PR Campaign Uses Focus Groups and Market Research
AARP is not your grandmother's trade association nor is it any longer that senior citizen group once known as the American Association of Retired Persons. That's the mold-
breaking message AARP wants Baby Boomers to embrace.
As aging boomers hit the 50-year mark, AARP is re-evaluating how it reaches out to them. After focus groups and surveys, AARP realized it needed to develop a new voice for this
generation.
"There really is a difference in how different generations want information," says Lisa Davis, AARP communications director.
One of the key elements in AARP's face-lift was the launch of a younger, hipper alternative to Modern Maturity - namely My Generation. Targeted to 3.1 million
boomers, this magazine has distinguished itself as the largest magazine launch in history. Its debut issue is dated March 2001.
Too overwhelming a task for AARP's in-house communications department to tackle alone, AARP turned to The Rosen Group of New York for help in creating a media relations
campaign to support the launch.
Aging Gracefully
The spin-off from Modern Maturity was a news story in itself but the PR team wanted to give the media more to chew on.
"We wanted to establish AARP and My Generation as authorities for the boomer population," says Davis, adding, "and as a main source for everyone else."
Past experience showed that strong content would accelerate the magazine's buzz. (A previous survey examining sex for the over-45 crowd in the September/October 1999 issue of
Modern Maturity had received abundant national attention.) Following their best instincts, AARP hired Roper Starch Worldwide to examine boomers and cosmetic surgery;
something "emblematic" of this generation explains Davis. "This is a generation that cares more about how they look and how they feel than any other generation in the past."
"Editor [Betsy Carter] is very savvy and wanted to come out with something strong and provocative," acknowledges consultant adviser Lori Rosen, founder and president of The
Rosen Group.
The Grand PR Plan
The PR team planned to hit the media with news of the launch before the first subscribers got their copies, or more to the point, before a copy showed up in a reporter's
mailbox. To keep a step ahead of the media, issues began to mail in early February.
On January 22, "Good Morning America" aired an exclusive on the launch; The New York Times ran the print exclusive. The Times treatment focused on the business
side of the story, leaving other publications to cover still fresh consumer and research angles. "The challenge was keeping the media happy with the whole exclusive issue," Rosen
comments. "A lot of thought went into the trade-off."
That same day, a news conference was held. A handful of reporters who cover the magazine business were invited to the D.C. news conference, as well as bureau reporters for
larger media outlets. Hoping to create nostalgia among reporters and correspondents, the PR team filled the pressroom with cutouts of boomer icons including JFK and Elvis. A video
montage akin to the Summer of Love played on a large screen and reporters received gift bags replete with love beads, disco balls and press-on sideburns.
Roughly 2,500 journalists, AARP leaders and publishing execs showed up for the magazine's launch party February 8 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Reminders of past
decades filled every corner. A Good Humor ice cream truck was parked in the middle of the room. The wait staff wore every fad fashion from poodle skirts to polyester leisure
suits. (The PR team used the same research and focus group results to support the PR campaign that had shaped the magazine.)
"Boomers are the first multi-media generation," Davis observes, "so we came up with a multi-media release. They respond to bigness -- we can't give them something small and
expect them to respond to the invitation." The atmosphere at the event, according to Davis "punctuated who we were."
Bonus Results Count
The jury's still out on My Generation. The second issue won't be mailed out to subscribers until next month. But AARP contends it's already seeing positive results.
The launch generated more than 1,000 media clippings. In fact, there were so many articles that Rosen instructed the clipping service not to clip anything with a circulation
under 75,000. Total media impressions stand at about 96 million, Davis estimates.
Great buzz from My Generation enabled AARP to piggyback a re-launch of Modern Maturity. The PR team paraded a re-tooled Modern Maturity in front of
reporters at the My Generation media event following a press conference to unveil the new look.
But are more boomers becoming AARP members? Davis says she has anecdotal confirmation, but no concrete figures yet.
Spreading Sunshine
AARP gave out bandanas, sunglasses and copies of My Generation to their staff the day the magazine launched. "We had an internal audience that we wanted to get
excited," says Lisa Davis, AARP director of communications.
Catching fire with fire, AARP projected that an excited staff would spread the word to friends and families.
Campaign Stats
Budget: $30,000 (does not include fees paid to The Rosen Group)
AARP Key Players: Lisa Davis, communications director; Nancy Thompson, media relations manager; Muriel Hairston-Cooper, media relations specialist; Anthony Copeland,
media relations specialist.
Rosen Group Key Players: Lori Rosen, president; Shawna Seldon, account executive; Gina Iovino, account executive
Contacts: Lisa Davis, AARP, 202/434-2560; Laurie Rosen, The Rosen Group 212/255-8455