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Reader's Digest grapples with modernizing its brand without alienating loyal readers
HIGH UP ON THE 64TH FLOOR OF ROCKEFELLER CENTER IN THE CLASSIC RAINBOW ROOM, Readers Digest last week celebrated its July "Our America" feature story with a party featuring Bellinis and a host of the contributors to the issue, including Olympic skater Sarah Hughes, Rudy Giuliani and Tom Brokaw. Never known for hosting swanky affairs, the event was a real departure for the 80-year-old flagship of the Reader's Digest Association. Buzz has not been part of the monthly's vocabulary, unless it was in a story about bees.
Though Reader's Digest has a loyal following and remains one of the largest U.S. publications in circulation, the magazine in recent years has been losing readers due in large part to its fading sweepstakes business. With the July issue, RD has reduced its circulation rate base by 4 percent to 12 million, and circ may be reduced further in 2003. At the same...