     for service To s u p p o r t A A R P ’s g row t h a g e n d a a n d t o e x p a n d o u r c u s - tomer base, we began using direct-sales television advertising in 2004. In its first few months on air, the campaign brought in more than 10,000 new policies. We are also expanding our capability to attract Spanish- speaking customers through focused marketing and product information as well as by supplementing our customer contact centers with additional bilingual staff. Our partnership with AARP involves an educational out- reach program on issues of interest to mature Americans. Our educational booklet,  We Need to Talk: Conversations with Older Drivers , produced more than 55 million media impressions across the country. (See story on page 21.) Our effectiveness in customer service is seen throughout  The Hartford, and is powerfully demonstrated in our personal insurance lines. Our AARP Sales and Service Contact Centers were certified as “Centers of Excellence” in 2004 by the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University, making us the only property and casualty insurer to ever achieve this status.  Our relentless focus on strong products, distribution, cus- tomer service, employee satisfaction, and operational efficiency works. Total written premium, through both independent agents and AARP, grew by 9 percent over 2003 to $3.6 billion. Everything we do at The Hartford is focused on providing quality products and services to all our customers, including business customers and the agents who serve them. The Hartford earns its reputation as the premier small busi- ness insurance provider by delivering excellent service and value every day to more than 650,000 small business customers. In our  small business insurance segment–insurance for businesses with up to $15 million in annual revenue and fewer than 100 employees – we had another year of double-digit growth, with a 21 percent increase in written premium in 2004. “ Spectrum Xpand ,” a new product focused specifically on businesses with $5 million to $15 million in revenues, increased our market reach and contributed to our overall sales growth. 22 The Hartford’s AARP Auto  and Home Insurance Program’s  Sales and Service Contact  Centers joined the top five  percent of all contact centers  in the United States when The Center for Customer-Driven  Quality of Purdue University  certified it as a Center of Excellence in 2004. With this designa- tion, The Hartford joined a prestigious group of companies, including eBay, Microsoft, Merrill Lynch, IBM, Bank of America and UPS. Our AARP educational booklet  received more than  55 million media impressions