"We saw no one offering a single platform for [Baby Boomers] to
read, watch and engage and for advertisers to reach them there,"
Mr. Berman said, adding that the typical article for folks
50-and-up is something like "9 Diseases You May Die From
Tomorrow."
The reason for that gap may be that the over-50 crowd isn't as
attractive as advertisers' darling demographic of 18- to
49-year-olds. "Part of it has to do with brand loyalty. The feeling
is older folks tend to be less adventuresome" whereas 18- to
49-year-olds haven't made up their minds yet and "have greater
lifetime value," said Brad Adgate, SVP and director of research at
Horizon Media.
However today's over-50 crowd -- and especially the younger set
of Boomers -- is "probably a lot more active and youthful looking
and thinking than previous generations," Mr. Adgate said. Add to
that "when you're in your 50s, you're in your peak earning years
and have more disposable income."
Mr. Berman was unable to provide names of brands that have
signed on to advertise or in talks to do so, but said the company
has been making the rounds to Minneapolis (home of Target), Cincinnati
(Procter & Gamble) and Bentonville, Ark.
(Walmart) and the feedback
has been "encouraging." BermanBraun is selling ads on Purple Clover
in partnership with AOL -- continuing the two companies'
previous partnerships -- and Mr. Berman said those efforts are
largely around securing sponsorship deals though the site does run
regular banners sold by the thousands of impressions.
BermanBraun is also looking to get a slice of advertisers' more
lucrative video ad budgets. The site will air original
professionally produced videos, as well as the user-generated
variety, and will be looking for opportunities to include brands,
particularly in the site's live programming.
"We'll be launching a need-to-know, quick-hit video series that
will be distributed not only on the property but via email and
ultimately via text as well...with an eye toward ultimately Purple
Clover living across all media platforms [including TV]," Mr.
Berman said.
Video will be poised to become the site's dominant form of
content. "We were focused more on hiring an executive producer than
a lead editor. This cohort consumes more video than any
generational cohort, so we're programming Purple Clover with a
higher blend of video," Mr. Berman said. To that end BermanBraun
has brought on former PBS managing editor Larry Carlat to run the
site, though he's also a proxy for BermanBraun's founding partners
Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun.
"They're the inspiration behind this. They are in the demo, and
really the voice is their voice. We brought Larry on to channel
that," Mr. Berman said.
As for Purple Clover's unusual name, Mr. Berman said it's a
combination of the color of royalty and what he described as "the
heartiest of plants" ("You mow it down and it grows back," he
said).
