Dell advertisements in Saga

Unlike most people, when I receive a magazine, I am more interested in the ads than the editorial. This applies even more so to Saga. This is not a reflection on the quality of Saga's writing but it more interesting, for me at least, to see who is advertising what and in what way.

To the best of my knowledge I spied the mag's first Dell ad, and from what I can see, it is pretty much age-neutral. Maybe they have increased the font size a bit but it looks the same as those in any other mag. If I find any major differences I will blog again about the subject. Dick Stroud

Let’s be really retro and buy a newspaper

Research from Adweek is bad news for the long-term health of the Newspaper Industry.

Daily newspaper readership skews heavily toward the older age groups. Almost two-thirds of those ages 55+ (64%) say they still read a daily newspaper almost every day. Younger Americans read newspapers less often. Less than one-fourth of those ages 18-34 (23%) say they read a newspaper almost every day and 17% in this age group say they never read a daily newspaper.

The possibility of charging a monthly fee to read a daily newspaper’s content online suggests that it is unlikely to work. Three quarters of online adults (77%) say they would not be willing to pay anything to read a newspaper’s content online. Among the minority willing to pay, one in five online adults (19%) would only pay between $1 and $10 a month for this online content and only 5% would pay more than $10 a month.

The article includes research from Boston Consulting that comes to a similar set of conclusions.

In some ways this makes things easier for advertisers since the printed newspapers will become the sole preserve of the older person. I guess we will have to wait whilst the newspaper industry goes, what looks like futile efforts, to attract a younger readership and admits to the inevitable. Dick Stroud

Not many mags have a readership of 35.7 million

The readership of AARP's magazine has grown in readership for the past 6 years and joins People, Good Housekeeping and Sports Illustrated as one of only four major mags to achieve growth in readership vs. Spring 2009. As magazines drop like flies this is pretty good going.

For the record, Saga’s readership is just over a million. I doesn’t take an intellectual giant to see that AARP’s penetration of its target audience, is an order of magnitude greater than that of Saga.

The organisation’s online property www.aarpmagazine.org also experienced tremendous growth, gaining more than 1 million Internet users.

I reckon the Xmas party at AARP will be a lot happier than in a lot of other publications. Dick Stroud

A Sunday Supplement ageing fest

As I opened my Sunday paper the first of the numerous supplements that fell out was Senior Living , closely followed by Healthy Ageing – I know the image says Healthy Heart but the publisher hasn’t got around to updating their web site with this title.

Senior Living had nothing but wall to wall ads about retirement properties.

Healthy Ageing had ads that told me how to keep my gums in shape; put some fizz into your morning glucosamine, bring down my cholesterol levels, say goodbye to veins, use the next generation of joint care, get the lowest cost stairlift, contribute to Macmillan cancer support, improve my immune system and finally buy Saga health insurance.

As far as I could see the invite to join Bannatyne’s Today (a UK health club) was the only lifestyle ad. I guess that is what you would expect in these sorts of newspaper supplements.

Just have a look at the models they used on the cover of Senior Living. Believe me these are not your typical retirement property customers, more like their children. Dick Stroud

An idiot side effect of the postal strike

I have just received today's copy of the Daily Telegraph, a newspaper with a predominately older readership.

Stuffed inside the paper were 200+ pages of advertising inserts. Catalogues from John Lewis and all sorts of companies trying to sell me stuff for Xmas.

Most of this material would have descended through my letter box in dribs and drabs; instead I receive it all in a single pile. Have the advertisers gone mad. What do they think the effect is of being deluged with advertising material? Believe me, more means less. I am certain that companies must be experiencing a massive drop in effectiveness by switching from the post to newspaper distribution.

If somebody suggested that promotional mail was only delivered once a week then there would be uproar – this is what is effectively happening. Nuts. Dick Stroud

Watch out iPhone HTC is about

I like this new advertising campaign promoting yet another smartphone.

HTC (a Taiwanese manufacturer) has ads running across 20 countries as it makes its first foray into advertising with the tagline: "You don’t need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you.”

From the imagery of the ads they appear to be primarily aimed at the young, however, I reckon they will have a resonance with the tech-savvy and tech-interested parts of the older market.

The ad and a presentation about the phone are shown above. It is also worth reading the take on the campaign in Brand Channel. It hadn’t struck me, but apparently there has been some confusion, in the mind of the consumer, between the word “You” and a similar ad campaign for Yahoo. HTC has begun to replace the “O” in “You” with a smartphone.

The reason I reckon it will ring bells the 50-plus is that the product’s pitch is that it complements consumers “just they way they are” (echoes of Bridget Jones), rather than offer a product that will make them a better person: more responsive, better organized, less cluttered etc etc.

A gutsy campaign. Dick Stroud.

Mockery + price fighting - a positive strategy or fight for survival?

This posting has little or nothing to do with the 50-plus but a lot to do with marketing and hopefully has an amusing twist.

There is store chain in the UK called Dixons. It is from an old era when you could get the best discounts on the high street. Times have changed but memories persist of its rather dowdy stores, even though the company has evolved from bricks, to bricks and clicks, to clicks and clicks.

The recession has made it OK to shop for rock bottom prices and the new Dixons ad campaign is relying on this emotion to overcome our hesitancy to deal with a somewhat shop soiled brand.

The campaign mocks the affluent culture of two of the UK’s premier stores, John Lewis and Selfridges, by suggesting the consumer use them as an expensive showroom and “Then go to Dixons.co.uk - the last place you want to go”. You can either see this as inspired advertising that has tapped into the post-credit crunch consumer psychology or a last ditch attempt to keep trading.

Some wag from the advertising world created a spoof version that appeared in Campaign, the Ad World’s trade mag. Something to make you laugh and think. Many thanks to Reg Starkey for telling me about the campaign and the spoof. Dick Stroud

A youthful online Readers Digest?

I reckon the Readers Digest must have had more press coverage in the past month than for last couple of years. First the company sought bankruptcy protection, then sold its list of members and now is looking to revamp its global online activities to, in the words of the FT: “to attract a younger audience to a brand suffering from its associations with doctors’ waiting rooms and elderly readers.”

Why does this send a shudder down my spine? I can smell the work consultants a mile away.

“We were the Google News of the 1920s. We were the original aggregator,” said, the newly promoted general manager of readersdigest.com. I can just see that phrase: the Google News of the 1920s, on a PowerPoint slide, stimulating a lot of nodding heads from the RD audience.

The FT goes on to say:

Starting with the Netherlands and China, where a redesigned website goes live this week, the group is planning to replace a patchwork of international sites, each designed separately by local teams and carrying a different selection of content, with a single, coherent platform.

I sort of understand why it is launching in Netherlands because of the very successful Yours magazine that is targeted at the older market. Why China?

How is the business going to make money? Advertising and sales of books and CDs – NO charging for content - that's what they say.

Can you believe it, there is even work going on for an application for Apple’s iPhone. More sensibly there will also be a version for Amazon’s Kindle.

I totally agree with the comments about this venture in BrandChannel

RD's biggest hurdle is the brand's staid reputation. While its brand equity shouldn't be discounted -- they maintain mass audience appeal and name recognition -- it may take more than nifty customization tools to give the aging publisher its Fountain of Youth.

It is a pity that RD only decided to drag its web presence into today’s world when the magazine failed. Methinks there were internal battles between the online and print. Let’s hope they haven’t left it too late.

Above are the today’s US and UK web sites. As you can see, totally different. I bet they use different content management technologies and construction technologies. Dick Stroud

RIP Readers Digest?

The US business of Readers Digest is going into Chapter 11. It is the same old story – sheds load of debt, $1.6 billion to be precise and not enough profits. Only two-and-half years ago a private equity firm purchased the company for $2.6 billion. Unfortunately the razor sharp MBAs, who devised the deal, got it horribly wrong.

The demise of this trusty old publication, which is associated with the 50-plus reader, is widely covered in the media. The best analysis is in the WSJ, but this is likely to be subscription only. The BBC has a summary of the situation.

I thought this was an interesting commentary.

Time, Reader Digest, Newsweek, and US News, all magazines that are decades old now tend to have readers over 50, and, in some cases over 60 years old. They also tend to be middle class. They are not nearly as active in their presence online as the generations of people who spend time on Facebook or Twitter.

These print media have been left behind. The most recent measure of the Reader’s Digest’s online audience shows the magazine with only 1.6 million unique visitors in July. Even if the figure is too low by half, the audience is not nearly large enough to bring in the ad revenue to offset the falling print sales at the magazine.

The Digest is dying slowly by dropping its circulation to 5.5 million and consequently decreasing what it can charge advertisers. The company has no choice, since too few people are interested in the magazine any more. The firm would need to race to cut costs to keep pace with falling revenue, and that is not possible any longer.

The Digest won’t make it much longer because its audience is too old. The content that it digests or runs is too easily available elsewhere on the internet—“the dos and don’ts of corporate culture”, “six healthy fish recipes”, and “8 medical myths”. The Digest was always quaint. It never had much of an edge. That was comforting to millions of people. It is not comforting enough for them to pay for the Digest in great numbers. Due to their age, they are also dying off.

Where I think this analysis is wrong is in the first sentence. I bet the majority of the publication's readers are 60+, with a large number being 70+. Also, a large chunk of their customers are spending time online.

Like Woolworths, some companies just don’t develop and become set in aspic. A great shame but that’s life. Dick Stroud

Relentlessly Cheerful revisited

I received this comment on the previous blog posting.

Thank you for more insights into a life I only catch glipses of through my parents.
I wonder if you can look back at that goodie bag of Sales Brochures and work out what images would have worked?
What would have turned you off less, but engaged you and interested you?
People in a different mood - serious contemplation perhaps
Pictures of events, a storm, rather than people infront of a house (for home insurance products)
Pictures of experiences? Going on a driving holiday, but not showing people, just the scenary and the vehicle (for motor insurance)
or just text?
What would have worked better than what you have observed?

I have answered this question in the comments section but I think it raises some interesting points that deserve their own posting.

As I was writing this blog entry I was asking myself the same questions.

First things first. It was reading all of this stuff in one go that resulted in my reaction. If I was being drip-fed the brochures I may have been less acerbic in my comments. Secondly, I look at creative and copy, when I am forced to read it, from a different perspective to its target audience (it is my job). Finally, honestly this is the last caveat, my opinions and reactions represent only a small part of the 50-plus market. I am continually aware that you cannot extrapolate your own views to the whole of your age cohort. The joy of this blog is that it enables me to release these professional constraints and say it how I see it.

Let’s say this material was being specifically targeted to Dick Stroud, how could it be improved. Two words – humour and directness. I don’t think I am alone in this view. For example, recently some research was done to look at the language to use when talking to older people about death. The researchers seemed surprised that “kicking the bucket” was seen as a perfectly OK phrase. Didn’t surprise me. Ask yourself why there is such an anti-PC reaction from the over-50s.

If you look at the TV advertising that was around during my 20s and 30s a lot of it was dire but it contained some of the funniest ads ever made (in my view). If you read this blog you will know I hate making generational generalisations, so I will make one. I think there is a cynical (might be termed black humour) that is shared by lots of people in their 60s and 70s. I would suggest that anybody trying to reach the older audience submerge themselves into the TV, both programming and ads, that washed over this generation.

I hope this begins to answer the question. I will start posting some examples of promotional material that I think works well (for me). Dick

Relentlessly Cheerful

On Friday I attended the Retirement Show in London. An ‘interesting’ event that I need to think about a bit more before committing keystrokes to keyboard.

Like all exhibitions I was given the plastic bag of brochures on entering. Normally I dump this as soon as possible but since the days of plastic bags are number, in these environmentally conscious times, I instinctively kept the thing.

On the train home I inspected the contents. What was it about the materials that made me feel a bit queasy? It was nothing to do with the copy since I never read the stuff. It was the creative. It was relentlessly cheerful.

Now I totally understand the brief given to the designers is going to be: “create something that shows older people enjoying (they probably even use the word ‘celebrating’) being 50-plus. It is only when you see a pile of this stuff together that you realise how unrealistic, and more importantly, ineffective it is.

Maybe it is just me, but I suspect I am not alone.

Just think about it - there you are, having just walked past three exhibition stands selling different types of coffins, you then gaze at these old sods beaming with energy and vigour. It doesn't work for me. It is a bit like when you are a kid and your parents tell you to: "enjoy yourself". I hated it then I hate it now. Dick Stroud.

Who readers Boomer mags?

Boom! Magazine (a monthly publication dedicated to the "active lifestyle" of the 45+) has had its circulation audited.

The thing that surprised me was that 46% of the readers did not come from the boomer age group. That raises the question of whether they were older or younger. Since I have no intention of buying the audited report I guess we will never know. Dick Stroud

Print versus Online – Pay versus Advertising

Back in August I commented about the Deloitte & Touche report call “The State of Media Democracy” and how it didn’t seem to say very much of interest. I have just discovered this chart on eMarketer that quotes data from the report about the choices of different age groups for print, online and paying for content or being forced to watch ads.

For most of the questions there doesn’t appear to be any meaningful difference between the generations. The only distinct trend is the preference for paying for news content rather than watching ads. Amazingly it goes in the opposite direction to what I would have guessed. The older you get the more willing you are to put up with ads. I really do find that hard to believe. Dick Stroud

You can have too many inserts

My Saga magazine has just thumped through the letterbox. As I opened the wrapping a pile of inserts fell onto the floor. And when I say pile I mean a pile. See the photo.

I have always had my doubts about the effectiveness of magazine inserts. I have major doubts when the insert total is thirteen items. The temptation is to bundle the whole lot of them directly into the waste bin. This definitely a case of where more does not mean better.

Saga is responsible for 4 of these items trying to sell me:
Health insurance
Motor Insurance
Product likes mobility scooters and stairlifts. They sent me an extra one of these.

Then there are the promotional items from companies. These were promoting:
Hearing aids
Beef (yes, fresh beef)
Fashions for the 50-plus (two of these)
Eye Glasses
Which (The consumer magazine)
Furniture covers
A utility company
Gadgets

Why have I taken your time to read this list and my time to type it? Ask yourself this: if you were a brand manager, for multi-age international brand, would you want to be associated with this assortment of stuff?

Well, fortunately for Saga there are a few that do. The magazine had full page ads from Hertz, Peugot, L’Oreal, Bose, Benecol and Shredded Wheat.

I know Saga walks a tightrope between trying to appeal to global brands and paying the bills from day to day age-silo products. This is not a simple task.

But, the one thing it can do something about is the excessive number of inserts. It doesn’t do the image of the magazine any good and it is ineffectual adverting. Dick Stroud

A boomer magazine from Martha?

I noticed an article in Adage that suggests that Martha Stewart might launch a magazine targeted at Boomer women. How much of this inside knowledge and how much results from the doldrums of a low-news August I have no idea.

This quote from the article gets to the nub of the issue.

One point that media buyers raise is that magazines revolving around their readers' ages aren't necessarily the most compelling; age itself is rarely a point of passion. People interested in fashion will read Vogue or Harper's Bazaar for decades; travel addicts are going to dive into Travel & Leisure or Condé Nast Traveler over and over.

It also goes beyond old vs. young. Lifestyle is playing a role in how the category evolves. Certain advertisers are going to need to continue reaching sub-segments within age demographics determined by their interests and needs.

So Martha, do you feel lucky? Well, do ya? Dick Stroud

The Boomer Time Line.

This and the previous blog post are about the same thing – an insight into the past.

Austerity Britain does it with few pictures and 700 pages of text; The Boomer Time Line does it with no words and mass of imagery.

The timeline’s creator realized that the Boomers are the first generation to be shaped by a barrage of images. In an e-mail to me he said

Most generations of humanity were shaped by the events around them. News was the gathering of persons from the points on a compass. Opinions and thoughts on life were shaped by the written word or verbal recitations of events. Most of humanity was shaped in a time of no film, or TV, and marketing was limited to trading. The Boomer generation caught the first onslaught of images from mature mixed media.

That onslaught of images has shaped us all. Thus the Boomer time line of images is born.

The idea is that visitors can define what the pictures mean to them, Wikipedia style.

I can see a lot of applications for this project. I know its creators would like to hear from people with their ideas.

Forget the web site’s design (it is very much a beta site) and just focus on the amazing wealth of imagery that has been collected. Send your e-mails to MaltaInc@aol.com Dick Stroud

I’ll have what he’s having

This ad from Specsavers appeared in today’s Telegraph. If he is 60+ my wife says she wants to swap! Dick Stroud

Eat your heart out Saga

I like dealing with the Dutch. Maybe it is because the Brits and the Dutch have a very similar sense of humour.

I have just returned from New York where I was speaking at an event staged by Bayard Press, the publisher of Plus magazine. This magazine is published in the Netherlands, Belgium and has just been launched in Sweden. Brent Green was the keynote speaker at the Swedish launch and has posted a great video on his blog.

I was joined in New York by Chuck Nyren and some other fascinating people involved in the 50-plus market. Laurel Kennedy of Age Lessons, John McMenniman (former president of the US’s Advertising Hall of Fame), John Migliaccio, Susan Silver, Mary Duffy, and Peter Himler.

A few facts. Plus claims 1.4 million readers and has a monthly circulation of 320,000. 60% of its readers are under 65 years old and 40% are men.

Saga has a monthly readership of 1,205,000 and a circulation figure of 610,771.

Remember that the UK has 4 times as many 50-75 year-olds than the Netherlands.

The biggest difference between the magazines is the quality of the advertising. Plus is laden with multinational brand advertising, something that is still a bit of a rarity in Saga.

Even though I cannot read a word of the Netherlands version of Plus it has a much more appealing and light feel than Saga.

If there are any Saga people reading this blog I reckon it would be worth taking out a subscription to Plus. Dick Stroud

The Economist pushes its luck

The full inside back page of the Economist had this advertisement. The purpose of the ad was to publicise an Economist study about the EU.

I think it is amusing – just. When you think that the average age of Economist readers in the US is 47 years and in the Europe it is a sprightly 45 years. Worldwide over half of its readers are 45+.

Maybe people who read the Economist are fearful of the future, need its words of wisdom because of their self doubt and spend too much time reading magazines and hence increase in size. Word of advice – don’t push your luck too much further. Dick Stroud

Another ‘exclusive’ discount for the over-50 (ish)

Amongst the pile of stuff that fell out of my Economist magazine this week was this item from Standard Life.

Good to see that one of the stalwarts of the British Finance industry is targeting the 50-plus. Not the most eye-watering creative I have ever seen but it does the job. Dick Stroud

RIAS gets a new agency

I bet the staff at Watson Phillips Norman are celebrating having just won the £10m customer acquisition and retention and brand development account for over-50s insurer RIAS as sole agency.

RIAS, established in 1992, has been leading the way (after SAGA) in capturing the over-50s insurance for home, motor, travel and pet insurance and now has over 880,000 customers.

It will be interesting to see how the RIAS brand develops – well at least we know who to blame or congratulate. Dick Stroud

Stannah’s newspaper advertising 1/2

This Saturday’s Telegraph (one of the UK’s most popular newspapers, especially with the 50-plus) contained a full page ad from Stannah, the stair lift people.

Most of the page was white space, with a stair lift in the left hand corner and the imagery shown in this and the next blog item.

It doesn’t work for me. Would the copy and imagery make me pick the up the phone, as is clearly the intention? Note the telephone number extension to track the calls from the ad.

I feel that in this and in the television ads (covered in previous blogs postings), Stannah is being so ultra cautious that it runs the risk of melting into the background. It will not cause any ripples but maybe not that many new orders.

Advertising is such a subjective thing that I would welcome comments from the readers of this blog. Dick Stroud