Over-50s specialist Saga is bigging up the launch of its lifestyle site, Exceptional.com, claiming it has attracted more than a million visitors each month over the past three months, with significant engagement across email and social media communications.
The site, opened by Saga Media in February, features content with a focus on home, fitness and real-life stories, and includes how-to guides, lifestyle inspiration, and leading celebrity interviews.
Saga Media has also relaunched and rebranded the Saga Magazine email newsletter, which now shares content from Exceptional.com. It is sent three times per week, and will increase to five from September.
The business claims the programme has seen increased subscriber numbers crossing 550,000, open rates improving to above 40%, even as frequency of sends has increased, resulting in more than 230,000 newsletter opens per send, with click-through rates of over 30%.
Leading brands and charities, including Boots and Born Free, have already signed up to advertise on Exceptional.com and its newsletters.
Saga Media chief executive Aaron Asadi said: “We’re thrilled, but not at all surprised, at the extraordinary success of Exceptional.com. The over-50s audience had been crying out for a digital media platform that accurately represents their needs and ambitions. Too often we see this audience generalised and poorly understood, and it was time for someone to step up and address it.
“The fact that we take time to understand our audience is the reason we’ve seen engagement, which is significant by any measure. We have built a platform that consistently delivers and provides a fresh and exciting opportunity for brands to reach this audience in a meaningful way.
“Our mission now is to continue to evolve and innovate. With a highly experienced team we’ve the capacity and know-how to develop new platforms and media products which meet our audience’s changing needs and media consumption habits.”
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