My strategic execution of AARP Media Sales' auto purchasing survey with JD Power in May 2012 generated over 131 million impressions, targeted directly at business and niche media. This was the largest amount of impression that AARP Media Sales ever received for a single piece of research.
My research media placements included the following locations:
Detroit Free Press -- "Baby boomers drive boom in new car sales"
Mediapost -- "AARP: Marketers Must Rethink Boomers"
The Car Connection -- "Baby Boomers Keep U.S. Auto Sales Booming"
USA Today -- "Forget the kids, Baby Boomers drive car sales boom"
Business Insider -- "One age group is dominating new car sales"
Huffington Post -- "Auto Sales Driven By Boomers, Automakers Desperate For Millennial Love"
Cars.com -- "Most New-Car Buyers Are Baby Boomers, Study Says"
Autochannel.com -- "Forget The Facebook Crowd When Selling New Cars"
MSN Autos -- "Boomers Are Buying"
Huffington Post -- "Boomer Marketing: A Report Card"
UPI.com -- "Who is buying all these cars?"
Showing posts with label AARP Media Sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AARP Media Sales. Show all posts
Launch AARP's new digital Hot Deals ad program in DigiDay, Mediapost and Adweek
AARP’s Digital Shift
The AARP is a juggernaut. Nearly 40
percent of all Americans over the age of 50 (nearly 35 million) belong
to AARP. At a time when magazines of all stripes are struggling with
declining circulation, the Audit Bureau of Circulation has AARP Magazine as the highest-circulated publication with a little more than 22 million readers.
The group is now betting it can muscle further into the digital world – aarp.org received 5.3 million unique visitors in May 2012, up from 4.5 million in May 2011 — with a coupon site called Hot Deals that’s geared to the 79 million Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965) whose sunset years are on the horizon.
There are currently 13 brands participating in Hot Deals — including Dell, Radio Shack, MLB, GNC, British Airways, The Hartford — which offer AARP members discounts like $5 off a Radio Shack purchase of more than $90 or free shipping on a pair of Dockers. AARP takes a cut of the deals redeemed.
“Most people don’t realize the No. 1 reason people join (AARP) is for discounts,” said Peter Zeuschner, AARP’s senior manager of advertising sales for the northeast region. “We didn’t have a discount platform, so we launched this to allow one place for our members to find different offers.”
The timing might be right. Advertisers are often obsessed with chasing youth, with the idea that their brand preferences aren’t yet set in stone. But older Americans are far more likely to use coupons; according to GfK MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer, compared to those age 18-49, 50+ consumers are 20 percent more likely to use coupons, and 21 percent are more likely to be heavy coupon users. Additionally, Baby Boomers have become extremely Web savvy. According to an April 2012 Pew study, 53 percent of American adults age 65 and older use the Internet or email. According to the AARP, about half of its members are working (full or part time), while the rest spend their days in retirement. And the age breakdowns: 33 percent are under 60, 46 percent between 60 and 74, and 21 percent are over 75.
You might think of the AARP as, excuse the pun, old school. In fact, it has a digital business that many publishers would envy.
Zeuschner claims that over the past four years, aarp.org has experience 30-50 percent growth in revenue. He also said that the site gets “anywhere from $45 CPMs on the homepage and our premium channels are north of $25.” Hot Deals works on guaranteed impressions, making the buy more affordable.
“This is part of an opportunity to allow advertisers to bring these offers to members in a cost-effective way,” Zeuschner said. “Most advertisers have a hard time justifying $45 CPMs.”
According to Zeuschner, average time spent on aarp.org is 29 minutes, indicating that there’s some type of justification for the high CPMs. But with Hot Deals, this is a program that’s an easier point of entry for brands.
The group is now betting it can muscle further into the digital world – aarp.org received 5.3 million unique visitors in May 2012, up from 4.5 million in May 2011 — with a coupon site called Hot Deals that’s geared to the 79 million Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965) whose sunset years are on the horizon.
There are currently 13 brands participating in Hot Deals — including Dell, Radio Shack, MLB, GNC, British Airways, The Hartford — which offer AARP members discounts like $5 off a Radio Shack purchase of more than $90 or free shipping on a pair of Dockers. AARP takes a cut of the deals redeemed.
“Most people don’t realize the No. 1 reason people join (AARP) is for discounts,” said Peter Zeuschner, AARP’s senior manager of advertising sales for the northeast region. “We didn’t have a discount platform, so we launched this to allow one place for our members to find different offers.”
The timing might be right. Advertisers are often obsessed with chasing youth, with the idea that their brand preferences aren’t yet set in stone. But older Americans are far more likely to use coupons; according to GfK MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer, compared to those age 18-49, 50+ consumers are 20 percent more likely to use coupons, and 21 percent are more likely to be heavy coupon users. Additionally, Baby Boomers have become extremely Web savvy. According to an April 2012 Pew study, 53 percent of American adults age 65 and older use the Internet or email. According to the AARP, about half of its members are working (full or part time), while the rest spend their days in retirement. And the age breakdowns: 33 percent are under 60, 46 percent between 60 and 74, and 21 percent are over 75.
You might think of the AARP as, excuse the pun, old school. In fact, it has a digital business that many publishers would envy.
Zeuschner claims that over the past four years, aarp.org has experience 30-50 percent growth in revenue. He also said that the site gets “anywhere from $45 CPMs on the homepage and our premium channels are north of $25.” Hot Deals works on guaranteed impressions, making the buy more affordable.
“This is part of an opportunity to allow advertisers to bring these offers to members in a cost-effective way,” Zeuschner said. “Most advertisers have a hard time justifying $45 CPMs.”
According to Zeuschner, average time spent on aarp.org is 29 minutes, indicating that there’s some type of justification for the high CPMs. But with Hot Deals, this is a program that’s an easier point of entry for brands.
“We’re
serving two needs: the member need for discounts and the advertiser
need to have one place to offer discounts on a performance-based
platform,” Zeuschner said. “The one thing [the site] lacked — in terms
for members and advertisers – is one area where all sorts of different
advertiser discounts can live.”
++++
About 74%
of all ARRP members sign up looking for discounts,
according to Peter Zeuschner, AARP Northeast media sales manager. "The
main site generates about 5 million monthly unique visitors," he said.
"They spend about 29 minutes on the site."
Arrange NY Times advertising column about AARP's new ad trade campaign, picked up by Marketing Pilgrim
July 18, 2012
In AARP’s View, Advertisers Need to Focus
By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
YOUTH, to paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, is wasted on the young. Now AARP says that advertising budgets are, too.
A new campaign aimed at advertisers themselves features people in their
50s and early 60s, and argues that brands should be focusing on them,
not people ages 18 to 34, commonly referred to by the marketers who
covet them as millennials.
“I may be creased, but my money is crisp,” says the headline in one ad.
“I may be gray, but my money is as green as it gets,” says another,
which continues, “Why is it all about 18-34, when they barely have a
dime of their own? The story is simple, AARP Media reaches the best
boomers, and 68 percent of those over 50 give money to their adult
kids.”
The campaign, by Catch New York, will be introduced Monday in Adweek and
will appear on Web sites including LinkedIn, Mediabistro and Business
Insider. Along with advertisers, ads are aimed at chief executives,
marketers and media planners.
Patricia Lippe Davis, the vice president for marketing at AARP media sales, said that while a trade campaign last year reminded marketers that consumers over 50 are physically active and avid shoppers, this is more pointed.
“Here we’re ramping it up and being in your face,” said Ms. Davis. “What
we’re trying to say to marketers is put your money where the money is,
and to break the old paradigm of targeting youth.”
The organization’s print and online outlets include AARP The Magazine, AARP Bulletin and AARP.org.
Joseph Perello, a managing partner at Catch New York, said that when
advertisers courted consumers in their 20s and 30s two or three decades
ago, it made more sense.
“The advertising industry in general puts an overemphasis on youth, and
when boomers were young that was a very good advertising strategy,
because when boomers were 35 in ’75 or ’85, there were 70 million of
them,” Mr. Perello said. “But that needs to change because this
demographic is changing the way our country is and the way our country
behaves.”
•
If there is a tendency to pitch to younger consumers, one reason might
be the blush of youth among those creating the ads.
Employees from 20 to 34 years old represent 40.3 percent of the
advertising field, while that age group represents 31.1 percent of the
American work force over all, according to 2011 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those 55 and over represent 20.6 percent of the general work force, but 15.8 percent of the advertising industry.
With AARP membership beginning at age 50, and baby boomers defined as
those born from 1946 to 1964, in two years the entire generation will
fall within AARP eligibility. Today, 33 percent of the group’s 37
million members are ages 50 to 59, 46 percent are 60 to 74 and 21
percent are 75 and older.
Founded in 1958 as the American Association of Retired Persons, the
organization started going solely by its acronym more than a decade ago;
today only 47 percent of its members are retired.
The bimonthly AARP The Magazine, mailed free to households with AARP
members, has the largest circulation of any magazine, distributing 22.4
million an issue.
Advertising revenue for the magazine totaled $163.3 million in 2011, up
from $131.2 million in 2010, an increase of 24.5 percent, according to
the Association of Magazine Media.
Much of the advertising in the June/July issue of the magazine is what
might be expected, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, a blood
sugar monitoring device, and amplifying earphones for television viewers
with hearing loss.
But there also are a few ads from brands that have nothing to do with
infirmities, the type with which AARP hopes to gain more traction, like
Stouffer’s Farmers’ Harvest meals and the Bose Wave music system.
While people 50 and older purchase 62 percent of new cars, according to
Ms. Davis of AARP, there are no car companies advertising in the
magazine, although both Toyota and Jeep have in recent years. There are
also no alcohol brands on board, although Michelob Ultra has advertised
in the past.
“I think we are underserved — pun intended,” Ms. Davis said. “We are buying booze.”
Marketers are well aware that older consumers are purchasing their
brands and may assume they are reaching them by advertising on
television, but Ms. Davis refers to that as just “spill,” shorthand for
spillover.
“They are reaching our market to some degree with spill, but I’m a firm
believer as a marketer that content has a profound impact on messaging,”
Ms. Davis said, referring to media content.
•
Denny’s, the restaurant chain, has been a regular advertiser with AARP
since 2010 and highlights in its ads that AARP members get a 20 percent
discount from 4 to 10 p.m.
Frances Allen, chief marketing officer for Denny’s, said that diners
over 50 account for more than 45 percent of the restaurant chain’s
guests.
“It’s a very fit, active and relatively financially secure market with
time on their hands, and we’ve got to make sure we meet their needs in
all sorts of ways,” Ms. Allen said.
Along with broad-reaching television campaigns, Denny’s also focuses on
specific demographic groups, such as people 18 to 25, the intended
audience of a humorous and provocative Web series, “Always Open,” which
it releases on CollegeHumor.com and on Denny’s Facebook page.
++++
Advertisers Go Gray as the Balance of Power Shifts in the US
posted on July 19, 2012
AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons)
is on a quest to get advertisers to include their demographic in more
campaigns. Using tag lines such as “I may be creased, but my money is
crisp,” they hope to persuade advertisers that there’s a profit to be
made in the over fifty market.
Since the dawn of time, advertisers have sought out the younger
buyers since they were the ones with discretionary cash. But these days,
there aren’t too many 20 years old who are flush with the green stuff. 53% of recent college grads are unemployed or underemployed,
the worst its ever been in the last 11 years. So why are advertisers so
keen on pitching to a crowd of over-educated, broke young folks? Habit,
mostly.
If you watch TV, you’ll see that times are a changing. It could be that I’m simply viewing things with older eyeballs, but I don’t think so. I really believe that advertising is starting to take the senior population seriously.
The best example of this is the brilliant new ad campaign for the Toyota Venza. One ad features a 20-something girl worrying about how her parents have become old and boring. She finally got them on Facebook but they only have a couple of friends. She has 687 friends. How sad for them. Jump cut to the parents out having a wild night in their new Venza while their daughter sits home browsing Facebook. The other features a recent college grad who has moved back home for the good of his parents, who are also out having fun while he’s home microwaving dinner.
And it’s not just the ads on TV, have you watched the new Dallas reboot? Five of the leads are over fifty and star Larry Hagman is 80. Oh, they all make me feel young again!
Now, I hear you saying, hey, that’s TV, what about online? I say, it’s a trend that’s applies there as well. A recent study in the UK showed that ecommerce for the over 50 crowd rose 25% in the past two years. Part of the reason, tablets and mobile phones are making it easier for everyone to shop online. And as the population of the world ages, it won’t be long before the senior citizens are the ones who grew up with a cell phone in their hand.
My point is, even if all of your marketing is done online, you don’t want to exclude the folks over fifty. They have money, they have the time to browse and shop, and they’re loyal to brands they love.
That’s marketing gold.
If you watch TV, you’ll see that times are a changing. It could be that I’m simply viewing things with older eyeballs, but I don’t think so. I really believe that advertising is starting to take the senior population seriously.
The best example of this is the brilliant new ad campaign for the Toyota Venza. One ad features a 20-something girl worrying about how her parents have become old and boring. She finally got them on Facebook but they only have a couple of friends. She has 687 friends. How sad for them. Jump cut to the parents out having a wild night in their new Venza while their daughter sits home browsing Facebook. The other features a recent college grad who has moved back home for the good of his parents, who are also out having fun while he’s home microwaving dinner.
And it’s not just the ads on TV, have you watched the new Dallas reboot? Five of the leads are over fifty and star Larry Hagman is 80. Oh, they all make me feel young again!
Now, I hear you saying, hey, that’s TV, what about online? I say, it’s a trend that’s applies there as well. A recent study in the UK showed that ecommerce for the over 50 crowd rose 25% in the past two years. Part of the reason, tablets and mobile phones are making it easier for everyone to shop online. And as the population of the world ages, it won’t be long before the senior citizens are the ones who grew up with a cell phone in their hand.
My point is, even if all of your marketing is done online, you don’t want to exclude the folks over fifty. They have money, they have the time to browse and shop, and they’re loyal to brands they love.
That’s marketing gold.
Place AARP Media Sales/JD Power survey in Brandweek, Edmunds.com, The Car Connection
Adults Over 50 Dominate Car Purchases
Sept 27, 2010
When it comes to car purchases, adults over 50 surpass younger consumers. In fact, this demographic is responsible for three out of five new car acquisitions, according to a report by AARP Media Sales, in conjunction with J.D. Power and Associates.Sixty two percent of adults over 50 currently account for new vehicle acquisitions, compared to two years ago, when they accounted for 50 percent. The number is even higher for hybrid sales. Adults over 50 make up 73 percent of hybrid purchases.
Out of the 39 car brands measured in the study—which examined the media habits and profiles of more than 41,000 new vehicle buyers—32 credited the bulk of their sales to consumers over 50 years of age.
As a comparison, car sales were down 36 percent in 2009 versus 2008. And, according to the study, adults 18-49 were responsible for 71 percent of this drop.
"The primary reasons for this escalation is the huge population of baby boomers turning 50 and their ability to spend on higher-ticket items during harsh economic times. [Meanwhile] younger adults are moving back home to ease basic financial burdens, such as housing and food," said AARP Media Sales research director Mark Bradbury.
Additionally, the study found that 33 percent of adults over 50 pay cash for their cars, compared to 13 percent of consumers under 50. Consumers over 65 are also an increasingly important demo for carmakers. Nearly 24 percent of new vehicles are purchased by adults aged 65 and older, which is nearly double (12.7 percent) compared to 2001.
++++
Car Buyers Shop Online, Wear Out Their Old Vehicles and Are Increasingly Over 50
Car buyers today shop online first, buy a car because they need one and are likely to be over 50. And those over-50s dig hybrids, accounting for 73 percent of their sales. That's the portrait emerging from two recent surveys, one by Chrome Systems, which looked at buyer research and purchasing behavior, and the other from AARP Media Sales and JD Power, which looked at the age of car buyers.
In the Chrome survey, 83 percent of respondents said they were likely to shop for a vehicle online before making a purchasing or leasing decision. Those researching vehicles on manufacturer and dealer websites cited price and preferred equipment selection as the leading factor in purchase decisions. Fewer respondents said they purchased or leased a vehicle simply because they wanted something new: just 21 percent in 2010, down from 32 percent in 2009. The No. 1 reason cited for purchasing or leasing a new vehicle was that the respondent's current vehicle was unreliable or broken down (26 percent, up from 19 percent in 2009).
Brand loyalty is fading, with consumers saying they are less likely to want to purchase the same brand of car they previously owned (35 percent in 2010 versus 39 percent last year). Dealer loyalty is also increasingly a thing of the past: Only 24 percent said they selected a dealer because they or someone they knew had previously purchased or leased from that dealer. That's down from 37 percent in 2009.
The AARP-J.D. Power survey held a few surprises for anyone who thinks the 50-plus crowd isn't interested in buying cars -- or in buying hybrids. According the survey (as reported in Brandweek), 62 percent of adults over 50 currently account for new vehicle acquisitions, compared to two years ago, when the over-50s accounted for half of the new car purchases.
The percentage is even higher for hybrid sales. Adults over 50 make up 73 percent of hybrid purchases.
The shift toward older buyers is the product of the huge baby boom generation (those born between 1946 and 1964). Baby Boomer Headquarters estimates that 75.8 million people were born in that period, and in 2010 alone, 4 million of them are turning 50. It's also a group that has money to spend on higher-ticket items during tough economic times, AARP Media Sales research director Mark Bradbury told Brand Week. Older-buyer dominance is likely to continue. In 2010, 40.2 million people in the U.S. are 65 or older. By 2050, that figure will double to 88.5 million, according the U.S. Census Bureau.
++++
Ever since Baby Boomers came of age in the late 1950s and 60s, America has been obsessed with youth culture. Each week, it seems there's a new report talking about the spending power of Millennials or Tweens or some new, even younger demographic. But when it comes to cars, young people are just kid stuff: according to a new study from AARP Media Sales and J.D. Power and Associates, it's the 50+ crowd that really spends the dough.
The data from that study (see below) reveals some very interesting news. At first glance, we see that shoppers 50 and older account for a whopping 62.5% of all new car sales. That in itself is impressive, but doubly so when you consider that just ten years ago, that same demographic accounted for less than 39% of new cars sold. That's a surge of over 20% in nine years. What's more, a huge chunk of that is due to the 65+ crowd, who make nearly 24% of new car purchases.
At the other end of the scale, shoppers under 35 used to account for almost 25% of showroom sales, but today, that figure has slipped to 12.7%. Even the highly coveted 35 - 49 year-old segment -- the demographic characterized by growing families and high earning potential -- has slid to less than 25% of marketshare.
All this goes to show who's fared well during the economic downturn and who hasn't. While many younger Americans don't have the income or reserves to spend on a new ride, older shoppers are capable of laying cash on the barrelhead. (We mean that literally: the study found that 33% of buyers over 50 paid for their cars in cash.)
Of course, there are a few sticking points with the study. For one, the study was carried out in part by AARP Media Sales, which is part of the AARP family, which depends on the 50+ market. Proving the potency and value of older Americans is pretty much the AARP's job description, so to see the AARP put together a study proving the potency and value of older shoppers...well, it's to be expected.
Also, there's no word on how many 50+ adults are buying cars for their kids -- though even in those cases, it's still the adults who are doing the buying. (Mary Kate and Ashley may have some say in the color of the twin MINIs that mommy buys them, but she's the one signing her name on the dotted line.) The figures might also shift somewhat if the study were re-done with used car sales, but for now, the 50+ crowd is tops.
Land AARP The Magazine in the NY Times' ad column
Advertising
A Magazine Now Tailored to the Not Necessarily Retired
By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
Published: August 23, 2010
WHEN Nancy Perry Graham, the editor of AARP The Magazine, attended a Bruce Springsteenconcert at Giants Stadium in New Jersey last October, she and several editors on her staff wore black T-shirts with the words “AARP The Magazine — Rocking Generations of Readers” printed on the back.
Dennis Quaid, 56, was on the cover of AARP The Magazine to publicize the issue of medical errors. The magazine's cover subjects have become somewhat younger and its articles have a less geriatric tone.
On the front was the current issue of the magazine, featuring the rocker on stage with the headline, “The Boss Turns 60.” But as Ms. Graham, who is 55, said in a column in a subsequent issue, not everyone encountered at the concert shared her staff’s enthusiasm, most notably a woman in her 60s who said, “But why would you want people to know you’re old?”
For Ms. Graham, being born before the Kennedy administration is nothing to be ashamed of, and celebrities like Mr. Springsteen are increasingly happy to appear on the magazine’s cover. (“I used to be on the cover of Rolling Stone,” Ms. Graham quotes Mr. Springsteen saying from the stage of the concert, “but now I’m on the cover of AARP The Magazine!”)
There was a time when editors at the magazine — published bimonthly by the organization that advocates for Americans over 50 — fully expected AARP-eligible celebrities to reach for a 10-foot pole when invited to appear on the cover, but Ms. Graham said in a recent interview that the magazine has in the last few years “reached a tipping point where we’ve had A-list celebrities coming to us to be on the magazine.”
In fact, publicists for the current cover model, the actor Dennis Quaid, 56, approached the magazine, said Ms. Graham, saying that Mr. Quaid was primarily interested in speaking on behalf of victims of medical errors after his own 12-day-old twins nearly died when both were inadvertently given overdoses.
It turns out that the AARP magazine, which assures readers that they are in their glory years, is itself remarkably spry, never mind the economic downturn. The magazine sold $23.9 million in advertising in the second quarter of 2010, compared with $20.9 million during the same period in 2009, an increase of 14.5 percent, according to the Magazine Publishers of America.
During that same period, among roughly 235 major magazines, revenues grew 6.2 percent. As for the number of advertising pages sold, the AARP magazine was up 10.4 percent in the second quarter over last year, compared with an average page increase of just 1.1 percent for magazines overall.
•
Mailed free to AARP members, it has the largest circulation of any magazine, distributing 24.4 million copies each issue in 2009, more than three times that of Reader’s Digest, which has the third largest distribution, with 7.6 million.
(An issue-oriented AARP publication, AARP Bulletin, had circulation of 24.2 million.)
AARP now includes within its eligibility range the majority of baby boomers — those born from 1946 to 1964 — making them, in a bit of symmetry, 46 to 64 years old. And the magazine, which in an earlier incarnation was called Modern Maturity and struck a more geriatric tone, now tends to feature on its cover celebrities on the younger side, including the actress Valerie Bertinelli (50) and Dr. Mehmet Oz (50).
Formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, the organization started going solely by its acronym a decade ago, and to say it represents retired people today is largely a misnomer: about half of its 40 million members are still working. (Membership exceeds the magazine’s circulation because only one issue is sent to a household.)
The current issue of the magazine (September/October) unveils a redesign that is decidedly contemporary, with more white space, short articles that tend not to jump to another page, and numerous referrals to the Web site (aarp.org/magazine), which also has been revamped.
Channels on the Web site recently expanded to 13 from seven, including one channel for technology, debunking the perception that older Americans are not computer literate. In fact, 46 percent of boomers were on a social media network in 2009, up from 30 percent in 2007, according to eMarketer, a research firm.
In a recent study, Nielsen determined that boomers account for 38.5 percent of purchases of consumer goods, yet only 5 percent of advertising expenditures are currently aimed at those ages 35 to 64.
“Today’s middle-aged and older consumers are different than their predecessors,” said a post about the study on Nielsen’s Web site. “The conventional wisdom that they spend little, resist technology and are slow to adopt new products needs to be re-assessed. Boomers are an affluent group who adopt technology with enthusiasm.”
While AARP previously catered to different ages of its membership with different publications (in 2002 it introduced a publication called My Generation aimed at those 55 and under while sending Modern Maturity to those over 55), today it sends AARP The Magazine to all members, but sends slightly different versions to those 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and over 70.
•
In the current issue, the 70-plus version substitutes an article about hearing aids for one about hotel-branded merchandise in the other versions.
It also substitutes an advice column about changing careers at 51 with one about writing a novel, and an article about maintaining a strong marriage is accompanied by a modified illustration by Kagan McLeod of a couple sitting against a tree that bears their carved initials. (The illustration for older readers features a man who is bald rather than graying, a woman wearing a long skirt rather than jeans and, resting between them, a cane.)
“AARP has garnered this enormous audience and gets the buying power of this demographic,” said Lori Hiltz, executive vice president of the Chicago office of MPG, a division of Havas. She previously served as a senior vice president at the PHD unit of Omnicom in Detroit, where she worked on a campaign for the Jeep division of Chrysler, which is still running in the magazine.
Unlike the previous generation, “the 50-plus consumers coming into the segment now have adopted new technology, are more likely to have a college education, and have a greater depth of discretionary income,” Ms. Hiltz said.
Both Mediapost's Marketing Daily and Ad Age do AARP Media Sales/Denny's story
Denny's AARP Pact Is Generating Results
by Karlene Lukovitz, Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 4:58 PM
While it's still early in the game, Denny's is seeing "excellent" results thus far from its new program offering exclusive discounts to AARP members, according to John Dillon, VP, marketing and product development for Denny's Corp.
Denny's implemented its AARP discount program in late March, with two special member offers effective through 2010. Members who show their AARP cards at participating Denny's locations nationwide on any day of the week between 4 and 10 p.m. are eligible to receive 20% off the total check amount for themselves and their guests. In addition, the card entitles AARP members and their guests, on a 24/7 basis, to a standing price of $1 for a cup of coffee.
The move made Denny's the first restaurant chain to offer the association's nearly 40 million members dining discounts on an on-premises, show-your-card basis. Subsequently, on June 1, Denny's signed a three-year agreement with AARP committing to offering AARP members exclusive dining benefits through the agreement's term, although it is not yet determined whether the current discount offers will be continued or whether other deals will be offered starting next January.
Denny's elected to promote the launch of the initial deal offers with a full-page, four-color ad in the May/June issue of AARP The Magazine -- which was received by readers about the same time the deals became effective -- to reach the magazine's 23.5 million subscriber circulation rate base (the largest magazine circulation in the U.S.). While Dillon declines to discuss the cost, the publication's rate card lists a full circulation run, four-color full page at $532,600.
That's no small out-of-the-box marketing investment in and of itself, but the prominent, direct exposure to the association's membership was key in generating what are so far proving to be "very encouraging" results, Dillon confirms. The offers "are clearly resonating with AARP's membership," he says. "We're seeing redemptions increase week by week in these initial stages, and we've gotten great feedback from the members."
Denny's had been considering a partnership with AARP for some time, notes Dillon. The restaurant brand has long had a "strong relationship" with diners in the 50+ demographic, who are already an important part of its customer base, and the rapid growth of this population segment represents opportunities to build on this dynamic, he points out.
"We want to ensure that we are paying attention to and meeting the needs of this valuable customer base," Dillon sums up. "The AARP partnership provides a clear opportunity to foster loyalty and repeat business."
Clearly Denny's, along with many other restaurant chains, also has an eye on attracting first-time 50+ diners who can be won over as regulars.
While Denny's is still finalizing its overall marketing plans for the AARP discount program, Dillon says that efforts will definitely include "more communications to the AARP membership," as well as on-premises awareness-building activities such as highly visible register-toppers promoting the deals.
Many types of companies -- financial/insurance, travel, car rental, retailers and others -- offer exclusive product/services deals to AARP members through the association's two commercial services subsidiaries, AARP Services Inc. and AARP Financial Inc.
However, up to this point, restaurants have made their offers only through an online Restaurant Discount Center on AARP's site, where members can locate participating restaurants (from among about 15,000 nationwide) by geographic area and buy dining certificates at a discount of 70% or more.
These third-party companies are responsible for their own marketing plans/media costs for AARP offers -- meaning their product/services relationships with AARP do not include or require buying ad space in AARP The Magazine or its other publications (AARP Bulletin and Spanish/English-language magazine AARP Viva), according to Jim Fishman, SVP, media sales for AARP.
In line with restrictions on nonprofit entities, AARP limits mentions of commercial partners to the organization's online member benefits listings area and squibs highlighting a few third-party services companies that run occasionally in its print publications, Fishman says.
++++
Denny's Embraces AARP Audience to Combat Sales Slump
Once Known as 20-Something Late-Night Hangout, Chain Faces Increased Competition Across Dayparts
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Denny's, the All-American 24-hour-dining chain, is casting about for an identity. And while a decade ago it was the late-night safe-haven for 20-somethings, it's now making a bet on the AARP crowd.
"We're embracing -- because we're open 24 hours -- [that] different dayparts lend themselves to different segments," Mr. Ruby said. "If you look at AARP offers, they're primarily during the week." Weekend late-nights, meanwhile, are intended for young partiers.
Jim Fishman, senior VP and group publisher-AARP Media Sales, in a statement said, "AARP's boomer-plus membership is more likely to visit casual-dining restaurants on a weekly basis than the general population. It makes total sense for AARP members to build a strong relationship with one of the biggest restaurant chains in America, since everybody benefits."
Late-night competition
Only two years ago, Denny's launched a "All Nighter" menu, with items like "potachoes" and dessert nachos, for middle-of-the-night diners with the munchies. But same-store sales have suffered at Denny's, disproportionately to peers, during the recession. This year, the chain is battling shareholders over its spending, in particular its recent Super Bowl advertising promotions. The chain in the past two years has promoted free Grand Slam breakfasts following the game. Denny's is also searching for a new CEO in response to investor unrest.
The chain seems to have slipped with younger consumers in recent years, as fast-food chains have promoted late-night hours and menu items, and brands such as Buffalo Wild Wings have expanded. The wing chain, for instance, offers a full bar, dozens of TVs for any imaginable sporting show and even gaming.
Darren Tristano, exec VP at Technomic, noted that the chain also faces increased competition from upstart breakfast-and-lunch chains such as Egg Harbor Cafe and Five Guys Burgers and Fries, now one of the fastest-growing chains in the restaurant industry.
Sales suffering
Last year, Denny's same-store sales fell 4% at company stores and 5% at franchised stores. During the first quarter of 2010, company-run and franchised restaurants both declined 6%. Although it was the worst year for the restaurant category in a generation, the loss might be particularly troubling to Denny's because the brand launched what was expected to be a brand reinvention around the Super Bowl, with then-new agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners. But despite a strong increase in overall brand buzz, the chain's same-store sales continued to decline.
Moving forward, Mr. Ruby said, Denny's will need to craft promotions and communications that are "laser focused." After all, he said, Denny's doesn't have to be "everything to everyone all of the time."
Mr. Tristano of Technomic described Denny's as a brand "without a clear understanding of what direction they're heading." He noted that Denny's, like other chains, has focused on operations and cost-cutting measures, "but in terms of marketing in order to get more customers in their doors ... it's a difficult time to do that."
Edit and place AARP Media Sales op-ed in Mediapost
Marketers And Boomers, BFFs Once Again?
by Mark Bradbury, Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 7:45 AM
Some things are destined to be together. No matter how often they part ways, they find their way back. Carrie and Big. The Lakers and Celtics. Sandra Bullock and... well, Carrie and Big.
Now, thanks to the recession, you can add mainstream marketers and baby boomers to that list. And the implications of this reunion go far beyond growing corporate bottom lines.
After nearly 50 years as marketers' darlings, boomers lost favor over the last decade, slipping through the cracks of target demos as they hit age 50. Call it oversight. Call it the 50 year itch. But call it old news.
Companies have felt the pinch of decreased consumer spending, and smart ones are realizing that, while America's wealthiest generation may have hit AARP's magic number, they have not stopped spending or exploring new brands. Consequently, market leaders are once again targeting the boomer generation-comprising 76 million people, 59 million of whom are already age 50+.
Examples of this trend can be seen far and wide. Stouffers' "Let's Fix Dinner" campaign targets empty nesters. Jeep has honed in on "cool" grandparents. General Mills and Yahoo are partnering to reach boomers through their health-focused digital "Vitality" campaign. Proctor & Gamble has teamed up with NBC Digital to develop a network of boomer Web sites under the banner "Life Goes Strong."
As the ultimate industry sign of renewal, Tuesday night, the Effie Awards will present its new Boomer+ Award for the second year in a row, honoring marketing effectiveness to the 50+ demographic.
It's important not to overstate reality. Younger consumers still rule in most marketers' minds. The boomer-plus demographic may never be the primary interest of mainstream marketers, but they are increasingly finding their place alongside younger generations as advertisers seek to maximize the ROI of their consumer communications.
Though motivated by a desire for increased bottom lines, the renewed relationship with boomers has broader societal implications.
For starters, boomers are being portrayed in a more positive and realistic light in advertisements, which could shift how society views the 50+ population. The vibrant, active image of Jeep's "cool grandma" can replace traditional stereotypes and reshape our cultural perception of what it means to be in the second half of life.
Additionally, advertisers are learning that they have an opportunity to develop new products and services to meet the specific needs of the 50+ population. This will lead to a wider variety of products and services aimed at improving the lives of people 50+, benefiting not only the boomers, but each successive generation, who will reap the rewards as they move past middle age.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)