MAGAZINE
SHORTENS NAME TO EXPAND GLOBAL AUDIENCE INTEREST Troy,
MI — October 1, 2004 — American
Woman Road & Travel, a 16-year old consumer magazine that specializes in automotive,
travel and safety content for women consumers, has shortened its name to expand
its reach to a growing and more universally diverse audience of women consumers. According
to publisher, Courtney Caldwell, "Since converting to an online magazine
[from print] in 2000 we've seen increased interest and subscriptions from consumers
around the world. Our goal was to shorten the name to not only reflect our URL,
which is more descriptive www.roadandtravel.com,
but also to expand our reach into the global market." The
change was also in response to national women's groups who, for years, have opposed
the use of the word 'woman' in the title. Since RTM targets upscale professional
women, groups have voiced their concerns that this audience of readers does not
need the word woman in the title of a magazine to understand that the content
targets them. As one group chimed, "It's as if to say women are too dumb
to understand a magazine is aimed at them unless the word woman is in the title.
It's really about how a publication is marketed."
Many have pointed out that titles such as Vogue, Self and Redbook don't have the
word woman in their titles yet women clearly understand that these magazines are
aimed at them. Conversely, several noted that Motor Trend, Automobile, and Car
and Driver don't have the word 'men' in their titles yet men clearly understand
these publications target them. "Although unintentional, we were essentially
being sexist towards the very group we were targeting," concedes Caldwell.
With
its 16-year history, a strong identity, and marketing efforts still heavily aimed
at women, ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine hasn't missed a beat. Content, demographics,
and mission all remain the same. "In fact," adds Caldwell, "in
the first month of the name variation, RTM traffic jumped by more than 33,000
impressions and received a significant increase in subscriptions from around the
world." The
shorter version of the name became official on July 1, 2004 with the appearance
of the logo reflecting the URL version, however, the logo remains in the same
font and overall style as the former logo. "We wanted the evolution to be
subtle, and not draw attention away from our mission or content," states
Caldwell. It seems to be working since neither consumer or industry have barely
noticed. "If anything," adds Caldwell, "not only have we seen an
increase in traffic and subscriptions but we've also experienced a newfound interest
from advertisers." "We
relied on the strength of our brand, the magazine's content and mission, and our
continued marketing efforts through Google, Overture and media partners to not
only maintain RTM's current audience but also to expand its reach into other parts
of the world," Caldwell says. The strategy is working. The
mission of ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine? To provide content and resources from which
women can make informed and intelligent decisions regarding automotive purchases,
travel plans, and their personal safety on the road. "Since
safety is the number one concern women have when either buying a new car or going
on a trip we've found that additional added value to global reach is that women
around the world now have access to information that will arm them with knowledge
to help keep them safe on the road, no matter where they live," adds Caldwell.
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