MKE Lifestyle

What MKE Lifestyle does

MKE Lifestyle is a privately held monthly lifestyle magazine and accompanying digital media platform serving the metro Milwaukee region in Southeast Wisconsin. Founded in 1998 (originally as M Magazine), the publication covers six core editorial verticals — Home & Garden, Food & Drink, Arts & Culture, Health & Lifestyle, Cream City (local culture), and Out & About (events) — and has accumulated over 40 Milwaukee Press Club awards since 2005. The company is headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, operates with 11-50 employees, and is led by Publisher Jon Denk.

The publication runs on a standard regional-media technology stack: the TownNews Blox CMS powers the website (mkelifestyle.com), the NewsMemory platform hosts the digital edition, and Conley Media/ChargeBrite handles subscription billing. Beyond the monthly print magazine, MKE Lifestyle extends reach through a website with full editorial archive, a digital edition, two email newsletters (Weekly E-Newsletter and Datebook E-Newsletter), active social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest), and a television content partnership with CBS58 Milwaukee launched in September 2021. Distribution covers newsstands (Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods, Sendik's, CVS, Walgreens, Meijer, etc.), more than a dozen high-end downtown Milwaukee hotels, medical and professional offices, and direct mail subscriptions.

Revenue is generated primarily through advertising sales to local Milwaukee-area businesses and secondarily through print and digital subscriptions. The company also monetizes recurring annual editorial franchises (Top Doctors, Top Dentists, Best Lawyers, Exceptional Women in Medicine, Faces of Metro MKE), event photography coverage, and a local events calendar with event-promotion integration via the evvnt platform. The go-to-market is sales-led, with dedicated multi-media advertising consultants and a director of digital sales managing SMB and mid-market advertiser relationships across verticals including retail, healthcare, home remodeling, interior design, food, and lifestyle services.

Name

MKE Lifestyle

Legal name

MKE Lifestyle

Website

https://mkelifestyle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MKE Lifestyle is a privately held monthly lifestyle magazine and digital media platform serving metro Milwaukee, covering home, food, arts, health, and local culture. It generates revenue through local SMB advertising, subscriptions, event coverage, and editorial franchise directories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Lifestyle Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Lifestyle, Travel & Leisure Books Publishing (MPAJAAAH)

Keywords

• Lifestyle magazine
• Regional publishing
• Local print media
• Consumer publishing
• Local advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Waukesha

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Primary revenue stream from local and regional advertisers including businesses in home & garden, food & drink, health, arts & culture, and general lifestyle categories. The publication offers various advertising placements and sizes across print and digital platforms.
2. Subscriptions: Paid subscriptions for print magazine delivery and digital edition access. Subscription management handled through Conley Media/ChargeBrite platform.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MKE Lifestyle is a monthly lifestyle magazine and digital media platform serving metro Milwaukee. The publication covers home and garden, food and drink, arts and culture, health and lifestyle, and local community topics. Content is distributed through print subscriptions, digital edition, e-newsletters, website, social media, and a CBS58 television partnership. The company also sells multi-platform advertising placements to local Milwaukee-area businesses and offers event photo coverage services for local charitable events.

Product overview

MKE Lifestyle is a monthly lifestyle magazine and digital media platform covering the metro Milwaukee region. The core offering is the MKE Lifestyle Magazine, a print and digital publication available by subscription and at newsstands. Content spans six main editorial sections: Home & Garden, Food & Drink, Arts & Culture, Health & Lifestyle, Cream City (people, culture, trends), and Out & About (events). The publication extends reach through a digital edition, weekly e-newsletter, CBS58 TV segments, event photo coverage services, and a local events calendar. Revenue is generated through advertising services and subscriptions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MKE Lifestyle Magazine Monthly lifestyle magazine covering home and garden, food and drink, arts and culture, health and lifestyle, and local community topics for readers in the metro Milwaukee region. Available via subscription and at newsstands, hotels, and medical offices across metro Milwaukee.
• Digital Edition Online digital version of the magazine accessible through a digital reader platform, available to subscribers for reading past and current issues online.
• Weekly E-Newsletter Weekly electronic newsletter delivering curated local event listings and lifestyle content to subscribers. A separate Datebook e-newsletter focuses on event information.
• Advertising Services Multi-platform advertising solutions including print magazine, digital, email newsletter, and social media advertising placements sold to local Milwaukee-area businesses through a dedicated direct sales team.
• Event Photo Coverage Photography and editorial coverage services for local charitable and community events in the Milwaukee area, supporting the Out & About editorial section and producing community engagement content.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ Milwaukee Press Club awards since 2005

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CBS58coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2021Television partnership starting September 2021 featuring MKE Lifestyle content and topics on CBS58 news programming. The magazine's publisher appears on the station to discuss magazine content and local lifestyle topics, providing cross-platform promotion and expanded reach.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Midwest Living: National Meredith/Dotdash brand covering the broader Midwest with lifestyle, travel, food, and home content. Larger-scale incumbent overlapping on editorial categories and advertiser targets.
• Better Homes & Gardens: Iconic national lifestyle brand covering home, garden, food, and wellness. Competes for category advertisers and audience attention at national scale.
• Martha Stewart Living: National premium lifestyle brand spanning home, food, and crafts. Overlaps with MKE Lifestyle's editorial mix and competes for premium lifestyle advertisers.

Direct peers

• Milwaukee Magazine: Direct local competitor also serving metro Milwaukee with a regional lifestyle magazine covering dining, culture, and city living. The most directly comparable publication in the same geography and editorial category.
• Austin Monthly: City-focused monthly lifestyle magazine covering dining, home, culture, and events in a single metro, with comparable print + digital + event monetization.
• Madison Magazine: Wisconsin-based regional lifestyle magazine covering Madison metro with similar editorial verticals (food, home, culture) and a comparable print-plus-digital advertising-driven business model.
• Indianapolis Monthly: City-regional monthly lifestyle magazine in Indianapolis following the same local-lifestyle + SMB-advertising playbook in another Midwest metro.
• Minneapolis.St.Paul Magazine: Regional monthly lifestyle magazine serving the Twin Cities metro with city-focused dining, home, and culture content. Closely analogous Midwest regional lifestyle model.

Regional players

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Major regional daily newspaper in the same metro, competing for local advertising revenue and lifestyle readership with its own food, home, and entertainment coverage.
• Shepherd Express: Long-running alternative weekly covering Milwaukee with overlapping local news, dining, and arts coverage. Adjacent competitor for local advertising dollars and reader attention.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/mkelifestyle
• Facebookfacebook.com/mkelifestylemag
• Instagraminstagram.com/mkelifestylemag
• Pinterestpinterest.com/mkelifestyle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MKE Lifestyle