WASHINGTON, DC: The American Association of Retired Persons has turned to PR to reposition its image in the new millennium.
WASHINGTON, DC: The American Association of Retired Persons has
turned to PR to reposition its image in the new millennium.
The Washington, DC-based organization, which boasts 33 million members,
has sent an RFP to more than a dozen national PR and advertising
agencies.
While the specifics of the account were not announced, the business is
reportedly in the multi-year, multi-million-dollar range.
Firms selected for the RFP have experience dealing with issues ’closely
aligned to the AARP,’ said associate director of communications Lisa
Davis.
The AARP will whittle the list to three finalists, who will be called in
to make presentations. While Davis declined to disclose the
participating firms, the list is said to include several public affairs
powerhouses, including Shandwick and Fleishman-Hillard.
The successful candidate will be charged with providing counsel that
should allow the AARP to be a ’trendsetter for those 50 and above,’
Davis said. The firm will work in conjunction with the group’s in-house
PR team, numbering 80 in DC and 23 elsewhere.
Davis stressed that the goal is to develop an ’overarching communication
strategy’ that will allow the AARP to address the changing needs of its
members. This likely means that it is planning to be more proactive with
its communications efforts and present information in different
ways.
’The mindset on aging is changing, and AARP must change to reflect
that,’ Davis said. By way of example, she pointed to a recent issue of
the AARP magazine featuring a 50-and-over sex survey.
The new campaign will launch early next year.
