ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING, FINALLY

By: Ken Liebeskind American Media Repositions 'The National Enquirer' And 'Star'



How does one make outlandish tabloids more respectable?



American Media Inc., which owns The National Enquirer and
Star, has embarked on a $50-million ad campaign to reposition
both weekly publications. 'There is a misconception as to what the
tabloids are,' said Margaret Carroll, president of MC Enterprises, the
Westchester County, N.Y., firm that handles advertising for American
Media. 'These are mainstream publications. People is National
Enquirer one week later.'



The campaign is a two-pronged effort directed at both ad reps and
consumers. Advertising in the major ad industry trades - Adweek,
Brandweek, and Mediaweek (all E&P sisters in the Adweek
Magazines group) - is the primary vehicle for reaching reps, although
ads on newspaper delivery trucks in the greater New York area are also
being used. The campaign started with a side-panel ad on Hudson News
delivery trucks that said, 'The National Enquirer ... No Elvis,
aliens, UFOs.'



The truck ads began in the third quarter last year and were followed by
the trade magazine campaign, which included inserts and then full-page
ads that picked up on the repositioning theme by identifying American
Media publications' readers as people who 'don't have wheels on their
homes.' A total of 150 full-page ads in trade magazines are being used.



Ads in the trades are being used because 'advertising and media people
don't have a clear understanding of who the audience is. The advertising
people don't think of the market as having the purchasing power it
does,' Carroll said, noting that readers of the publications spend more
than $145 billion annually on buying and leasing vehicles.



The trade campaign was accompanied by a consumer-targeted effort that
includes cable TV, spot local TV, and radio. TV ads were tested in the
third quarter last year, rolled out in the fourth quarter, and continue
this year with new creative content. The ads focus on weekly editions of
the publications to promote single-copy sales, although the
repositioning effort is in the background, since the ads promote
mainstream stories. 'It reinforces in [consumers'] minds that these are
mainstream publications,' Carroll said. 'It's positive reinforcement.'



National advertising appeared on cable TV, complemented by local TV and
radio ads in 25 spot markets, including 'all the biggies,' Carroll said.
The Enquirer was the focus of consumer-targeted ads in the second
quarter of this year - and Star will be spotlighted in ads,
starting Wednesday, planned for the third quarter.



The campaign comes after the acquisition of American Media last year by
Evercore Partners, an investment firm in New York headed by David Pecker
and Roger

Altman. The company also bought Globe Communications, parent of
Globe, The National Examiner, and the Sun.



Based in Boca Raton, Fla., American Media now owns all six major U.S.
weekly supermarket tabloids, which also include the Weekly World News.



The campaign seeks to stem Enquirer and Star circulation
declines. The Enquirer's circulation fell to 2.1 million last
year, down about 5%, while Star's dipped to 1.75 million, down
almost 4%.