2004 a good year for AARP

This article in media post is about AARP’s magazine.

Not a bad year for the organisation with Ad pages up by 13 percent for the year and revenue climbing 24 percent.

Yet, some sectors of business keep acting dumb about the 50+. Fishman, the magazine’s editor reckons the car industry still has its head in the sand. He says: “The median age of new car buyers is over 50, yet we (the magazine) aren't getting as much advertising as we should. They don't want to be seen marketing to these people."

AARP publishes three distinct editions; all have a consistent cover, headline, and overall look. The editors start with the edition aimed at readers in their 50s, then build out an edition for readers in their 60s, and one for readers 70 and over. The content for these editions differs by roughly 25 percent.

The differences between each issue are largely in the health and financial content. "In your 50s you are still building wealth, while in your 70s you are trying to protect it," Fishman said. The different additions also allow advertisers to be more selective in targeting and messaging.

Despite the risk of re-branding the magazine, the result has been a growing readership. The latest study from Mediamark Research has the magazine's audience at 26.5 million readers, and subscriptions were up 14 percent through June, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Dick Stroud www.20plus30.com