klaus
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Jul 29, 2008, 8:22 AM
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New magazine for aging "Zoomers": but will it fly?
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It seems that the “mature market”, as the 50+ crowd is euphemistically known is beginning to play on Main Street.
Whereas some years ago one couldn’t interest anyone in mainstream marketing in anyone over the age of 29, the fifty-somethings are starting to be noticed. At least in Canada, given the amount of time, energy and money that Moses Znaimer, the media visionary behind CITY TV and MuchMusic, has devoted to the aging baby boomer demographic.
I recently had occasion to get a preview of what Znaimer’s new magazine, Zoomer might look like and learned that he has recruited some top-notch talent to make it zoom. Heading up the new magazine will be Suzanne Boyd who played a “pivotal role as editor of Flare Magazine”.
Zoomer will replace CARP for the 50 Plus, which was the official house organ of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP). The advance hype for the new magazine promises “relevance for an empowered generation at the highest editorial standard”. Be that as it may, all indications are that this new publication will appeal largely to a select group of urban Canadians, given the look of its advance publicity.
For openers, Suzanne Boyd, while she is by all accounts a brilliant editor of fashion magazines, seems an odd choice as someone to sit at the helm of a magazine appealing to, well, older people. The editorial lineup of its premiere issue due out in October promises a special style report, “what to buy now”, do it yourself beauty tips, and of course the obligatory pages lauding the Great Moses Znaimer.
There even promises to be a CARP section that will feature a report on age discrimination. In acquiring control of the CARP organization, Znaimer hired the very controversial and confrontational Susan Eng of Toronto Police Services Board fame to serve as the organization’s government advocate.
I think it was Lee Iacocca who coined the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, a saying that may come back to haunt Znaimer as it’s possible this new endeavor could crash and burn. The editorial content of CARP for the 50 Plus, while at times somewhat stodgy, provided members of the organization with balanced discussions on the relevant issues affecting mature Canadians. It generally didn’t get into fashion and beauty tips. There was a wealth of information on traveling at home and abroad, great financial information, articles on health and wellness and, of course housing and real estate. It didn’t have articles telling its readers “what to buy”.
The Zoomer promo stated that currently there are some 14 million people over the age of 50 in Canada, which accounts for over one third of the country’s total population.
In its inaugural issue Zoomer boast a circulation of 186,000, which is somewhat less than the 14 million so-called “Zoomers” the promo trumpets. While all hopes for this endeavor are that it be successful, one is given to wonder if perhaps Znaimer has lost his sense of objectivity in creating this new vehicle. Sometimes it’s easy to mistake one’s own preferences for those of an entire demographic.
A page from Zoomer Magazine's media information kit
Klaus Rohrich is President and Creative Director of Taylor/Rohrich Associates Inc., a marketing and advertising firm that specializes in niche marketing retirement real estate developments
http://www.maturitymarketing.com.
(This post was edited by klaus on Jul 29, 2008, 1:25 PM)
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