Discover partners with magazine to target parents
Kids are expensive. In forming a new partnership with Parents magazine, Discover may be keeping that fact in mind, banking on the fact that cash-strapped parents could use a little help. And that those cash-strapped parents will be among the 2.2 million reading Meredith Corporation’s parenting magazine where Discover’s brand will thoroughly appear.
According to a recent New York Times article, the ailing credit card company is trying to boost its positioning in the credit industry through strategic partnerships with a few select media partners.
“There’s always a temptation to really go wide and put your name everywhere,” said Mark Hosbein, a senior vice president of brand management and advertising at Discover. “One of the things you have to do is pick a couple and make something really solid work.”
According to the article, Discover has seen its stock value drop by half since it spun off from Morgan Stanley last summer. So the company is hoping to turn its fortunes around by providing “high quality information” in the Parents magazine and web site. One of the online activities mentioned, a printable thank you note that is toddler-friendly, sounds quite enticing. And if you get even 50 moms to use and print these notes, which are branded with the Discover logo, you’ve got an ad campaign that is virtually effortless and highly effective at increasing brand awareness. It’s sheer marketing genius.
