. But Drew admits that "trust is everything and if they ever stop allowing us to do these mailings, we don't have a business."

Mike Popalardo, principal in the circulation consulting firm Next Steps Marketing, said the concept of indirect subscriptions is widely accepted, but it comes down to execution. "How it works really depends on the quality of fit between the publisher and the industry it serves," he said.

The legal status of pet-patient information varies from state to state, but Drew said veterinarians are allowed to work with outside companies to educate or remind the pet owners about health issues. Most offices simply send out postcards.

HealthyPet fulfills the same mandate by making the mailings on behalf of the veterinarian, technically the same as a direct mail house. Each magazine is personalized with a half-wrap cover that identifies the veterinarian. The magazine is addressed to the pet: "Dear Fluffy" or "Dear Rover." Also, the wrap reminds readers about checkups, vaccines or prescription renewals.

HealthyPet contains advertising related directly to pet ownership. However, Drew said the magazine would make a profit even without ads because the veterinary offices pay for the magazine at a price of 75 cents each. HealthyPet runs 32 pages plus four covers, with about 25 percent of the space devoted to advertising and 75 percent to editorial. That compares with most human-oriented consumer magazines, which fluctuate around a 50-50 advertising-to-editorial ratio.