Sierra magazine is first at reaching the most influential readers

For Immediate Release,
April 3, 2008
For editorial information contact:
Bob Sipchen at (415) 977-5542 or
Email: bob.sipchen@sierraclub.org
For advertising information contact:
Kristi Rummel at (608) 435-6220 or
Email: kristi.rummel@sierraclub.org

SIERRA IS FIRST AT REACHING THE MOST INFLUENTIAL READERS
San Francisco, CA. Sierra magazine readers are identified by Mediamark Research, Inc. as the most influential audience among the more than 200 titles in their 2007 Fall syndicated study. Sierra is the national magazine of Sierra Club, known as the oldest, largest and most influential environmental organization in America. The MRI survey demonstrates that the audience Sierra reaches represents the most influential of all the publications in the study including magazines and newspapers.
Kristi Rummel, National Advertising Director, says this comes as no surprise. “For years we have known that Sierra leads other consumer magazines in the quality of our audience and in their ability to influence the lifestyle choices of others. Mainstream America has embraced the environmental values long held by Sierra Club members who are the 1.2+ million Sierra readers. And their influence will continue to be felt going forward in the lifestyle choices made by many more millions of Americans.”

The 2007 MRI Fall study ranks publications with an “Influential” reader profile as follows:
1. Sierra
2. The Economist
3. Atlantic Monthly
4. Wall Street Journal
5. NWA World Traveler
6. Texas Monthly
7. Audubon
8. Hemispheres-United
9. The New Yorker
10. Scientific American

According to Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), these influential Americans are politically and socially active, well-informed and trusted for their opinions on a variety of products and services.
Representing only one in ten consumers – approximately 21 million Americans – Influentials turn to magazines for the information they need to make their own personal buying decisions, and to make recommendations. In large numbers, they turn to Sierra.

Sierra readers are not only extremely influential, they represent an affluent consumer group with a median household income of $66,506, 24% higher than the U.S. national average, according to the 2007 MRI doublebase study. The combination of affluence and influence is a powerful one. At a recent Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) Rendezvous, Fall 2007, the keynote speaker Marshall Cohen, chief industry analyst, NPD, said, “Today’s consumer is a moving target . . . The number one way of selling brands is word of mouth . . . “Influencing the Influencer.” “Get involved with local hiking clubs, social gatherings and activities.” Sierra, the magazine of the Sierra Club, delivers an audience profile that reaches this target.

ABOUT SIERRA:
Go to sierraclub.org/sierra to view the March/April 2008 issue online. A bimonthly, our on-line media kit is available at sierraclub.org/sierra/mediakit. Sierra is published by the Sierra Club, the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in America, with 713,000 members nationwide. In 1893 the organization issued the first Sierra Club Bulletin, which became Sierra in 1977. The bulk of Sierra’s paid circulation comes from readers who spend an average of $36 for membership in the Sierra Club. A recent study found that Sierra readers consider the magazine to be the number-one benefit of club membership. With multiple readers per copy, Sierra reaches a total audience of more than 1.2 million readers.

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