|
|
|
the silent generation
Baby boomer title merging with Modern Maturity
The most indulged and self-indulgent generation in history will soon be a little less of each.
My Generation, the magazine launched in January 2001 to march along side Baby Boomers as they enter their senior years, will cease publishing after its January/February issue.
The AARP, formerly known as American Association of Retired Persons, announced late yesterday that it is folding the title into Modern Maturity and rechristening the publication. The working title for now is AARP: The Magazine.
The revamped title will have three editions, one targeting the My Generation readership, people ages 50 through 59, a second edition aimed at people 60 through 69 and the third targeting seniors age 70 and over.
Betsy Carter, editor of My Generation, will take the title of creative director and assume responsibility for the Baby Boomer edition of the new title.
Publisher Jim Fishman says the decision to roll My Generation and Modern Maturity together was based largely on considerations of brand awareness.
"What's been going on at AARP over the last couple years is a greatly enhanced branding effort," he says, citing the organization's name change as part of the effort.
"What we've been doing is putting our resources into building two magazine brands. But if you want to do that rather than focus on one brand, you've better have a good reason for it."
Several months ago, Modern Maturity added "AARP" before its title. Testing showed that the result was improved awareness of the magazine and its mission on the part of readers, says Fishman.
The idea behind My Generation--speaking to Baby Boomers in a voice uniquely tailored to them--will live on in the 50-59 edition of the new publication, says Fishman.
"We believe we can make the editions different to the extent that the person reading them will feel it's for them."
An obvious question the strategy shift raises is whether My Generation was able to generate sufficient advertising in this down ad climate to sustain its massive circulation, which exceeded 3.8 million.
The title had been gaining in ad pages, such that by July it was tracking nearly 20 percent ahead of where it was a year earlier, with 165 versus 142 ad pages. In contrast, Modern Maturity, also a bimonthly, was down 7 percent from the year earlier, with 178 pages versus 191 pages.
Fishman acknowledges that the past year's ad climate has been less than ideal for a launch but says that played no part in the decision to rebrand.
"We've been doing very well. Obviously if the economy hadn't cut in we'd be doing much better."
It's not been an easy marketplace for magazines aimed at older readers. Mature Outlook, a joint venture of Meredith Corp. and Sears, suspended publication in March 2001, and New Choices, Reader's Digest's entry into the field, followed suit a year later.
One title that has bucked the trend is More, a Ladies' Home Journal spinoff for readers over 40, but as a women's magazine it has an advantage in attracting advertising. Dual-audience magazines--those aimed at readers of both sexes--often have trouble courting advertisers, many of whom are looking to reach men or women but not both.
August 27, 2002© 2002 Media Life
