(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 8/17/15)
AARP Launches Firm
To Target Baby Boomers
Washington-based advocacy group AARP has created a marketing
agency to help companies peddle products and services to the
over-50 crowd, which AARP says doesn't get enough attention from
advertisers.
Baby boomers control the majority of disposable income in this
country "but only 10% of marketing dollars are spent on them," said
Dave Austin, managing director of Influent50, AARP's new agency.
"It's an underserved market," he added.
The new agency, which is part of AARP Services, a unit of AARP
that holds all of its for-profit companies, already has over a
dozen clients including Avis Budget Group Inc. and
UnitedHealthcare.
Boomers are a sizable lot: There are about 75 million boomers,
compared with 83.1 million millennials, estimates the U.S. Census
Bureau.
Madison Avenue remains youth-obsessed.
"The 18 to 34 age group is just seen as the sexier audience,"
said Scott Collin, Influent50's chief creative director.
Ad executives say that marketers tend to discount marketing to
seniors because they believe that older people are already brand
loyal, making them a tough sell. But experts disagree.
That is just a "misconception," said Peter Hubbell, founder of
ad firm BoomAgers. "Changing and trying new brands helps boomers
feel like they are staying current."
Not all marketers are ignoring the older crowd. Procter &
Gamble Co. recently re-entered the adult incontinence market with a
line of products under its Always brand.
Targeting older Americans isn't easy. Experts say there is a
dearth of expertise out in the marketplace when it comes to this
segment of the population and many times ads don't hit the
mark.
-- Suzanne Vranica
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Web Publisher Refinery29
Creates Influencer Network
The Web publisher Refinery29 can now offer advertisers access to
a hand-selected network of social-media influencers across YouTube,
Pinterest, Instagram and other platforms.
Called "Here and Now," the collection of talent is something
akin to a handcrafted multichannel network. For example, Here and
Now features Lauren Curtis, who has amassed more than 3.1 million
YouTube subscribers by providing makeup tips such as how to get
flawless brows.
The network also works with Danielle Bernstein, who boasts of
more than one million Instagram followers, as well as Justina
Blakeney, whose taste in decor and fashion have helped earn her
over 1.3 million followers on Pinterest.
These influencers have been picked because they fit the
Refinery29 brand, said the company. The site is generally aimed at
fashion and beauty-conscious millennial women. The basic idea
behind Here and Now is that in addition to offering marketers ads
on Refinery29.com, Refinery29's sales team can commission several
of these influencers to produce content, such as videos or photos,
and share them with their networks.
Smashbox Cosmetics has signed on as the first marketing partner
for Here and Now.
-- Mike Shields
---
Turner Broadcasting Buys
Stake in iStreamPlanet
Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting cable unit has acquired a
majority stake in online video specialist iStreamPlanet, as the
company looks to bulk up on technology that powers Web TV.
The media company paid nearly $200 million for the stake,
according to people familiar with the matter. Other details of the
deal, including iStreamPlanet's valuation, weren't available.
IStreamPlanet and competitors including MLB Advanced Media
supply the systems that manage large-scale streaming-video
operations for big media companies. Most media companies don't have
much of that expertise in-house, so many rely on outside
vendors.
According to its website, iStreamPlanet specializes in live and
traditional television delivery over the Internet.
MLBAM has deals with Time Warner's HBO unit, Walt Disney Co.'s
ESPN and others.
The deal allows any Time Warner unit to take advantage of
iStreamPlanet's technology.
Waller Capital Partners ran the auction for the company.
-- Shalini Ramachandran
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