Arizona Humanities presents: The Evolution of an Icon- The History of Arizona Highways Magazine

Arizona Highways magazine is approaching its 100th birthday. As mainstream national magazines continue to fail in the digital age, how has a publication that began as a brochure in the early 1920’s continued to succeed for over nine decades? In this presentation, former publisher Win Holden will share the compelling back story of this world-renowned magazine and how it has not only survived but thrived using an unconventional business model incorporating licensing, retail, ancillary products and featuring world-class landscape photographers. While owned by the State of Arizona and remaining part of the Arizona Department of Transportation, the magazine receives no state funding support. It’s a compelling and unorthodox story of a magazine that delivers over $65 million in annual economic impact to the state by enchanting subscribers every month in all 50 states and 100 countries.

About the Speaker: 

Win Holden was named the sixth Publisher of Arizona Highways Magazine in May 2000. The publication is recognized as one of the finest travel magazines in the world. The magazine has over 120,000 subscribers in all 50 states and 100 countries. As Publisher, Mr. Holden led a diverse group of businesses centered on the world-renowned magazine including licensing, book publishing, calendars, e- commerce, new product development, product marketing and retailing. A Valley resident since 1980, Mr. Holden was recognized by the Arizona Office of Tourism and the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association as their 2017 and 2018 Lifetime Award recipient and received the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Business Journal. He was the 2007 inductee into the Arizona Tourism Hall of Fame.

This program is made possible by Arizona Humanities.