What does North American Media Group do? A little bit of everything.
The Minnetonka, MN-based company targets niche audiences through clubs, continuity marketing, branded merchandise, magazines and television programming. NAMG (www.namginc.com) operates 11 clubs with a total of 4.7 million members. They are the North American Hunting Club; North American Fishing Club; Handyman Club of America; National Home Gardening Club; PGA Tour Partners Club; Cooking Club of America; National Health and Wellness Club; Creative Home Arts Club; The History Channel Club; The National Street Machine Club; and the Motorcycle Riders Club of America.
Direct talked with NAMG’s new board chairman Jan Brandt about the company’s multifaceted marketing strategy, which brought her out of semiretirement. Brandt is considered by many to be a pioneer in the interactive marketing world. For 10 years she was America Online’s chief marketing officer, overseeing the company at a time when AOL’s membership grew from 250,000 to more than 30 million.
DIRECT: Is targeting niche markets one of the biggest opportunities online?
BRANDT: Absolutely. Niche markets have always been a fabulous opportunity for direct marketers. And while we do have plans to explode our presence on the Internet, I think the secret sauce is not so much the medium but the audiences. We have customers who are passionate about their hobbies and interests. When you find people like that, there are so many ways you can reach out and touch them from a marketing and communications perspective. We’re planning to enlarge on the integration [between channels].
DIRECT: Just to play devil’s advocate, if you look at the niches the clubs serve, there are tons of magazines and marketers targeting interests like gardening, cooking and motorcycles. What differentiates NAMG’s clubs? Why should people plunk down their hard-earned dollars to join?
BRANDT: It really is about putting it all together and not looking at the customers as a marketing segment. You need to [understand] them and integrate what you’re doing with what they want to do. We’re taking a more holistic view of the customer. These people paid to become a member of a club, they’re not just subscribing to a magazine. We have live events where people get together. We reach them through publications and online and live events where people get together. When you’re an enthusiast you want everything. For example, when I was avidly playing tennis I was watching a lot of tennis on TV, I was reading magazines, I was buying the equipment, I was hanging out with other people who played tennis. At some point, all of us have different things we’re passionate about and enjoy being in the company of other people who have that interest. It’s fun, whether you’re taking about something recreational or something practical, like fixing up a home.
DIRECT: Are you using social media?
BRANDT: We’re starting to, since there are a lot of opportunities. In some cases, we’ll go in a different direction because our members are already getting together through events that we hold. We’ll bring [some of that] online and optimize it in the future.
DIRECT: How are you prospecting for members?
BRANDT: I passionately believe in multichannel marketing. You’ll find that if you’re passionate about one of our niche areas, you’ll be able to find information in a lot of different channels, including direct mail and other media
DIRECT: Which areas or niches offer the best growth potential for your clubs?
BRANDT: We’re not ready yet, but I hope in the near future we’ll be announcing some new clubs. I think all our clubs could benefit from more attention online. We want to build out and refine the Web sites and certainly use the Internet more fruitfully for acquisition. The clubs have different histories. One is more than 20 years old. Others are relatively new. In terms of growth of any individual title, it depends on where they are in their life cycle. Remember, these are niche products; some clubs are right sized. I don’t always believe that bigger is better.
For more articles on integration, go to http://directmag.com/disciplines/integration/.
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