 Company’s book group gets new name
in rebranding move
The company known for the last 30 years as Strang
Communications has rebranded as Charisma Media. The Feb. 1 name change caps a
series of recent corporate shifts, including relaunching the company’s flagship
publication—Charisma magazine—and renaming its book division. Founder and CEO Steve Strang said
that the moves not only position Charisma Media for growth in the digital age,
but also undergird the organization’s purpose of “inspiring people to radically
change their world” through the company’s diversified resources. The company is best known for its
magazines such as Charisma, Ministry Today and Christian
Retailing. But its book group—now called
Charisma House—has grown rapidly in recent years with 10 books on the
New York Times best-sellers, becoming the largest part of the company. The company’s Spanish group, called
Casa Creación, was the fastest-growing part of the organization in 2010. The
company is stepping up its digital products, which include a free Charisma
News application, electronic books, e-newsletters and digital editions of
its magazines that have readership in the top tier of digital magazines
nationally. “Charisma is our strongest
brand,” Strang wrote in a column in the magazine’s February issue. “It
refers not only to spiritual gifts, but also to our calling and passion to
serve God and the church. Media signifies the diversified ways we can
communicate—not only in print through magazines and books, but also online, via
apps and the myriad of other digital vehicles.” A new Charisma Media logo shows the
initials CM as a flame in a pot of oil, signifying the flame of the Holy
Spirit. The company’s corporate Web site has been relaunched as
charismamedia.com, with a new sign being erected in front of the company
headquarters in Lake Mary, Fla. The company’s other brands
such as Charisma, Ministry Today and Christian Retailing
magazines as well as Creation House and Casa Creación remain the same. However,
the entire book division will now go by Charisma House instead of Strang
Book Group. The book group will include the imprints Charisma House, Siloam,
Realms and FrontLine. The company has become known as
the leading charismatic/Pentecostal publisher in the world. It has also been
acknowledged as the premier publisher of health books from a Christian
perspective. Many of the company’s staff have
been recognized for excellence, mostly through the Evangelical Press
Association and the Florida Magazine Association. Casa Creación has been named
Publisher of the Year four times by the Spanish Evangelical Products
Association. The company also recently had five
books sell more than 1 million copies each—most recently 23 Minutes in Hell by
Bill Wiese and Heaven Is So Real! by Choo Thomas. The company staff also
reflects the ethnic diversity of the church market it serves, with 43% of the
staff being considered “minority.” In 1975, Strang, then a 24-year-old
newspaper reporter, persuaded the leaders of megachurch Calvary Assembly
in Winter Park, Fla., to start a small magazine called Charisma.
After rapid growth, the magazine spun off on its own within six years. Since that time, Strang’s
wife, Joy, has helped him as co-owner to build the company, serving not only as
chief financial officer, but also in other strategic roles—including heading up
the rebranding process.
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