<< thepresident << memo boardofdirectors ideas January+February 2009 page 3 international newsmedia marketing association President. Ed Efchak Belden Associates, Hackensack, USA VICE President. MICHAEL PHELPS Baltimore-Washington Examiner Group, USA Past President. Ross McPherson McPherson Media Group, Shepparton, Australia Treasurer. Scott Stines mass2one, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA ASIA Division President. RAVI DHARIWAL Bennett, Coleman & Company, New Delhi, India Europe Division President. olivier bonsart Ouest France, Rennes, France Latin America Division President. JOSE LUIS PARRA A year in review, a look ahead El Mercurio, Chile North America Division President. JAMES GOLD by ed efchak 2008 has come to a close. It’s safe to say that it has been an New York Times Regional Media Group, USA INMA President interesting year. What with high travel costs, decreased travel Directors. DISSICA CALDERARO budgets, whining management, and the most challenging A Crítica, Manaus, Brazil business year that many can recall. Mark Challinor g8wave Europe Ltd., London, United Kingdom Yet INMA continues to build on past success always with an ROGER DUNBAR eye on the future. World Congress in Beverly Hills was one of the The Globe and Mail, Canada SANDRA GOMEZ most successful conventions we have ever recorded. Our Latin El Diario de Hoy, El Salvador American and South Asian conferences exceeded expectations. HAROLD GROENKE Verlag Dierichs, Kassel, Germany Our European conference and numerous Shaun O’L. Higgins The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, USA targeted programmes were well attended. jerry HiLL The North American strategy/innovation St. Petersburg Times, USA alberto jaramillo cepeda summit was successful in what has been a El Universal, Mexico terrifying business year. Yasmin Namini The New York Times, USA Why? I believe that the strength Dennis Skulsky of INMA is in its worldwide brand, CanWest, Toronto, Canada kjersti Løken stavrum its nearly eight-decade reputation, its Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway member network, and its industry- ROBERT WHITEHEAD Ed Efchak is president Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia of the International leading ability to act as a conduit for LUKAS WIDJAJA Kompas Daily, Indonesia Newsmedia Marketing those future-directed and at the cutting Association (INMA) and edge. It has also re-positioned itself with managing director and senior consultant with the well received move to “International Belden Associates. He Newsmedia Marketing Association.” << is based in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA. He may A special thanks to our members and aboutinma be reached at eefchak@ sponsors for your continued support. INMA (International Newsmedia Marketing Association) is the beldenassociates.com. world’s largest and premier newsmedia marketing organisation. This My personal thanks to our regional and practical network of progressive marketing professionals now totals international boards and to the INMA more than 1,200 members in 82 countries worldwide. Members exchange ideas through a bi-monthly magazine, multiple web sites, staff in making for smooth sailing on e-mail executive summaries, discussion forums, message boards, sometimes choppy seas. conferences, workshops, travel study tours, awards competitions, benchmark surveys, and online directories and databases. 2009’s outlook is no less challenging. INMA’s goal is to continue to invite the best and brightest to join us and learn what the world has to offer. It’s easy to say << contactinma that being part of INMA “is the best value www.inma.org in the newsmedia industry” — but the value proposition goes much further. Headquarters 10300 North Central Expressway, Suite 467 INMA membership is a unique Dallas, Texas 75231, USA passport to finding business solutions Tel.: +1 214 373-9111 Fax: +1 214 373-9112 Europe Office through its network, its outreach, and its Minderbroedersrui 9, Bus 9, Antwerp B-2000, Belgium programming through conferences and Tel.: +32 47 760 53 67 Fax: +32 3 288 69 47 seminars. Now more than ever. South Asia Office B-5 Kailash Colony, (First Floor), New Delhi 110048, India Call it “managing change,” Tel.: +91 987 199-6878 “re-invention,” “future organisation,” “finding new business models,” or

ideas: the magazine of newsmedia marketing (ISSN 0896-1441) is published 6 times annually, something else, the over-the-horizon bi-monthly, by the International Newsmedia Marketing Association Inc., 10300 North Central industry radar is called INMA. Join. Expressway, Suite 467, Dallas, Texas 75231, USA. Annual subscription rate is US$65, which is included Renew. Engage. in membership dues. Periodical postage paid at Dallas, Texas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to ideas, 10300 North Central Expressway, Suite 467, Dallas, Texas 75231. Each edition is archived in the members section of INMA.org and can be Do it now for the world keeps on accessed by topics or by keyword search. Only INMA members may access the ideas magazine archive. moving. My best to you for in 2009. F contents >> january+february 2009 c o v e r s t o r y 2 possible strategies for newspapers faced with disruptions and eroding processes, {theeditor} {8} newspapers should move beyond classical strategies and

<< embrace two possible models: “Four A new year brings campaigns Lives” and MMM. by Horst Pirker new solutions to old problems The economic downturn and the continued shift in media consumption habits usher newspapers into a 2009 fraught with uncertainty. The industry faces monumental Austin American-Statesman 47 PROFILES systemic and cyclical The Boston Globe 44 challenges, but that hasn’t The Cairns Post 51 12 redesign an opportunity stopped the smartest people at Cape Argus 47 by Maria Ravera The Charlotte Observer 50 companies around the world 15 what it takes to be The Chronicle 51 from developing new and COLUMNS web favourite The Columbian 50 innovative strategies to meet by Stacy Lynch The Columbus Dispatch 43 new revenue is all about what lies ahead. Dainik Bhaskar 43 {14 meeting new needs 17 from expense to profit The first step to conquering by Bob Davis De Standaard 46 by Stephen T. Gray a problem is recognising Die Burger 48 19 In defense of the what it is. In an insightful Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 44 newspapers need to think MONday edition {16 cover story by Horst Pirker, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 43 like start-ups by Alan Jacobson The Gazette 41 chairman of Styria Medien by Jean-Christophe Francet 21 Answering the needs Guelph Mercury 42 in Austria, lays out some of Of the population Helsingborgs Dagblad 44 newspaper managers the hardships confronting {18 by Luc Rademakers Het Nieuwsblad 49 need more bandwidth newspapers today. But he Irish Examiner 42 22 does brand equity by Kylie Davis goes farther and shares his Knoxville News-Sentinel 42 Matter to advertisers? Malayala Manorama 49 {20 grant us wisdom, courage, by Mart Ots thoughts on how publishers Mittelbayerische Zeitung 41 and serenity 25 sunday edition opens can steer their companies Orlando Sentinel 45 by Simon Waldman New opportunities and their strategies toward a The Palm Beach Post 50 by Jürg Weber brighter future. Quick 49 all the news that fits {24 26 Mixed paid and free models This edition takes a The Record 48 (into nice, neat rectangles) clear-headed look at where Richmond Times-Dispatch 45 by Peter Ong by Piet Bakker The Roanoke Times 48 28 maximise revenue, not rate the industry finds itself The Sacramento Bee 45 {30 integrity trumps by Shawn Riegsecker today. But it also details the The Seattle Times 46 incidence, especially sales 29 connecting newspaper fun, insightful, and clever The Tampa Tribune 41 by Mike Blinder to community initiatives of newspapers Toronto Star 51 by Stacy Jennings the world over. This might the false promises of The Washington Times 46 be a difficult time, but it The West Australian 47 {32 promotion-driven sales 31 redesign for by Joe Talcott destination audience isn’t stopping ambitious by Karen Ryder companies from finding new 34 customer relations 33 tapping tourist market opportunities and exploiting { strategies built on respect by Mary Salmon them in innovative, eye- by Jan Wifstrand 35 surveys pave way for launch opening ways. by Lakshmi Agrawal 2009 is still fresh. There’s the news site as the {36 local catalogue service 37 mascot provides centre a lot of work to do. But if the by Dorothy Rosado cover image: Angel Herrero de Frutos / Emde by Niklas Jonason companies in this edition and 38 tracking news and social in INMA are any indication, networks there’s hope yet left for the }ideas by Ken Sands dead tree business. 39 Revamped newspaper Publisher. Earl J. Wilkinson Editor. james khattak Art Director. Danna Emde James Khattak Offers opportunity Editor, ideas Contributing writers. by Patricia Wu [email protected] lakshmi agrawal, piet bakker, mike blinder, bob davis, kylie davis, jean-christophe francet, Stephen t. gray, alan jacobson, stacy jennings, niklas jonason, stacy lynch, mart ots, horst pirker, 40 reorganising for modern age luc rademakers, maria ravera, shawn riegsecker, karen ryder, dorothy rosado, mary salmon, ken sands, joe talcott, simon waldman, julia wallace, jürg weber, jan wifstrand, patricia wu by Julia Wallace Enter the 74th Annual INMA Awards 2009, and unlock the door to a new world of creativity, ideas, and innovation. The INMA Awards competition rewards global best practices in the marketing of newspapers: growing brand, growing audience, and growing revenue across platforms.

Transform your newspaper’s fortunes by stepping through the door of breakthrough concepts, extraordinary creative, and results-oriented marketing. Reward your newspaper’s top marketing campaigns from the past year by competing for the most coveted marketing award in the Call for newspaper industry worldwide. INMA Awards 2009 will honour global best practices in 10 categories that Entries cut across: >> Platforms: Print, online, mobile, and more. 2009 >> Media: All categories are multi-media in nature: in-newspaper, printed materials, television, radio, outdoor, mobile, online, direct marketing, and more.

>> Objectives: Circulation and readership, usage and engagement, advertising sales, public relations, new product development, and more. Contest deadlines: >> Global Boundaries: You will be compared with peers worldwide. Friday, 16 January 2009 >> Circulation Groups: Your entries will be judged against entries Europe, Latin America, from similarly sized newspapers. and Asia Divisions

Friday, 30 January 2009 South Pacific, North America, and Africa Divisions

Awards will be presented in conjunction with the INMA World Congress scheduled for 13-15 May 2009, in Miami, USA. Visit our web page at www.inma.org and enter today! eyes&ears >> page 6 January+February 2009 ideas

Throughout the INMA network, disproportionate reliance on classifieds executives charged with maneuvering are in full-fledged panic. through today’s global economic storm Why “helpful”? are drawing starkly different conclusions Because this is a storm that we’ve seen that are affecting their strategies in the coming for at least 10 years. We didn’t years ahead: prepare. We didn’t stock up on foodstuffs. } >> In North America, the downturn We didn’t board up the windows. Worse has become a tipping point to a digital yet, we didn’t have insurance! migration of advertising that won’t We needed a push to transform. return. So, we’re trying to squeeze 10 years of >> In Europe, the downturn change into a few panicked quarters. And represents the collapse of the firewall we’re finding that no industry has enough between comfortable ways of doing transformational “bandwidth” to turn business and the digital barrage that their ship of state that quickly. It’s just Thanks to always seemed like a problem for others. too complex of a beast. >> Latin American newspaper Unfortunately, we need to hit bottom executives, influenced by activities in the before we find our footing. That should United States and Spain, have grown happen in the next year. a nudge, worried about long-term implications Yet very quietly, beneath the noisy and are trying to figure out whether the headlines of layoffs and delayed projects, “firewall” still exists for them. something interesting is happening. As >> In the South Pacific, the downturn painful as it is, newspapers are lowering newspapers is ushering out certain advertising their cost structures and transforming categories but not others. themselves into technology companies >> In much of Asia, the downturn is with print offshoots. We are shedding are a temporary inconvenience after which ego journalism and replacing it with USP “business as usual” will return. journalism. We are becoming ferocious That’s a lot to process. Yet truth is believers in relevance for advertisers, in emerging across a global landscape. print and across the digital spectrum. changing We are not witnessing the death We are growing accustomed to of newspapers. We are witnessing operating like real businesses — without The “helpful” economic downturn may the helpful nudge of classified rivers of gold being our bridge financing. advertising categories to the internet Yes, in our outsourcing, insourcing, have us all in a panic, but we are quietly and an acceleration of mindsets in the and offshoring, we are making mistakes. repositioning the newsmedia industry advertising community toward more On occasion, we’re cutting too deeply into direct forms of marketing. National the bone for readers. But we learn, adapt, for recovery. newspaper industries that have a and move on. As API’s Newspaper Next project taught us, if you’re going to fail … by earl j. wilkinson fail fast. In other words, our emerging “newsmedia” companies are well positioned for economic recovery. What we have to resist is our urge to add back unproductive journalism and printing processes best outsourced. When the urge to add returns in 2010-2011, what are our priorities? I hope they are CRM systems, platform specialists, marketers, salespeople, and researchers. In a decade, we will have long forgotten today’s freefall. Yet we won’t forget the decisions we made during the freefall. The decision to transform. The decision to set priorities for the recovery once we tear down the old model. Are you preparing for recovery? F

THE AUTHOR: Earl J. Wilkinson is executive director of INMA, a frequent speaker at industry conferences and newspaper companies, and the author of many reports and books. He can be reached at [email protected]. << eyes&ears ideas January+February 2009 page 7

Audiences are flocking, but {What value do you believe your readers place advertisers are on your newspaper’s advertising?} staying away News media with a business focus is in high demand. The economic crisis and the attention it is generating are creating a huge audience for business news. Yet claus nyvold. pieter bruwer. laurie finley. amer yaqub. despite this growing advertising general manager. vice president director of audience, business and director. ekstra die bURger. of sales and international financial news outlets bladet. Cape Town. marketing. advertising. aren’t seeing parallel Copenhagen. “Our “Newspapers give winnipeg free washington post. growth in advertising readers appreciate advertisements a press. Washington. “In revenues. Business advertising in form of legitimacy, Winnipeg. “The most study after study, media advertisers are our newspaper. it validates the recent results from readers continue to seeing red. With many Ads are seen as a advertisers brand. our readership studies rate advertising as one banks and other financial naturally part of the Our readers value our found that 54 percent of the most important institutions on the skids, newspaper. Without editorial content and of respondents read reasons they buy they’re pulling back ads the paper therefore advertisers the newspaper newspapers. A vivid on advertising. Luxury wouldn’t be the paper find that there is an as much for the example of this was goods manufacturers, they know and have inherent value placed advertising content as when a colleague whose clientele frequent grown to prefer and on their ads by the editorial content shared a story about business media, are love. The ads give readers.” 70 percent indicated a woman racing to facing an uncertain valuable information they purposely look buy a newspaper at holiday season and a and also serves as for advertisements for the airport and grew slowdown in sales. small pauses and sales and information frustrated when she breaks in the flow on specific products. didn’t have the correct Broadcast nightly of information the Anecdotic ally we change. Curious to see news slips despite papers otherwise certainly hear what story she was so U.S. presidential delivers. And finally from readers when desperate to read, the election the readers know there is an error in Post employee was The U.S. presidential that ads contribute to an advertisement (happily) surprised to campaign produced the economy of the or they have an see that the customer tremendous interest newspaper.” issue with the offer was getting it for the in political news. The strongly indicating coupon for a car wash cable news networks that the ad content is that runs every week saw audiences swell. Yet seen and read.” in our Metro section!” the broadcast networks nightly news programmes, despite audiences’ enthusiasm, registered Economic concerns pushing advertisers declines in viewership. This shortcoming points increasingly away from online banner ads to how competitive the media environment Banner advertisements have been a staple of online advertising for years, and has become. They are while search and other web advertising formats have eaten into their share of hobbled by the 24/7 the market, banners have held on. That might not be the case for much longer. news cycle, as outlets With the economic downturn coming on strong, advertisers are taking a such as cable news and closer look at their marketing budgets. Web publishers and advertising agencies the internet can deliver need to make a strong case for an advertisement’s returns. Banners — brand information throughout advertising, mostly — have always been a bit nebulous when it comes to ROI, the day. Also, the early especially compared to more performance-based advertisements. And that time in the evening means they’re often the first to go when cuts are made. at which they air is a With so many businesses getting into digital advertising over the last few problem, as with many years, the shortcomings of banner ads have been mostly ignored. However, modern lifestyles, it is now, with so much scrutiny on spending, these shortcomings are coming just not a time people can back to haunt them. Furthermore, advertisers are increasingly clued-in on sit down in front of the the measurability and optimisation of other online advertising models, which television. deliver return-on-investment banners can’t match. cover >> page 8 January+February 2009 ideas

Faced with disruptions and eroding processes, newspapers should move beyond classical strategies to embrace two possible models: “Four Lives” and MMM. by horst pirker 2 possible strategies for newspapers

hen people talk about newspapers, most Astonishingly, these four characteristics are less have a certain picture in their minds. If interesting than the two missing by which most of us Wyou then ask them how they visualise would automatically apply to newspapers: “payment” a newspaper they usually mention different and the fact that a newspaper is always printed on characteristics: a printed product, a periodical paper. publication, one that contains current information, The absence of these two characteristics has far- something to be paid for. reaching implications if one is dealing with the future Over the decades, scientists have dealt with the of the newspaper. term “newspaper” and have devoted themselves to the question of how to define it. A well-known The Erosion Processes of Reach and definition comes from Otto Groth who said the Circulation. When examining newspaper term “newspaper” possesses four characteristics: circulation and reach in different countries over time, “relevance,” “periodicity,” “publicity,” and “universality.” it becomes clear that the numbers are eroding, with { certain exceptions. Paid circulation and reach have shown clear erosion at least since the early 1990s. These processes can be observed worldwide — not only in the field of daily newspapers but increasingly << cover ideas January+February 2009 page 9

{theauthor} among weeklies and other genres. agencies, international concentration processes can This is critical as one of the two main revenue be seen. The same holds true for advertising. For Horst Pirker is streams decreases dramatically — namely, revenues example, decisions regarding advertising budgets chairman of the board achieved through circulation sales. Even more, the are no longer made in Graz or in Vienna. Once- of Styria Medien AG second main revenue stream, advertising revenues, is local firms have become outposts for companies in Graz, Austria, a also affected by eroding circulation and reach. headquartered in London, Hamburg, Paris, or New position he has held And the story doesn’t end here. Since less revenue York. Through these changes, qualitative and relevant since 1999. He has is achieved, newspaper managements are forced to aspects of regional newspapers are lost as decisions extensive experience cut costs. This often results in a reduction in the are mainly based on impersonal economic figures. not only with quality of the newspaper. The problem is not solved, The adoption of new business models will have newspaper publishers but rather perpetuated or worsened. profound effects on how newspapers are financed. but also organisations This can be argued by applying Advertising- Some newspapers will no longer be financed by serving the industry. Circulation-Spiral: due to the decrease in the both advertising and circulation sales, but rather Currently, he serves newspaper’s quality after cost reductions, fewer exclusively by advertising. Another strategy gaining as president of Ifra people will be encouraged to read it. This again traction is the hybrid newspaper, which pursues both and the Austrian lowers circulation and reach. In short, a negative free and paid-for distribution. The term “hybrid” newspaper association spiral begins that is very destructive for newspapers. reflects that one newspaper follows at least two VÖZ. He can be Even if newspapers appear to be in the middle different business models for different target groups. reached at of a hurricane, this is generally only an impression. Also having an impact on the industry are social horst.pirker@ The sails have to be set correctly against a rough and developments. Those concerning the media industry styria.com. stormy wind, yet there are also new and interesting are mainly changes to the direct contact between shores in sight to steer towards. Yet before entering consumers and publications, and the shift in control a new course, it is important to take a good look within the business. An example of this would be at current developments to derive target-oriented the loss of the gatekeeper role of journalists and the strategies. multi-tasking of an “always-on” society. Convergence trends are also disruptive. A typical New Developments and Changing example is technical convergence — the combination Processes. Today, newspapers face a number of of functions. Blackberry has a market share of 17.4 new developments, some of which are of a disruptive percent worldwide and serves simultaneously as character. These developments and changing a telephone, as a device for e-mailing, as well as a processes in media are impacting the business. calendar, alarm clock, calculator, and other functions. Fundamental technological change is a Meanwhile, looking at the information business today process that will probably never come to an there are not only the former television institutions end. “Digitalisation” made possible many of the and general media companies, but also completely developments we seen in media today, such as the new competitors such as telecommunication so-called “disintegration.” By this, I mean content companies, banks, and insurance firms which act as that has been inseparably connected with a particular information suppliers. The merging of public and medium or platform for decades and now with today’s private cultures, of people and computers, and of technology can now be detached and mobilised. producers and consumers, as each recipient can be a The internet is only one facet of digitalisation media creator as well as a consumer — these are only and disintegration, even though it is an important a few of the characteristics of convergence. one. Other facets include digital paper and ink, and All aforementioned new developments show even artificial intelligence. For example, consider the — combined with visible erosion processes — the quality of intelligent processing that search engines necessity for newspaper businesses to set the course achieve today. It is not unrealistic to predict a direct straight. Fortunately, there is no shortage of possible connection between this form of artificial intelligence strategies. and human intelligence — users — in the relatively >> > near future. Looking at business developments, we can roughly differentiate between concentration of existing industry players and new business models. Newspapers are only at the beginning of future concentration trends. The A.T. Kearney Concentration Curve maps how industries concentrate — moving from a scattered landscape populated with players of varying size through different stages to an end point in which there remain only a few large companies controlling most of the market. Today, newspaper publishers are at the bottom of the curve and its course points upwards in the next 25 years. Looking at both customers and cover >> page 10 January+February 2009 ideas

{ erosion process by circulation and reach the end comes. This strategy can be seen today in the newspaper and media industry. Given current developments and the erosion we see, there are better, more sustainable and more target-oriented strategies for newspaper companies than the aforementioned classical strategies. One opportunity for newspaper companies is adapting the newspaper’s business and/or revenue models to meet changes in the market. In contrast to Porter’s harvesting strategy this promises sustainable success. The Four Lives of the Newspaper. In a model called the “Four Lives of a Newspaper,” newspapers have four chances to reinvent their business models for the challenges of the market. >> Classical: Most of our industry is living through the first life of a newspaper: a classical revenue model involving a paid newspaper, a mass >> > market, and advertisers attracted to that mass Classical Strategies. The newspaper market. business is influenced by many changing processes >> Hybrid: For newspapers confronted by eroding and new developments. In this stormy time, it is market fundamentals, a potentially sustainable necessary to head towards new shores and follow option is to adopt the partly free “hybrid” model. This target-oriented strategies. will result in drastically reducing revenues. Yet if Newspaper and media structures show an circulation and reach can be significantly increased, increasing complexity influenced by the different pushing up advertising revenue, then such a strategy interests of multiple stakeholders. Classically, a is a promising one for the future. The hybrid model is strategy for responding to this sort of pressure the second life of the newspaper. has been cooperation. An example of this is the >> Free: If newspapers are also confronted in cooperation between numerous newspaper and their second life with erosion of circulation and reach, media businesses in different countries to publish a then they will have another opportunity to adapt. The common magazine, Arena ’08, for the EURO 2008 newspaper can move to exclusively free distribution. championship. The main aim of these diverse players Remember, payment is not a characteristic of a was to produce quality reporting that would not have newspaper, according to Groth’s definition. This been imaginable had they worked alone. represents the transition from the second to the third These stand-alone, single-event collaborations life of a newspaper. are one approach. Another is for media companies >> Digital: The strategy goes even further. At the to move beyond isolated instances of partnership to end of each of these three lives one can directly go long-term alliances. Companies following this strategy to a possible fourth life of a newspaper: the digital can be seen around the world. life, which is not the end of a long journey but the A third “classical” strategy is Michael Porter’s beginning of a new one. “harvesting market position.” A professor at Harvard Unlike Porter’s harvesting strategy, which more or Business School, Porter’s theory states that in mature less damages an established brand, the “Four Lives industries undermined by technology and other of a Newspaper” strategy leads to another approach. developments, managers boost prices and cut quality Newspapers that see the end of a business model’s to produce final, large pay-offs to shareholders before lifecycle are best served by adopting a new one that may be better suited to the realities of its market.

The MMM Strategy. In the centre of the “Four Lives of a Newspaper,” one can see the MMM strategy. Looking at the abbreviation of the World Wide Web, WWW, and holding a mirror to the bottom of the letters, the reflection reads “MMM.” The analogy is appropriate as the MMM strategy for newspapers is a reflection of and a response to the challenges of the digital age: >> Multi-Media: The first “M” of the MMM strategy stands for “multi-media.” Different media types are now no longer viewed on an isolated basis but on an integrated one. It is now possible to offer multi-media content to customers. << cover ideas January+February 2009 page 11

>> Multi-Channel: The second “M” stands for { separation model versus integration model “multi-channel.” Multi-channel means the use of all available distribution forms, both physically and digitally. >> Multi-Platform: The third “M” stands for “multi-platform.” This means the use of all available platforms to reach customers wherever and whenever during their day. Together, these three “M’s form the basis of the MMM strategy. The idea behind it is to offer multi- media content through different distribution forms on various platforms. Again looking at Groth’s definition of newspapers, the term “newspaper” is not affected, since paper does not go along with the definition or characteristics of the newspaper. The MMM strategy requires shaping newspapers’ organisational structures to bring the three “M’s into a consistent structure. Multi-media content should be distributed via as many channels as possible — digital and analogue — and on as many platforms as should be managed by platform experts so that their possible. Many combinations are possible, although individual users can be served in the best possible these have to be structured in an effective way. way. From the organisational point of view this means that each platform needs a platform manager, and the Integration and SepAration. An content could be derived directly from the content obvious step in building out the MMM strategy engine or generated from the users themselves. is the establishment of a joint newsroom where Even though the MMM strategy is a powerful print and digital journalists work together closely, strategy, the aforementioned danger of a possible swapping content and ideas. This integrated editorial decline in coverage has to be considered, and the department can already be seen at newspaper suggested countermeasures taken. companies. To be able to take advantage of the synergies that come from working together, the Conclusion. It is not difficult to see that the editors use a common “content engine.” From a media industry — and in particular newspapers — technical point of view, it is a database with multi- finds itself in stormy times. This is based on recent media content. From an organisational point, it is a developments, which can partly be attributed to multi-media agency obtaining content directly from disruptive developments and the systemic erosion users, the company, or external entities. of circulation and reach. It is a time that allows the There is danger that due to overlapping content, course to be set straight and to steer towards new the focus is concentrated too much on meeting the shores — shores which can already be seen. It is also needs of those who use both the digital and print time to leave traditional courses or strategies and to media. These “double users” represent just a small face new developments. part of the audience compared to the “print users A few newspaper companies see the appeal of only” and the “digital users only.” Concentrating only concentration, cooperation, and Porter’s harvesting on serving the double users and neglecting the other strategy. Yet in my opinion, other strategies — two groups can drive away audience and diminish the particularly the two introduced in this article, the newspaper’s reach. MMM strategy and the “Four Lives of a Newspaper” In developing strategies to target the multi-media — provide better answers for the current situation. F newsroom’s work to the largest possible audience, it’s worth considering a quote from Saint Ignatius: “Pray as though everything depended on you. Act as though everything depended on God.” Similarly, treat print as if your business was only depending on print, and treat digital as if your business was solely depending on digital. The workflows of the print and the digital editorial staffs should not be fully integrated or merged together, but each office should serve its own target group. This does not mean that the MMM strategy should not be applied. To the contrary, synergies regarding the creation and use of content should be used. But the temptation to only serve one mutual target group should be resisted. Each platform profile>> page 12 January+February 2009 ideas

Redesign of the newspaper an opportunity to reach out With a shift to a new page width and a redesign, the Sacramento Bee created a marketing campaign to re-introduce the newspaper to its community, including readers and advertisers. by maria ravera

The Sacramento Bee converted from a 50- inch {redesign} to a 46-inch web. In doing so, it also underwent a complete overhaul and redesign. Knowing this was Given today’s economic a great opportunity for audience development, The challenges, the Sacramento Bee put together a full-fledged marketing newspaper developed campaign to promote the new Bee. a strategy best The redesign was developed with considerable utilising its marketing public feedback. Early on, the newsroom developed dollars. Marketing a piece with multiple fonts and agates that the pieces were developed audience development team took to readers. They to highlight changes were invited to choose which text styles they liked that were timely and best. The font they favoured was ultimately used in would draw the curious the redesign. Ahead of the launch, the editor began to the newspaper. writing articles about the changes coming and that they help drive traffic into their stores. inviting feedback, although the new sections and To communicate the changes to advertisers, a highlights of the redesign were not made public until special four-page wrap was developed highlighting a the weekend prior to the launch. new front page and some of the sections, along with The Sacramento Bee sought to market the new the new advertisement sizes. This was sent, along product, promote the new sections and features, with a letter, to all advertisers. and drive circulation with a strategy best utilising After the launch, marketing pieces were developed its budget. Rather than invest in costly radio, TV, to highlight changes that were timely and would and billboards, it looked to do a more grassroots draw the curious to the newspaper. For example, approach, involving all employees at the newspaper. with the start of the Olympics on August 8, 2008, Signage was placed on the sides of bus shelters at the mini-rack card and store stacker promoted major intersections throughout downtown and the Olympics coverage. The new “Living Here” section suburbs. The thought was that these might be seen has a different daily theme, lending itself to a “reason by traffic going at a slower pace than billboards on a to read the newspaper everyday” type promotion, to freeway. Lawn signs were expected to have a life of get subscribers and single-copy buyers to increase about one to two weeks. The single-copy retailers love their readership. Other material promoted the new “news digests” on both the front and sports pages. It highlights the stories within and gives readers a quick overview of the days headlines, catering to the typical “no time to read” response. With development of a new product, it was the perfect time for the audience development team to showcase it. It visited every news rack in the market to clean, refresh, and reposition. Hundreds of plastics were changed, decals put out, and racks were moved to ensure the Bee would have the best position on the street. Single-copy daily sales averaged 500 copies higher on the first week of the redesign. Sales on the home delivery side are very strong around all of the direct response pieces. This campaign utilised all M>>aria Ravera is director of audience development at the Sacramento Bee in Sacramento, USA. She can be reached at of the company’s marketing assets to promote the [email protected]. wonderful new product the news team created. F 79th Annual INMA World Congress 13-15 May 2009 Converting Bandwith to Innovation

Transforming the newspaper business model and culture amid an economic tsunami requires more mental “bandwidth” than at any moment in the four centuries dailies have been published.

Yet to do so requires people with an entirely different skill set plugged into the pulse of change across geographical and industry borders. How are technology and the economy changing reader needs? What is the recovery plan for advertising?

Join us for the 79th Annual INMA World Congress in Miami for a unique experience that can’t be found at other industry conferences in 2009.

Urgent times call for urgent measures. We are far beyond “selling harder,” “marketing smarter,” and “producing more.” How do newsmedia companies derive value from media assets while simultaneously transforming the business model?

Key themes >> Innovation and transformation >> The new value of audiences >> Alternative business models >> Newspapers that are growing >> What will happen to advertising

Target audience Senior executives charged with horizontal management across vertical silos (chief executives, chief operating officers, chief marketing officers, chief editors, innovation/change managers, strategy managers) http://worldcongress.inma.org on >>newspapernext page 14 January+February 2009 ideas

An urgent question grips the U.S. generate new revenue. newspaper industry: “How can we Talk to businesses, and you find generate more revenue?” there’s no shortage of unmet needs. The With revenues plunging, cost cuts and challenge is understanding them and layoffs are a daily nightmare. Publishers creating the solutions. say it’s a fight to find a new equilibrium Newspapers meet one big need: mass }point, balancing lower costs with — they reach. This suits larger local businesses hope — stabilised traditional revenues that want to reach everybody and can and rising new revenues. afford the expense. But as our reach As core revenues shrink, finding new shrinks, these revenues are declining, sources is mission-critical. worsened by customer consolidations Most U.S. newspapers are focused and new competition. mainly on two product-centred What other needs could we meet? strategies: The 2008 Newspaper Next report, New >> Sell more of the existing products “Making the Leap Beyond ‘Newspaper — display ads, preprints, special sections, Companies,’” describes many. Here are total market coverage products, banner several, spanning all types and sizes of ads on web sites — to existing customers. business: revenue is >> Sell those products to additional >> Help me reach exactly my type of similar customers. customer. It’s tough going. These are mature >> Help me get considered when products, near sales saturation levels for someone is buying. all about years. Raising rates is all but impossible. >> Help me show the quality of what Even online offerings — banner ads and I do. classified upsells — are flattening. >> Help me build 1-to-1 customer meeting It’s clear that these strategies aren’t relationships. enough. We need bigger new-revenue >> Make advertising simple and opportunities. cheap enough for my small business. Here are two huge opportunities. >> Help me use the internet to grow new needs First, unmet needs among the many my business. businesses that don’t buy newspaper Print ads and typical banner ads Revenue opportunities for newspapers advertising. Second, unmet needs among don’t do these jobs very well. But digital our existing customers. solutions — especially e-mail, paid are out there. Central to exploiting them, When you start exploring unmet search, video, and online promotions needs, you discover some simple truths: — can be highly effective. No wonder newspaper managers must identify the >> Nearly every business has Borrell Associates surveys show these unmet needs of their advertisers and frustrating challenges. formats exploding in the next five years, >> Most will pay for good solutions. while banner ads decline. establish effective strategies to meet them. >> Creating these solutions can But it’s not the format that sells. It’s how it meets a business need, which by stephen T. gray requires astutely shaping the technology to get the job done. And it’s selling the solution to the right customers at the right price, including legions of small businesses we don’t serve today. That requires new sales people specialising in the new products. It requires lower-cost sales channels, like e-mail, telemarketing, and customer self- serve solutions. It requires lower price points than ever before, to tap the very “long tail” of local small businesses. This is no small challenge. We need to wake up to needs we don’t meet, create solutions we don’t have, and present them to customers we’ve never sold. But it’s also a huge opportunity. A vast frontier of local digital advertising is THE AUTHOR: Stephen T. Gray is managing director of Newspaper Next. He has led the American Press Institute’s opening now in our markets, and nobody Newspaper Next project since its inception in 2005. He is a former managing publisher of The Christian Science Monitor and former publisher and editor of The Monroe Evening News in the United States. He can be reached at owns it yet. Success can be ours — if we [email protected]. realise it’s about meeting new needs. F << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 15

What it takes to be a web favourite A REPORT FROM THE MEDIA MANAGEMENT CENTER finds being unique isn’t the key to standing out for news web sites. Don’t overwhelm consumers, become part of their habit, focus on reliability, and segment news consumption. by stacy lynch

If news organisations want to really wow people online, what should they focus on? {favourite} Media Management Center (MMC), in Newspaper's web partnership with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, sites, more than sought to find out with recent in-depth interviews offering more content with 27 heavy online users in Atlanta and Chicago. than competitors or It asked interviewees to identify and describe their unique content, must “favourite” web sites and explain why they chose them be easy to use and over alternatives. present information What separated the favourites from the rest of the in digestable, pack was not “being the best” or “having the most” or manageable formats. “being unique.” It was being “easy to use” and making it “easy to find what I’m looking for.” But being “easy to use” meant much more to those interviewed than just being attractive. It meant, at base, presenting a manageable volume of information with a minimum of reading and sifting. This was significantly more important than having unique content. Why? Over and over, people talked about how overwhelmed they sometimes feel online. When they care a lot about a subject, the internet’s seemingly because “television broadcasts several times a day infinite volume may be wonderful, but when they while the newspaper publishes only once.” Conversely, don’t, it’s a nightmare. Web sites with an overload of newspaper sites were seen as more reliable. information literally repulsed them. Thus, being “easy >> News consumption isn’t one monolithic to use” is the antithesis of the feeling that there’s just activity. An ideal “news scanning” visit is usually “too much.” efficient and brief, while “getting informed” Particularly when it came to news, users said they sometimes calls for exhaustive detail and lengthy urgently seek to get what they want (and only what involvement. Understanding the difference (and who they want) with the least effort. For light news users wants each) has major implications for site content. particularly, this means that when they want to know Many light users expressed unhappiness with the something in the news, they go to national sites. At current online news experience, particularly at local the core of this behaviour is a limited interest in news. sites. This is both an opportunity and a challenge. National sites cover the major stories with a lower The key to coming out on top is understanding who volume of news overall. For light news users, local your users are (and aren’t) and crafting an experience sites appeared overwhelming and monotonous. that connects with them. F The research also found: >> Interviewees tolerated web sites with information gaps much more readily than those that overwhelmed them. >> Shopping for new, better web sites isn’t something people enjoy or do regularly. Most people have three to five sites they’ve used for years. If you’re part of this habit, it’s a major advantage. >> Users trying to sift through almost infinite choices online give familiar brands a lot of weight — S>>tacy Lynch is a consultant with the Media Management Center and rely on brand identities. Television web sites were at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA. She can be seen as more up-to-date than newspaper counterparts reached at [email protected]. on >>advertising page 16 January+February 2009 ideas

The economic downturn, described display advertising, is priced on auction- by Netscape founder Marc Andreesen based systems. Print is disadvantaged as a “coming nuclear winter,” is not only as a key driver of any auction because accelerating the transformation of our of the scarcity of the product sold. As industry but confirming a long-term newspapers never have any difficulty trend. The portion of advertising in the printing four more pages in order to }marketing mix has decreased from 34.9 absorb four additional ads, publishers percent in 1998 to 30.6 percent in 2008, can only offer special sections or limited, while the portion of direct marketing exclusive advertising spaces. has increased from 10.1 percent up to Does this mean traditional media 22.8 percent. Remaining resources, and should leave the digital market to “700- the biggest share of the marketing mix, pound gorillas” like Google, Yahoo, or have been dedicated to sales promotion, Microsoft? There is still space for good although decreasing from 55 percent business, even for newspapers. Newspapers in 1998 to 46.6 percent in 2008. This Veronis Suhler Stevenson, in its latest reflects a slow shift from one-way to two- media industry forecast, compared the way communication to transaction with size and growth of digital pure plays the customers. versus traditional media companies. In need to start As marketers need more direct terms of advertising, the pure plays are response, media planning and buying has clearly leading with US$18 billion in become a commodity. The mechanism 2007 and a forecast of US$40 billion in of finding the correct price tends to be 2012, meaning a CAGR of 17 percent. thinking fully automated and exclusively based This is much more advertising revenue on ROI. But more than just how often than the traditional media companies, an advertisement has the opportunity to which generated US$11 billion in 2007 like be seen by consumers, what reflects the and for which the forecast by 2012 is quality of the contact between consumer US$28 billion, showing a CAGR of 21 and advertiser? percent. The explosion of available online In terms of digital advertising, start-ups advertising inventory pushed the cost per traditional media companies are going to thousand (CPM) of U.S. online banners grow more rapidly than the pure plays. Why is that? The answer can be found in The economic downturn is an additional down 50 percent over the last three years, declining from US$3 to US$1.50. the other digital revenue category: money hardship for already struggling Out-of-home advertising’s best CPM for content. On the paid content field, starts at US$3, magazine’s CPM at US$7, pure plays have generated about the same newspapers, but traditional media’s while newspapers’ CPM starts at around amount of money as traditional media, audience and brand leave them well- US$11. This makes the entry barrier for US$3.7 billion. However, traditional most traditional media very high. Most media are expected to increase this positioned for future growth. online search advertising, as well as volume until 2012 by a CAGR of 26 percent and reach US$11.6 billion, while by jean-christophe francet the pure plays will increase by “only” 13 percent, reaching US$6.9 billion in 2012. It’s all about monetising audience that you satisfy with your content. If engineers can bring scale, automation, and efficiency to the workflow, there is still a lot of know-how needed to create the quality content that will attract audiences. When you succeed, advertisers will want to use your channel to transport their brand. At this game, traditional publishers are very experienced start-ups. F

THE AUTHOR: Jean-Christophe Francet is deputy head of business development at PubliGroupe Limited in Lausanne, Switzerland. He can be reached at [email protected]. << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 17

Transforming customer service from expense to profit

Outsourcing newspapers’ customer service calls can open new doors subscriber retention, product sales, and EZ Pay subscriptions. by bob davis

There are opportunities to be found in the way the The key element of the process is to have a quality newspaper industry views customer service. Handling conversation with every subscriber who calls. This customer service calls — many of them cancellation requires training and coaching call centre personnel requests — do not necessarily have to be viewed as an to apply a robust call flow based on effectiveness expense, but rather are tremendous opportunities for versus efficiency. the newspaper to add value for subscribers and drive The first 15 seconds of a call determine how revenue higher for the newspaper. the rest of the call goes, so the greeting conveys The Dallas Morning News recently contracted enthusiasm, assurance of help, and clarity of purpose. with the outsource call centre Surpass to handle all Next, the discovery step helps the representative of its customer service calls. The newspaper’s case understand the subscriber’s wants, interests, and provides an example of how newspapers can benefit needs as well as the reason for the call. Then, after by subscribing to the new paradigm of viewing the representative has done a good job at discovery, customer service as a profit centre. the solution virtually presents itself. The subscriber responds positively to the offer, and the representative {centre} closes with an assumptive approach that achieves the desired result. Customer service The problem for many newspapers is that they is an integral part don’t have the in-house resources to train, coach, and of newspapers’ execute this process. What’s more, garden variety operations. However, call centres don’t have the specialised expertise the revenue required to serve newspapers effectively. Outsourcing opportunities in these customer service and retention calls gives newspapers contacts between a like the Dallas Morning News access to the outside newspaper and its firm’s investment in training and coaching and audience are not its own experience with the newspaper industry. always fully exploited. Furthermore, the added revenue to cost is very attractive. Many calls that come into a newspaper customer service department are from subscribers who intend to cancel and who are often angry because of a service or billing issue. On average, newspapers save about 17 percent of these subscribers from quitting, but working with a specialised, outside provider can push that percentage significantly higher. This translates to fewer subscribers that the newspaper will need to replace, at costs ranging from US$40 or more apiece. The Dallas Morning News sends its outsourcing partner about 11,000 customer service calls per week. These represent 11,000 opportunities to not only prevent cancellations but also to convert subscribers to EZ Pay and upsell them to more deliveries and additional products. Even when the customer starts out angry, quality conversations overwhelmingly conclude with a happy Bob>> Davis is managing partner and co-founder of Surpass and president of Robert C. Davis and Associates. He can be reached at subscriber who has just made a new purchase—and [email protected]. added to the newspaper’s bottom line. F on >>newsroom page 18 January+February 2009 ideas

It was about 10 years ago — when had turned up. The elephant had come the internet was still new and groovy — out the other end. Two hours later, they that I got my first taste of the power of phoned again. The CD we sent on the bandwidth. plane the following morning had also Having just learned of the miracle of showed up. The same information, sent attachments, I had e-mailed the 64-page by a traditional method, arrived safely, }print-ready PDF of the newspaper to but more slowly. my printers, who were located 1,500 As a newspaper, we never looked kilometres away. It had been a horror back. From that day on we sent the files deadline, and we’d missed the flight via e-mail — albeit in smaller bites — that used to take our CD. It was after and gave the computer time to digest. midnight and I thought “Why not In the latest “Newsmedia Outlook gun this new IT stuff and see how it 2009” report from INMA, the idea of performs? What’s the worst that can bandwidth is discussed as something Newspaper happen?” that media executives and leaders need The result: our computer server — to embrace. Do they have the bandwidth running a 56kb modem — totally zoned to cope with the fast-moving, transitional out. When we came into work the next newspaper market that we find ourselves managers morning it was utterly non-responsive. in? We did the standard “reboot it and it will The current environment of constant be fine” manoeuvre — several times — change, dramatic revenue losses, and but it remained in a world of its own. readers’ shift online is a mighty elephant today I explained to our IT guy what I’d for executives to chew over, while at the done. He looked at me with the long same time producing newspapers and disdainful blink that only a man in a strategising for future success. But there need more cardigan who relates to circuitry and is no way we can expect that elephant to microchips can do. “You tried to send an go down the straw as a whole. It has to elephant through a straw,” he explained. be minced up and an enormous amount “Oh, okay,” I said. “That was a really of trust placed in the idea that it will bandwidth bad idea then. You can’t fit an elephant come out the other end, rebuilt and still down a straw.” be recognisable as an elephant. Putting faith in this process gives The world is coming fast and furious at “Well, you can,” he said. “But you have to cut it up into really tiny pieces first.” us a time advantage. If we wait for the newspapers. Executives need to learn how It was an “Aha!” moment. whole elephant to be sent via freight, we Any expectation of computer work may have greater control, but we risk to survive in this environment of constant ended for the day. Our poor old system discovering we’ve left it too late —that change and how to respond to the diverse just needed to chew up the elephant. the market for elephants has totally dried Nearly 15 hours after sending the first up and everyone has moved on. challenges it throws up. files, our printers phoned. The pages Ever since that fateful day of 64 pages down a 56kb line, “bandwidth” has been by kylie davis part of my vernacular. It’s the word used for those days when you have 147 things on your to-do list. Here is the other thing about bandwidth — that the more you jam that elephant down the straw, the more the straw stretches. Just as our 56kb became ADSL and then later broadband, bandwidth expands the more you use it — and the more you invest in it. F

THE AUTHOR: Kylie Davis is managing editor, editorial business development, at the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia and a fired-up and passionate member of Generation X. She can be reached at [email protected]. << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 19

Defending the Monday edition As newspapers seek to cut costs, some U.S. daily newspapers have cut or are considering cutting their Monday editions. But the answer instead might be to not spend unnecessarily on the Sunday edition. by alan jacobson

To cut costs, newspapers are already reducing the Washington bureau. There is another way for their page sizes and staffs. Next, they’ll be dropping newspapers to cut back without cutting off their their Monday editions, as some already have. noses. They need only look back 24 hours to find Monday is on the chopping block because it is a the resources they need to keep their Monday money-losing proposition for editors in the United editions afloat. States, no local news of consequence happens on Newspapers need to take a hard look at their Sunday so there’s nothing but wire service copy for Sunday editions, where they’ll find tremendous editors to put in it, readers are turned off by how resources that go to waste every week. little is in it, and advertisers aren’t advertising in it. Editors will tell you that Sunday is “different,” Monday editions will be going the way of all but they will be hard-pressed to tell you how. things — even though it’s a terrible mistake for They’ll claim that people have more time to read newspapers to make. on Sunday, but with church, soccer, trips to Home One of the biggest drivers of daily newspaper Depot, and the NFL, they can’t have enough time to readership is habit, which fortunately for read it all. Much of it must go unread. newspapers are hard to break. Newspapers would If readers do make more time for the Sunday be penny-wise and pound-foolish to interrupt this newspaper, it probably isn’t for the content. Our daily ritual of millions of Americans. Dropping research shows that free-standing advertising Monday will only give subscribers another reason to inserts are the number-one reason people look at drop their weekly subscription all together. the Sunday edition. But the Monday edition needn’t go the way of If readers give the newspaper 15 minutes during the week and 25 minutes on Sunday, then maybe a If newspapers want to preserve and nurture daily-sized edition and free-standing inserts are all the daily reading habit with a Monday edition, they have time for on Sunday. If newspapers want to preserve and nurture then they need to take a serious look at the daily reading habit with a Monday edition, Sunday to see what can be eliminated … then they need to take a serious look at Sunday to see what can be eliminated. So-called “value- added” sections, sections that aren’t supported by advertising, poster pages, and even long op-ed pieces could be cut because most readers don’t have time for them. Granted, newspapers can’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Weddings, engagements, honour rolls, pet of the week, or any other weekly features that readers love, must be preserved. But the six-column photo and the 70-inch story by the reporter who visited another country is not essential. Eliminating it will pay for a full page in Monday’s newspaper and free up an editor and a reporter. Cutting back on Sunday may produce complaints, but not as many as cutting Monday entirely. It comes down to people and paper. It takes too many people to produce the Sunday edition, and it takes too much paper to print what they produce. Cut back on both, and newspapers will have what A>>lan Jacobson is president and CEO of Brass Tacks Design in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. He can be reached at they need to produce a Monday newspaper with the [email protected]. savings and continue to publish every day. F on >>web2.0 page 20 January+February 2009 ideas

I am not an alcoholic; nor am I that even when we move online, we are particularly religious. But these days — even collectively — tiddlers compared I find myself repeatedly drawn to the to likes of Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Serenity Prayer. We cannot change the constant wave As I’m sure you know, this came to of disruptive business models, often popular prominence in the 1930s, and designed deliberately to challenge us. } is now recited at Alcoholics Anonymous And, perhaps most importantly of all, we meetings, as well as featuring on millions cannot change what we have — or haven’t of cheesy wall hangings across the globe. — done over the last decade. On the slight chance there isn’t a copy Should we get angry about this? hanging in a bathroom near you, it goes: Should we have 1984-style “two minute “God grant me the Serenity to accept hates” about Google? Should we engage the things I cannot change, the courage to in a game of “coulda-woulda-shoulda” change the things I can, and the Wisdom whenever we gather? Grant us to know the difference.” No, there is still a lot we can do — Right now, I think it would be a pretty internally and externally, and we need to good idea if that was recited at the start save our time, energy, and intellect for of every newspaper board wisdom, meeting or strategy session — We can do everything possible to ensure because it is, frankly, about the most useful advice we can get. our content is truly part of the web — and It is not just that “serenity,” the catalyst for a million conversions, courage, “courage,” and “wisdom” are not just a collection of text and pictures much more constructive stranded in cyberspace. emotional characteristics than and the usual “fear,” “greed,” and “envy” that drive so many day-to-day working out exactly what we can do, and business decisions. then seeing it through. This is where both It is the simple fact that in an wisdom and courage come in. serenity industry currently being whacked by We can make sure that we have the such a potent combination of structural right people, in the right jobs, in the right structures, to make sure that are truly fit A focus on what’s ahead, an acceptance of and cyclical change, it is all too easy to exhaust ourselves trying to reverse the for a digital future. what is, and the right people, strategies, irreversible that we have no energy left We can do everything possible to for the possible. ensure our content is truly part of the and attitudes are what newspaper There is so much we cannot change web — and the catalyst for a million companies need to survive in today’s about our lot. We cannot change the conversions, not just a collection of text shift away from print by consumers and and pictures stranded in cyberspace. tough environment. advertisers. We cannot change the fact We can continue to innovate to make sure our offer to advertisers is as effective by simon waldman as anything else they might be offered on the internet. We can all continue to push the boundaries of where our businesses and brands can go — building on the decades-old relationships we have with audiences and advertisers. And while we’re at it, we can continue to cast a cool eye over the issue of Google and copyright. There may be more we can change there than many think — even if it is a lot less than some might wish. This is no small to-do list. But these are extraordinary times. May we have the serenity, courage, and wisdom to cope with them. F

THE AUTHOR: Simon Waldman is director of digital publishing at Guardian Newspapers in London, United Kingdom. He can be reached at [email protected]. {three} << profile Belgium’s Gazet ideas January+February 2009 page 21 van Antwerpen is offering readers three different editions, better targeted to their tastes, interests, and needs. Answering the specific needs of Antwerp’s diverse population A single newspaper cannot cater to the needs of a diverse audience. Gazet van Antwerpen is connecting with its audience through three localised editions targeting specific regions of the city, each unique but reflecting the over-arching brand image of the newspaper. by luc rademakers

Gazet van Antwerpen is a newspaper with a range of content that focuses more on issues related long tradition in Belgium. It is the country’s third to enjoying life and money. The edition serving the highest-circulating newspaper. Its focus is on the southern sector concentrates its articles on issues city of Antwerp itself and the surrounding areas. The related to employment and traffic as this area is the city is well known for its important port facilities, its economic centre of gravity for a number of small- diamond trade, and its creative fashion designers. and medium-size companies. The third edition of Antwerp has a history deeply rooted in the affairs the newspaper is targeted at Antwerp’s city centre. It of countries both nearby and around the world. is designed to appeal to readers of different origins Similar to other European metropolises, its truly and backgrounds, focusing on cultural opportunities international character has grown especially quickly and on creating the new multi-cultural society of the over the past few decades. area’s future. Thanks to immigration, Antwerp has become one Each edition of Gazet van Antwerpen has a of the most diverse cities in the world. Its inhabitants different approach to city issues and local news. In represent 166 different nationalities. This variety each of the three geographical areas, people’s interests ranks Antwerp as the world’s second-most diverse differ, ranging from political and cultural viewpoints, city behind Amsterdam and ahead of New York to shopping and traffic habits, to social community City. Antwerp’s multi-cultural character is limited for interests, and the like. At its most fundamental, these the most part to the city centre, with a mix of poor differences reflect whether they come from outside and uneducated people and the well-off and well- Antwerp and “use” the city or whether they “feel” the educated ones. In addition, one inner-city household city because they live in it. out of two is made up of a single person. The three editions of Gazet van Antwerpen are The traditional newspaper reader — the elderly, produced by the same central desk in the newsroom. the affluent, the more traditional, and the family- The content and audiences of these three editions orientated — have moved to the suburbs. Today, may be different, but the individual characteristics they live either north in the rural areas or south in of these newspapers have to reflect on and be the inter-city area that lies between Brussels and incorporated within the inclusive brand policy of Antwerp. The northern part, with its numerous Gazet van Antwerpen. F mansions and wide open space, has grown to become one of the most affluent areas of the country. Prior to the summer of 2008, Gazet van Antwerpen, while the leading newspaper in the area, offered a single edition. That one edition was tasked with serving a million very different old, new, and potential readers. Now, the newspaper is offering three different editions, better targeted to reader tastes, interests, and needs. Luc>> Rademakers is editor-in-chief of Gazet van Antwerpen in The edition distributed in the north features a Antwerp, Belgium. He can be reached at [email protected]. profile>> page 22 January+February 2009 ideas

Does brand equity matter to advertisers? Media companies strive to develop strong brands around their products. The challenge is to measure that brand value and persuade advertisers that strong brands are worth paying for. by mart ots

Most of the attention media firms devote to prestigious business newspaper under their arm, even brand management is directed toward the consumer though the content itself is not consumed. market. Yet newspapers are not taking full advantage Some of Sweden’s leading media agencies of the value that their brands provide to advertisers. assessed the usefulness and value of media brands. As advertisers strive for accountable returns on What was easiest to agree upon was that readers’ their promotional investments, they recognise the behavioural loyalties to a strong newspaper brand insufficiency of “reach” or “ratings” as indicators of produces distinct benefits. Since loyal readers are media value. Increasingly, they explore qualities such more consistent in their consumption patterns, a as media context and consumer engagement. Media strong brand experience provides more stability in its brands may provide a path into better understanding reach and is less dependent on single-copy sales. To these relationships. the agency, strong media brands are therefore more Strong media brands with high brand equity trustworthy partners with whom to sign long-term generate two tendencies. agreements. Further, readers and subscribers are First, their audiences show a behavioural loyalty, loyal to the media brand for a certain reason. This meaning they have made their consumption of becomes a point of differentiation where the brand the brand into a routine. They may purchase the communicates how the audience composition is same newspaper every morning, at the same place, unique. consume it in a similar way — with a cup of coffee Attitudinal loyalty caused much more controversy by the breakfast table, on the crowded subway, in the among the agency representatives. On the one hand, lunch room at work — receiving the experience that their gut feeling tells them that media brands matter they desire from it. — that it should be better to advertise in a context Secondly, audiences may develop an attitudinal that connects to audiences’ values and engages them. loyalty to the brand, meaning that they identify On the other hand, “gut feeling” has become a bad themselves with it, they speak well about it, and word at many media agencies, and most of them want other people to recognise their association prefer to measure exactly wrong rather than relying with the brand. They may decorate themselves or on intuition and getting it half right. While there is their belongings with the media logo, keep certain evidence that advertising placement in the proper magazines lying on their coffee table, or carry a media brand context produces better effects, brand attitudes don’t show in most audience measurements and media selection tools. Without the appropriate audience data and selection procedures, worries are that the media buyer or planner makes a pick in accordance to his or her personal brand preferences, rather than those of the intended target audience. Agencies observe an increasing interest and demand from their clients, the advertisers, to take the media brand context into account. What are lacking are the tools to systematically link it to advertising media selection practices. The media industry is now challenged to present a convincing case based on data that is comparable across media brands. Their reward is the opportunity to deliver an advertising product with higher value creation M>>art Ots is a researcher at the Media Management and Transformation Centre at Jönköping International Business potential — a product for which media eventually School, Sweden. He can be reached at [email protected]. can charge a higher price. F on >>design page 24 January+February 2009 ideas

Everywhere I travel, I have noticed of journalism. one thing: newspapers rarely run fillers But surveys carried out by the Poynter these days. Fillers are so last century. Institute and other organisations have I had to clang out nothing but fillers consistently shown that readers like the on the trusty Underwood when I joined short stuff. They almost always get higher a newspaper as a cub reporter. You never readership than anything else. } got beyond them until you knew how to And this is where Western newspapers write the perfect filler with all the 5Ws can learn a thing or two from their answered in fewer than 25 words. Any Indian counterparts. When I redesigned more than that, and the news editor the Malayala Manorama some years would rap you on your knuckles and ago, I learned one thing to my great pile you with a stack of press releases, embarrassment. The world’s biggest invitations, court reports, government vernacular newspaper had what it called gazettes, and other dead-tree documents the “mofussil” pages. All the from which you were to write more “Mo what?” I asked, thinking this was fillers. an Indian word. I learned. Fast. “Go look up the Shorter Oxford But I also enjoyed reading them. dictionary,” the owner and editor-in- news that So-and-so fined $50 for cutting down chief, Mammen Mathew, told me. a tree without permission. Mrs X gets It turned out that mofussil is the a divorce from her adulterous husband. Queen’s English word for local, local, The Boy Scouts are having a jumble sale. local! fits (into A minister is visiting an orphanage. A Malayala Manorama has 18 editions a VIP is coming to town. And so on and day. Each edition has a different mofussil so forth. You read them in one breath. page. Each has 10-15 photos and 35-50 nice, neat Quick, slice-of-life stories. People. stories on anything and everything about Things. Events. Who’s who. Some were a particular district. It even has a full mundane. Some fascinating. A few page of obituaries printed free of charge intriguing and a couple scandalous! for readers. It is the highest-read page, rectangles) Fast forward to the 1980s and the bar none. Read by every self-respecting 1990s, and fillers have been consigned to Malayalee in Kerala, it is no wonder that Malayala Manorama is number one. Is modular page design in newspapers the cemeteries of journalism. Modular design means news fits nicely and exactly Bewildered? You’d better be because way past its use-by date? Slavish devotion into neat rectangles across the page. the circulation figures in India prove that Why would you need fillers? Faithfully, readers simply love the short stuff. to modular page design can steer a perhaps blindly, newspapers everywhere Indian newspapers have a very close newspaper’s journalism away from what the responded to this “new” design link to their readers. They behave more technique. Dog-leg design was thrown like a community than “us” and “them.” audience is most interested in reading. out the window and onto the scrapheap Access to journalists and editors is easy unlike in Western newspapers where it is by peter ong impossible to get past secretaries — and that’s if you can get their direct lines in the first place! With newspaper circulation in the United States, Europe, and the Western world plunging, perhaps it’s time to take another look at the humble filler and re-examine modular design. Modular design as practised in Western newspapers and perpetrated by Western designers and foisted upon unsuspecting journalists has lulled newspapers into a semi-comatose state. It’s time to wake up. F

THE AUTHOR: Peter Ong is a newspaper consultant in Sydney, Australia. He has consulted for and redesigned newspapers and magazines in more than 10 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. He can be contacted at [email protected]. << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 25

Sunday edition opens Swiss publisher to new opportunities

NEUE LUZERNER ZEITUNG LISTENS TO READERS AND ADVERTISERS and launches a Sunday edition in Central Switzerland. The rollout includes a trial edition for subscribers and a comprehensive editorial offering. by jürg weber

Behind the decision to launch a Sunday edition {sunday} is the conviction that only a fully developed regional newspaper can satisfy the changing behaviour in A new Sunday edition newspaper readers. Sunday has become a recreational of an established daily reading day. is in response to the A 2007 study by Demoscope shows two-thirds audience’s reading of Central Switzerland inhabitants already read a habits and what Sunday newspaper. The survey also showed that on they want from their Sundays people read more and longer. More in-depth newspaper. reporting and entertainment stories are in great demand. Prior to the launch of Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, the interviewees complained that there was a lack of regional subjects in other Sunday newspapers. Moreover, the study showed that two-thirds of the fashion, and other subjects. The Knowledge section interviewees would welcome a Sunday newspaper features information about health, medical science, from Neue Luzerner Zeitung. and educational questions. It also carries a family The Zentralschweiz am Sonntag is designed page that addresses not only parents, but children. to answer consumers’ needs. It offers professional The Sunday edition is distributed to all of coverage in national and international subjects, in the newspaper’s subscribers. This has lead to sports, and culture, but focuses specifically on a an expansion of the newspaper’s home delivery regional bundle with news, interviews, and services operations. In exceptional cases, if delivery on from all over Central Switzerland. The Zentralschweiz Sunday is not possible, the newspaper is delivered am Sonntag has a clear connection in appearance to on Monday by mail. Due to the more comprehensive the daily edition during the week. The newspaper is offer, the price for the subscription was given a composed of six thematically assessed sections in the moderate adjustment. During the first four months same size as the daily edition. The Sunday edition is subscribers receive the Sunday edition for free. mainly produced in-house because of its important The Zentralschweiz am Sonntag is also available regional focus. For these purposes, further jobs in worldwide available as e-paper. the editorial department were established, whereas The Sunday edition is following the trend of the synergies with the weekday edition are realised. advertising market. Advertising on Sunday has grown The Sunday edition consists of six sections, each more important. Zentralschweiz am Sonntag has examining the week’s news from a region-specific opened Neue Luzerner Zeitung to this part of the viewpoint. The News section features both national market. Advertising in the Sunday newspaper uses and international events, as well as local cultural the same formats as the daily, but the prices are more stories. The Sports section reports on international, attractive. The edition will be financed extensively national, and regional sports events. The newspaper through advertising, allowing the increase in the also covers important events and news from Central subscription price to be a modest one. F Switzerland, broken down by the six individual cantons in the region, with in-depth background information and reporting in the Canton section. The Market section tackles local consumers’ concrete questions about the markets, the economy, and business. More lifestyle-oriented content appears in Jürg>> Weber is general manager of Neue Luzerner Zeitung in Lucerne, the newspaper’s Piazza, covering travel, home, dining, Switzerland. He can be reached at [email protected]. profile>> page 26 January+February 2009 ideas

Mixed paid/free models target the total audience

Free newspapers are making headway in markets around the world, many from publishers of traditional dailies. These companies are developing diverse ways to incorporate and mesh their product lines. by piet bakker

A spokesman for Axel Springer once said, “Every sharing facilities. Chris Jones, editor of the day without a free newspaper is a good day.” The free afternoon newspaper mX in Brisbane, shares German publisher was not alone. facilities with News Limited’s Courier-Mail, the Incumbent publishers reacted to free dailies by area’s leading morning newspaper. “We use the starting lawsuits and launching spoilers. But things same building, the same presses, and administrative have changed. At the end of 2008, more than half and IT support as the Courier-Mail but we of the total circulation of free dailies is controlled by are a different business unit. We have our own publishers who own both paid and free newspapers advertising and editorial staff. We share circulation and use them to target their audience as a whole. staff with other Queensland operations.” They are convinced that some readers, particularly Portugeuse media group Cofina uses shared younger ones, can only be reached by free products. facilities to produce the paid newspaper Correio Even Axel Springer reversed its policy, launching da Manhã and the free dailies Meia Hora and Wochendende Extra, a free weekend edition of the Destak. Said Cofina’s Francisco Pinto Barbosa: paid-for Berliner Morgenpost. “The cooperation between the two business models In some cases, the same newspaper is distributed occurs mainly in back office and printing functions. for free and for a cover price. The United Kingdom’s In terms of cost, it is more efficient, either by Manchester Evening News, Austria’s Österreich, volume negotiations with suppliers and clients or and Italy’s E Polis are examples of this model. by augmenting the productivity of staff. In terms of The “lowest” form of cooperation is for a readership, combining different reader profiles can traditional newspaper company to buy an ownership be very interesting to clients seeking a wider range stake in a free publication. of advertising impact.” Between these models, other levels of cooperation are distinguishable: sharing facilities, Joint advertising. In Sweden, Schibsted joint advertising, sharing content, and publishing publishes paid newspaper Aftonbladet and owns 35 a free appetizer, evening, or “lite” edition under the percent of Metro. The publisher’s “Dawn till Dusk” same brand. campaign promises advertisers 4.2 daily readers — Executives from publishers around the world 60 percent of the Swedish population — by using have reflected on their collaboration models and the paid and free dailies. The package was received “in results they have delivered. a very positive way,” said Andreas Ohlson, managing director of Metro Sweden. Ohlson adds that 2009 “will be a big test of the offer.” Metro also offers local advertising packages with paid newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet. Swedish free daily City, from Bonnier, publisher of paid dailies Dagens Nyheter and Expressen, are also sharing back office, printing, and distribution. Said City’s Jakob Ståhl: “Advertising is 75 percent combined with the paid daily, but we do have our own sales and editorial organisation.” The main benefit is “a solid base of local advertising that we would never accomplish without the default package sales with the paid morning newspaper.” The German-language Luxemburger Wort started the free daily Point24 in 2007. Mahnaz << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 27

{ (publishers of paid & free newspapers (example) Newspapers’ Free Division, said, “Both our free titles have attracted a young, upmarket professional readership that is attractive to many advertisers. Country free daily Since Publisher Paid newspaper This has had a beneficial effect for the group in taking greater share in some advertising categories. Austria die Neue 2006 Wimmer Verlag oberösterreiche Nachrichten Shared facilities also allow improved efficiencies TT Kompakt 2008 Moser Holding Tiroler Tageszeitung and shared costs.” Yet cooperation is not easy. Österreich 2006 Wolfgang Fellner Österreich “Cultural challenges sometimes exist when you are Belgium Metro 2000 concentra Gazet van Antwerpen working with people who are used to following the Czech Republic Metro 1997 Mafra dnes paid-for model.” 24 Hodin 2005 Ringier Blesk Clarín’s Vinkler sees the same issue. “The biggest challenge as to make the Clarín people understand Denmark MetroXpress 2001 JP/Politiken* JP/Politiken that La Razon is a complement, not a competitor.” Urban 2001 Berlingske Berlingske Tidende 24timer 2006 JP/Politiken* JP/Politiken two newspapers, one brand. In Slovenia, 24sat Estonia Linnaleht 2005 Eesti Meedia / Postimees, Eesti Päevaleht — both paid and free — is going all the way in Ekspress Group collaboration. Advertising in only the paid morning edition or the free evening edition is impossible. *minority share Said Director Jasna Zemljić: “Paid and free editions are produced in one editorial, sharing all facilities and offering combined advertising. The free p.m. Nikbak, publisher of Saint-Paul Luxembourg, edition is published under the same brand.” The said that opportunities for “advertising improved benefits are clear. “After launching our free p.m. because of the increase in total readership.” edition, we have managed to become the number Paulo Cuturi, publisher of the free daily one newspaper in Zagreb and on the national Oberösterreichs Neue in Linz, Austria, is “sharing level. This has, of course, given a big push to our back office and printing, but also advertising. We advertising growth. Furthermore, the free edition have a completely separate team of journalists, serves as a great promotion tool for the paid edition producers, and sales staff, but also support from the and has helped to grow its circulation.” sales team of the paid newspaper. The major benefit Colombia’s ADN — published by CEET, which primarily regards the cost structure.” also publishes the paid newspaper El Tiempo — Spain’s ADN cooperates with local newspapers is fully integrated with its stablemates, although in the markets where they are published. Laura different brand names are used. Fernando Millan, Jimenez Ramos, in Pamplona, explained that director of ADN, said: “More than 150 journalists the collaboration developed gradually: “first are involved in producing daily materials for ADN, administration, then sharing facilities, and finally El Tiempo, Portafolio, Hoy, and eltiempo.com. sharing advertising sales. It has led to advertising At the same time, each product has a team of campaigns in both newspapers because the free journalists that adapts news and content according daily offers a younger target audience while the paid to specific characteristics.” Also in Colombia, some has wider coverage.” resistance was felt at the beginning. “We are seen as Cinderellas because there have been some defensive sharing content. In Argentina, the Clarín group attitude from the leading newspaper. However, little converted paid daily La Razon to a free newspaper by little, cooperation has evolved practically without in 2000. Said Clarín’s Luis Vinkler: “La Razon has encountering any problems.” F its own editorial and commercial staff. But photo services, administration, distribution, printing, technical operations, security, marketing, and online are shared. The only ‘own’ cost is the staff, no more. Also, Clarín provides a lot of content.” International news and news from areas outside Buenos Aires and photography are made accessible to La Razon. The United Kingdom’s Associated Newspapers — publisher of the paid dailies Daily Mail and Evening Standard, and the free dailies Metro and London Lite — uses two strategies: shared Piet>> Bakker is associate professor at the University of Amsterdam facilities only for Metro while London Lite also in The Netherlands. Dr. Bakker’s Newspaper Innovation blog shares content with the Evening Standard. Karen (www.newspaperinnovation.com) offers a thorough examination of the free newspaper industry worldwide. He can be reached at Wall, assistant marketing director at Associated [email protected]. profile>> page 28 January+February 2009 ideas

Online newspaper CPMs: maximise revenue, not rate

Advertising is about results. Newspapers need to shape their advertising rate strategies to reflect that advertisers are after results. by shawn riegsecker

The advent of digital media has enabled environments on the web for brand advertisers. Most advertisers to scientificly measure the effectiveness of online newspapers offer compelling and creative their online campaigns. In today’s digital media game, executions and many carry high-quality video. there is no branding for branding’s sake. Branding This represents a great story. But the important only matters to the extent it can be tracked and question is: “how great?” All things being equal, produce measurable results. In order for newspapers national advertisers would prefer to place their to win, they first must understand the game they are geo-targeted digital ads on newspaper web sites playing and the competition they are up against. It’s rather than a portal or network. Why? Because their all about results. data proves online newspapers outperform what is Advertisers have more choices to reach local referred to as “nat-geo” advertising (geo-targeted consumers today than ever before. Not only do advertising through national sites). In fact, in many marketers have newspapers, TV, radio, and outdoor cases, online newspapers have proven to be 80 but they also have abundant digital options that percent more effective than nat-geo advertising. together match or exceed the readership of a daily Here’s the rub: advertisers can buy the nat-geo newspaper and its web site. ads for US$1 to US$2 CPM. If an advertiser buys Further complicating this for online newspapers through a network at a US$2 CPM and newspaper is advertisers can buy this massive reach on the web web sites are 80 percent more effective that would for about US$1 to US$2 cost per thousand (CPM). mean the advertiser would be willing to spend up For comparison purposes, MySpace, Facebook, to US$3.60 CPM to have their ad on an online and YouTube combined serve more than 1 trillion newspaper. However, any CPM US$3.61 and over page views a year. This equals a lot of geo-targeted would make the advertiser’s campaign on the online inventory on the web. newspaper less effective than nat-geo advertising. In For newspaper executives, the most common this example, if the newspaper is asking for any CPM defense is, “yes, but our audience is better.” over US$3.60, the advertiser will choose to geo-target Unfortunately, this audience is just a subset of the their ads through a portal or a network. portals’ and the leading networks’ audience. The For a newspaper trying to get more national unduplicated audience between a portal or a network advertisers, the answer to the question above should and a newspaper web site is practically non-existent dictate strategy going forward. The example begets and irrelevant in the eyes of advertisers. options. Either a) make the site a lot more effective The competitive differentiation online newspapers than 80 percent versus your competition; or b) the have is “environment.” Online newspapers have CPMs asked of national advertisers need to be more great brands and content. They represent safe in-line with the newspaper’s effectiveness relative to their other choices. Online newspapers can get a premium in the market because they’re more effective and more valuable. The problem is they’re not 400-600 percent more valuable which, on average, is the desired premium they’re attempting to get. The good news is the online newspaper industry still has more than 40 percent unsold inventory. This can be used to attract more national advertisers to the site. The objective for every online newspaper should be: maximise revenue, not rate. The portals >> and networks figured this out a long time ago and Shawn Riegsecker is chairman and chief executive officer of only focus on maximising revenue. They know that Centro in Chicago, USA. He can be reached at shawn.riegsecker@ centro.net. revenue pays their bills, rates do not.F << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 29

Cause connects a newspaper to its community {pink} The Savannah Morning News ASSISTS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS through a multi- The Savannah Morning departmental cause marketing campaign — an example of what newspapers can do to improve News involved all awareness, brand, and revenue. by stacy jennings departments in an effort to bring awareness of breast Cause marketing, or cause-related marketing, on pink paper. It was a big statement that got cancer. Above and is a marketing partnership between a business and the attention of just about everyone, even the below are examples non-profit entity that delivers mutual benefit. For broadcast media. The newspaper donated US$0.10 of how the newspaper newspapers, cause marketing can not only be a for every single copy sold that day to the cause. executed their vehicle for new profits, but it also offers the additional Single-copy sales were up 12 percent on October 1. campaign. benefit of improving awareness of both parties — the The newspaper ran a single-copy sales promotion newspaper and the cause. throughout the month — giving away a pink Newspapers can provide the causes with the Motofino scooter — and single-copy sales exceeded awareness they seek, strengthen brand positions, their goal by 5 percent for the month. And for every and potentially generate revenue at the same EZ Pay subscription sold, the newspaper donated time. Soliciting sponsors to promote the cause and US$10 to the fund. It generated more than 430 new the creation of special sales programmes are the orders during October. backbone of the charitable donation and can sell The advertising department took the opportunity more product. to sell more advertising to clients who took the For example, for every pink Yoplait yogurt lid sent breast cancer cause to heart. Pink ribbons in their in between September and December, the company ads earned another donation to the fund to fight donated US$0.10 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer, while offset flysheet pages were sold Foundation to raise money for breast cancer research, as “Get a Pink Lip!” education, and support. Not every lid gets sent in, but Other departments contributed to the cause the promotion likely drives people to consume more marketing programme. The newsroom devoted yogurt. And Yoplait’s brand image gets a boost for inches and online space to reporting about breast being associated with the popular cause. cancer — stories about research, survivors, treatments, Breast cancer gets a lot of attention nationally. and caregivers all ran in October. The web site’s Nearly everyone knows someone affected by this background “went pink” on October 1 and linked to a disease. The Savannah Morning News took the step micro-site featuring all of the coverage as well as blogs, of taking the month of October to focus on the cause photos, audio, and video. In addition, the newspaper of breast cancer. worked with city officials to light up the clock at On October 1, the entire newspaper was printed city hall with pink lights, and planted “pink ribbon” flowers throughout the city. It hosted a screening of the Lifetime movie “Living Proof” before it was available on TV and sponsored a successful community-wide push for mammograms on October 27. There are a number of causes that can benefit from association with the local newspaper — literacy, the environment, poverty, health issues, hunger, animal welfare, and others. Newspapers bring the reach of their print and online products, delivery and distribution systems, news gathering and dissemination staffs, and sales organisation. S>>tacy Jennings is director of marketing at the Savannah Morning News in Savannah, Georgia, USA. She can be reached at Newspapers are strong and trusted, and people want [email protected]. the newspaper to help them. F on >> survivalsales page 30 January+February 2009 ideas

A few years ago, Tom Rosenstiel, a products and services are “the best former media critic for the Los Angeles things out there” is not the sine qua Times and MSNBC, was quoted saying non of sales. It is enough, they argue, to that “the age of trust-me journalism is be convinced that what they offer will over.” He was commenting, of course, on create value that exceeds the cost to the the sudden rise of the blogosphere where customer. }everyone with access to a laptop and Nothing can be further from the the internet can become a news pundit, truth. You may as well try convincing feeding off the incessant rumour mill someone to buy one book and not the and in turn feeding into it. Established other because it has more words! That is media outlets long revered for their peddling, not selling. integrity were being challenged by a new One of the key techniques I preach in generation of upstarts with unparalleled sales training is the “Wow! Statement,” reach and uneven credibility. a brief, carefully worded phrase about Integrity This didn’t bother me then, and it exactly what you do, which is usually bothers me even less now. I am convinced used in the prospecting phase of the sales that readers and viewers will always go “B2B,” back to The successful salesperson is someone trumps basics, and have even greater respect for the experience and with experience and resources, and resources on which traditional most of all it is someone committed to media is based — especially as the product’s reputation and quality. incidence, media access increases. Reputation and quality still Motivational speakers repeat the mantra, trump popularity; integrity “Believe in yourself.” Motivational especially still trumps incidence. I think salespeople revise the mantra to “Believe they always will. in what you are selling.” The same is true of sales. The successful salesperson is in sales someone with experience and resources, process. It’s called a “Wow! Statement,” and most of all it is someone committed not only because it wows the pants Successful advertising sales efforts begin to the product’s reputation and quality. off your prospect, but also because, if Motivational speakers repeat the mantra, you listen to it closely, it will wow the with believing in the quality of what you “Believe in yourself.” Motivational pants off of you, the salesperson. It salespeople revise the mantra to “Believe must, because our customers are savvy sell. A newspaper’s advertising sales in what you are selling” (though it enough to know if we truly believe in our force have to not only communicate the certainly helps to believe in yourself, too). product. As I write in my book “you are Unfortunately, some salespeople not that good of an actor. If you don’t newspaper’s benefits but believe it as well. continue to claim that a belief that one’s believe, the customer will never believe!” In media sales this means that we by MIKE BLINDER must be convinced of the intrinsic value of the media we sell. We must be committed to its integrity because integrity always trumps incidence, especially in media sales. This leaves me to ask: what do you, the sales manager, do each and every day to bolster this belief among your sales team? Are you constantly reaffirming the product, its integrity, its growing readership (thanks to its online assets), and the results we garner each and every day? Why not add a new “bullet” to your job description: “Company Evangelist.” In challenging times, salespeople look to leadership for the attitude they take to the street each day. Do you have a “Wow Statement?” F THE AUTHOR: Mike Blinder is president of the Tampa-based Blinder Group, which specialises in training traditional sales staffs to take advantage of new concepts in selling media. He’s the author of Survival Selling Even in the Toughest Times: Surviving in Business to Business Sales Using Back to Basic Skills. You can reach him or reference his book at www.MikeBlinder.com. << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 31

Destination audience targeted with newly aggregated web site

Faced with the prospect of the erosion of its online destination audience and potential advertising revenue, Cape Cod Media Group chose to act quickly to stave off its competition. A low-cost marketing campaign helped promote the changes. by karen ryder

While the Cape Cod Media Group (CCMG) generates more information about Cape Cod and the {guide} Islands than its major competitors, this information onCape was cross- was scattered across the company’s news and niche branded across the online products, each with a different look, feel, and, company’s print often, navigation. Some information can be hard products. These to find, leaving readers to go elsewhere. And many include the onCape did. Between 2006 and 2007 the number of people Summer Guide, visiting the sites’ destination-related pages dropped onCape Fall Guide, by 33 percent. During that same period, one of its supplemental niche main competitors for the destination audience saw an products distributed increase of roughly the same number of visitors. in and outside the Because of its wealth of local information, the newspaper. company is well-positioned to capture and dominate this market. This sentiment is not new. But earlier attempts to create the ultimate destination site have fallen short, in part because the CCMG did not aggregate its destination content and/or apply the resources necessary to keep it current. To reverse this trend, the company created a comprehensive to insure that the site was easy to navigate, capture destination web site that aggregates destination- the spirit of Cape Cod, and provide comprehensive related content on a single platform and added user- information and user-generated content. generated capabilities to better engage its audience These changes were developed alongside a solid, and to provide a stream for additional content. low-cost marketing plan consisting of a number of CCMG sought to increase its audience among the elements. Online, CCMG employed search engine 4 million annual visitors who travel to Cape Cod, as marketing and the audience participation game well as the more than 200,000 people who live there. “Where onCape is Gulliver.” The game ran 11 weeks A larger audience and better product would provide and was promoted both online and in print. Its advertisers with greater value and thus increase the submission page featured a sponsor’s advertisements. company’s revenue potential. The company set out Also part of the marketing plan was heavy promotion across all available Cape Cod Media Group products. These include the onCape Summer Guide, onCape Fall Guide, supplemental niche products distributed in and outside the newspaper. Also, onCape was promoted through in-newspaper event listings re-branded with the onCape moniker and through publication on the onCape Sunday page. The onCape marketing plan includes a number of elements. It receives high visibility on the Cape Cod Times’ main web site. Launch news was included in promotional newsletters and in the “What’s Happening onCape” weekly entertainment newsletter. Furthermore, segments on the New Karen>> Ryder is the marketing manager of the Cape Cod Media Group in Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA. She can be reached at England Cable News channel dedicated to [email protected]. destination activities featured the onCape brand. F on >> multimedia page 32 January+February 2009 ideas

In April 2006 I addressed the INMA audience-building strategy, let me World Congress in Chicago. My message make this disclaimer: promotion is not at that meeting was that newspaper without merit. It is an effective and marketers needed to move away from legitimate marketing strategy when used short-term promotions that spiked to encourage trial of a new product, circulation in order to increase the counter competitive activity, or re-ignite }average audit number. I saw looming a buying habit (for example, a promotion danger in these promotions and following a holiday time period). described them as “marketing cocaine” But using promotions as an ongoing because, like cocaine, their effectiveness technique to drive short-term casual (the circulation spike) diminishes over sales is dangerous. The research I’ve seen time as the cost increases. And, like shows that in virtually every situation, cocaine, the tactic is incredibly addictive. the increased sales generated by the In addition, these promotions — “win a promotion evaporates immediately after The false car”, “free DVD”, “Bingo”, etc. — do not the promotion finishes. build the base of readers and they can So how do we replace the promotions damage the brand. that build “artificial” sales? We move Two and a half years later circulations from “big bang” marketing — short- promises of in western economies continue to decline term, high spend, big impact — to along with the economies themselves. sustainable growth marketing involving Never has the temptation been greater long-term, continuous spend, and to resort to competitions, premiums, and sustained impact. This strategy takes a promotion- other enticements to “bribe” consumers page from newspapers themselves and into buying a newspaper. And never could be called “journalistic marketing.” has it been so important to resist “Journalistic” because it speaks to driven sales that temptation. Today, with reduced potential customers on a daily (or revenues from both circulation sales regular) basis, giving them new reasons and advertising sales, we cannot afford to purchase the newspaper; reasons to prop up a promotions strategy that based on the content of the newspaper strategies requires ever-increasing funds just to and the benefits that the content maintain a rate of decline. We must shift provides. Driving newspaper sales through our focus and our objectives. Our goal Journalistic marketing requires new should be to build audiences, not audit thinking from both marketers and their promotions generate short-term sales numbers. Audiences that purchase our editorial colleagues. Marketers must newspapers because they are relevant change their expectations of success, but damage the brand’s prospects. and add value to their lives, not because from large spikes in short-term sales, Sustainable marketing plans require a we gave them something free in exchange to smaller lifts on a regular basis. Both for their one-off transaction. will show a lift in an average audit, but longer-term strategy. Before making a case for a sustainable the latter is sustainable and the other is not. Marketers will use a much different by joe talcott media plan to support this strategy. Editors must work with their marketing counterparts to create content that is relevant and marketable. Content that supports the newspaper brand and that delivers a consumer benefit that will motivate a purchase. That requires more than reporting the news of the day. It requires creating unique content that adds value for readers. Breaking any addiction is difficult. And moving from promotions marketing to journalistic marketing is a huge challenge. It requires unprecedented cooperation between marketers and editors. It requires more accurate metrics and discipline to stay with the plan. It is an extremely difficult transition to execute. But the stakes involved require F THE AUTHOR: Joe Talcott is group director of marketing at News Limited in Sydney, Australia. He can contacted at that we make the effort. [email protected]. << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 33

Free dailies capture heart of local beach communities

{daily} INNOVATION TRAINING yields BEACHCOMBER NEWSPAPERS in New England. The Seacoast Media Group newspapers cover local beach fun, target tourists and locals, capture a unique audience creates the Daily Beachcomber for for advertisers, and are profitable. by mary salmon Hampton and York, targeting tourists The Hampton Beachcomber and York and Tabor explains that the Beachcomber acts as “a and locals in the Beachcomber are free daily newspapers serving the GPS to get you where you want to go on the beach.” summer beach season. beach communities of Hampton, New Hampshire The Hampton Beachcomber has allowed SMG to Advertisers and profits and York, Maine. penetrate a region it had neglected as it clustered soon followed. The Hampton Beachcomber was created after the its daily newspapers. “It’s paid great competitive staff of Seacoast Media Group (SMG) in Portsmouth, dividends for us,” says Tabor, putting it in a better New Hampshire, participated in Newspaper Next position against the established weekly Beach News disruptive innovation training. It outlined “a broad because “dailies trump weeklies.” Promoting and new vision for what newspaper companies must distributing this product gives SMG’s marketing become if they are to survive in today’s heavily and circulation departments an opportunity to learn disrupted media landscape.” Of the company’s 128 the logistics of distributing free tabloids targeting employees, 100 participated in the training and younger readers. were divided into several teams to brainstorm about As a result of the success the Hampton different geographic and niche categories. Beachcomber experienced during its first summer, Tourism was one of the categories. SMG introduced the York Beachcomber in June 2008 SMG publishes seven newspapers in New to reach beachgoers in York, Maine. Hampshire and Maine, including its daily, The Both Beachcomber publications display a love Portsmouth Herald. “We closed the whole shop for a of beach culture and feature interviews with locals day, and trained as many employees as we could,” said and tourists about beach happenings. More random publisher John Tabor. questions have proven popular with readers, such The Beachcomber is published Tuesday through as, “First Brad Pitt and now John Mayer, why can’t Saturday for the 13 weeks of the beach season. It Jennifer Aniston keep her man?” The Beachcomber covers fun features such as the annual sand castle publications are printed in full colour and its competition, irreverent interviews with beachgoers, photography reflect what Tabor described as the photos of friends playing in the waves, and young newspapers’ “chirpy little attitude.” F men and women tanning or playing beach volleyball. Calendar information helps beachgoers plan their dining, entertainment, and nightclub visits. The Hampton Beachcomber was successful from the start. It turned a 28 percent profit margin in its first year — exclusive of about US$7,000 in launch expenses. It reaches a unique market of both tourists and locals, and enabled SMG to get advertisers that had never been with the company before. Hampton’s beaches represent a large market >> between the end of the school year and Labor Day. Mary Salmon is the executive assistant to the publisher and editor at Seacoast Media Group in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. She As many as 120,000 people visit on a good beach day, can be reached at [email protected]. on >> audience page 34 January+February 2009 ideas

I’ve been loyal to my local bank all my lovely price which they say is 50 Swedish life. But now the end is here. I’ve been Crowns lower than the normal market treated badly despite my decades as a level. But all of these books can be found customer. I am leaving. cheaper on any internet book retailer! People normally don’t. Loyalty is I’ve been complaining about this in sometimes equal to stupidity. Just by newspapers all over Scandinavia and in }habit you go to the same company parts of the rest of Europe for several and pay your money, year after year, years now — and everybody agrees, no matter how they behave. Banks are something has to be done. Yet very little institutions where people normally just happens. stay on. Newspapers used to be. My suggestion is that you buy a ticket Not any more. And many in to Ontario, Canada (never been there the business just blame technical myself). At your arrival in Toronto, look development and changing costs and up Zygoht Partners and see if you can Customer revenue patterns for losing the readership battle. But what about CRM? Let's skip the minimal discounts in bad Could it be that some of restaurants. Don’t pretend that you sell relations our former true long-time books for a “very special price” when you supporters left just because we don’t. And why offer boat cruises that didn’t appreciate them? Yes, I know about all cost a month’s wages for a few dollars strategies these bonus programmes for less? It’s CRMM: Customer Relations loyal subscribers. They look MisManagement. Time for the new CRM: and work the same all over Customer Respect Management. built on the world. I know that if I subscribe and pay for more than a year, the two of us may get one catch its president, Michelle Gross. free main course in the worst restaurant Well, she’s probably out trying to respect in town, but only on rainy Mondays. And save customers at slowly awakening $50 off on an exclusive trip to Paris, price newspapers, but just wait awhile. She Newspapers today need to at the top of only $3,500. And a cheap novel that was may help you “bring your brand to life.” printed in too many copies, so somebody Zygoht seems to be one of the few who their game in managing the relationships has to get rid of them. have the ideas missing in the marketing Some of you out there have bonus departments. (No, I’m not an owner of they have with their audience, taking policies which are more of an insult than the company. I will get no kick-backs and them seriously and offering real value in a generous gesture. My own old regional or bonuses. I’m not related to anybody Sydsvenskan in Malmö, for example, tries there. I’m just happy to see entrepreneurs their promotion strategies. to sell you nice, lovely books for a nice who tackle the newspaper business with necessary recipes.) by jan wifstrand There you will get a handful of useful ideas, based on the brilliant thought that you should use the historic strength of your name to something new. Try, for example, to give just a small group of your fans an experience they never forget. Try to transform your loyal readers to your best ambassadors. And in this work, involve all people in the company, including sour reporters longing for the good times that were. Let’s skip the minimal discounts in bad restaurants. Don’t pretend that you sell books for a “very special price” when you don’t. And why offer boat cruises that cost a month’s wages for a few dollars less? It’s CRMM: Customer Relations MisManagement. Time for the new CRM: Customer Respect Management. F THE AUTHOR: Jan Wifstrand is co-founder of digital newswire Rapidus (www.rapidus.se), chief executive officer of WordWide AB in Malmö, Sweden, and former editor-in-chief of Dagens Nyheter. He may be reached at [email protected]. << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 35

Door-to-door surveys pave way for launch in high-potential cities

In moving into BHOPAL AND INDORE, India’s Rajasthan Patrika Group uses extensive surveys and other methodologies to pave the way. by lakshmi agrawal

The Rajasthan Patrika group is moving into represented significant and under-utilised India’s Madhya Pradesh market with editions in potential. Its existing Hindi-language Bhopal and Indore. newspaper was losing marketshare, Madhya Pradesh represents an appealing market which Rajasthan Patrika took as an for the Rajasthan Patrika group. It is among the opportunity for a new player to enter. top four states of India in terms of investment in Also, research showed that one newspaper industries. Employment in the state is largely through in Madhya Pradesh was read by 33 industries or services segments, ensuring a large and people, an indicator that there is room progressive urban population. left in the market for another newspaper. It is home to two vibrant Indian cities. Bhopal has Furthermore, a growing literacy rate been listed among the top 20 Indian cities in terms of points to even greater potential. potential per capita income and has registered about Ahead of Rajasthan Patrika’s launch 8 percent growth in household income over the past in Bhopal, a survey sought to get couple of years. The city of Indore is the commercial local insight, understand the reader capital of the state. It is the hub for all major business mindset, chart readers’ preferences and activities in Madhya Pradesh and is poised to become dissatisfactions, and to create brand centres of software and industrial development. awareness. This survey led to a product designed {surveys} Madhya Pradesh also represents a larger potential around readers’ preferences, with an understanding Rajasthan Patrika market than Rajasthan. There are 10 million more of the weaknesses they saw in other products, and uses door-to-door literate people in Madhya Pradesh, although the with new features that differentiated Rajasthan surveys in Bhopal circulation of newspaper in Rajasthan is far more Patrika from its competitors. When the full-colour and Indore, as well as than in Madhya Pradesh. It is also one of the largest Bhopal edition of Rajasthan Patrika entered the other methodologies, Hindi-speaking states in India with a population of market, initial circulation was 150,000 copies. This to pave the way for over 60 million. Furthermore, 98 percent of readers grew to 250,000 copies within five months. extensive launches of the state’s daily newspaper are Hindi readers. Once it was established in Bhopal, the newspaper that are transforming For Rajasthan Patrika, Madhya Pradesh redirected its expansion to Indore. Launched in the local markets. September 2008 with a circulation of 140,000, Rajasthan Patrika was distributing almost 200,000 copies by November. Rajasthan Patrika’s extensive surveys of the markets ahead of its entry played a significant factor in the newspaper’s success in these Bhopal and Indore. These were four-tier surveys that reached thousands of households each day. The markets were broken down into 20 and eight zones, respectively. Within each, teams of surveys spread out, knocking on doors to get consumers’ impressions to develop a clear picture of the public’s perception of the local newspapers. To insure the accuracy of these findings, a second group went back to about 25 percent of the households contacted and re-confirmed these findings. Alongside the door-to-door survey work, Rajasthan Patrika conducted extensive telemarketing and SMS messaging campaigns to not only learn Lakshmi>> Agrawal is with Rajasthan Patrika in Jaipur, Rajasthan, more about the market, but also to inform and India. She can be reached at [email protected]. interact with consumers. F on >> digital page 36 January+February 2009 ideas

If newspapers are in deep trouble, when the consumer is making their final yellow pages companies are just as bad decision. It is more about action than off, probably worse. The challenge for getting attention or creating desire. both is the move away from print. But it Then the fun starts — to build our is worse for catalogues because news sites unique selling points. We need to put can compete with yellow pages online. more value for money in the package. } It is much more difficult the other way And, yes we can! Your newspaper is around. probably the leading local site, traffic- Let’s say your newspaper decides to go wise. If we put up listings under into the online yellow pages market. It is categories matched with season and probably because banners are not enough content we can improve the reach of to secure your online future. We need the catalogue listing. A third element is more business — and the millions and the addition of print into the package billions in the yellow pages are tempting. — branded catalogue pages under The news Then the question is how do you different categories once a month, for build up an online catalogue service? Well, you buy a Your newspaper is probably the leading database of local companies, site as and you make it the best local local site, traffic-wise. If we put up listings company listing available. under categories matched with season and And it must be easy to content we can improve the reach of the use. For this you will need catalogue listing. the local programmers and new talent. It is also smart to share the effort with your colleagues — that example. Done well, it produces a clear catalogue is, other newspapers. We need clever co-branding strategy. If you’re brave, designers — probably under 30-years-old you may even print and distribute a — to get the proper look and feel. This real catalogue on newsprint once a year. is especially important if we add a print This is the strategy of hitting the enemy service ingredient. where he is weak — in his soft spot. But The next step is pricing and be careful with the print ingredient. The There are many opportunities for packaging. With database listing and ideal is pure online offerings. categorising local enterprises, we can So, do we just sit and wait? No. It is newspapers online. One of which is imitate the big yellow pages players. For a lot of hard work which requires true even a few hundred dollars a month we online speed and functionality, the right online yellow pages. This is a channel should have a competitive product. In branding and design, dedicated sales in which newspapers are ideally catalogue services you sell per-time-unit, managers with full control and know- not per-click or per-exposure. The idea how, adapted bonus programmes and positioned to succeed. for the advertiser is to be found if and patience. Pricing will probably be too high, some categories are very difficult by niklas jonason to sell on, the database will have quality defaults, and more. There will be challenges, I promise you. The numbers are fun to play with — but hard to turn to real money. Let’s say out of perhaps 20 calls you sell one package per day at US$150 to be invoiced monthly, that is times 12. Multiply with 5 work days per week and 40 effective sales weeks. That is $360,000 per year and salesperson. I guess you cannot afford to miss the opportunity. Go for it — and do it together. F

THE AUTHOR: Niklas Jonason is chief executive officer of Stadsporten Citygate AB in Stockholm, Sweden. He can be reached at [email protected]. << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 37

“Fetch and find” contest helps boost reader loyalty The publisher’s dog took centre stage in the Albuquerque Journal’s loyalty programme. The initiative spurred sales and generated tremendous buzz around the newspaper’s brand. by dorothy rosado

The Albuquerque Journal has conducted a number of successful loyalty programmes, but {augie} nothing like its “Augie’s Fetch and Find” contest. The publisher’s Augie is a British bulldog owned by T.H.Lang, the pet dog served as Albuquerque Journal’s publisher. He was the contest the mascot for a mascot, whose image in part drew more than 17,000 promotion to spur entries over a three-month period. reader loyalty and New Mexicans were enamoured with Augie. build excitement Furthermore, the promotion allowed them to win around the monthly prizes and a grand prize. Readers sent in newspaper’s brand. entries with special notes, drawings of their pets, and even used stickers featuring their pets to seal envelopes. Hundreds of calls came in and readers drove to the newspaper to drop off entries. On random days, the Journal printed numbered game pieces in the likeness of a rolled newspaper. Readers collect five game pieces during each of the three monthly contests and submitted them on an official entry form. Monthly winners received prizes valued at up to US$1,200 and were eligible for a grand prize valued at up to US$10,000. Photos and stories of the winner appeared in the newspaper following each drawing. subscription offers that included as an added value a To promote the contest, the Journal purchased bus stuffed Augie. advertising and ran cable television and 60-second The contest generated tremendous “noise” radio spots featuring Augie. “Teaser” advertisements throughout both Albuquerque and New Mexico. It prior to the contest created excitement among forged a special affinity between the newspaper and readers. Advertisements throughout the contest its audience. The newspaper is already well-respected featured entry forms and the rules for entering. The and well-read, but using Augie as the mascot proved newspaper’s circulation department promoted special to be an effective tool for reaching new and current readers and aligning the newspaper with enthusiastic pet lovers across New Mexico. Since then the newspaper has introduced a number of related offerings. These include a new FETCH! pet page every Friday and a feature allowing pet owners to submit photos of their pet for selection as the “Pet of the Week.” And in 2009, the Albuquerque Journal is planning the largest pet adoption event ever held in New Mexico. The bottom line is that the newspaper is reaching out to its loyal readers and creating innovative D>>orothy Rosado is marketing director at the Albuquerque Journal in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. She can be reached at features and events to attract new and younger [email protected]. readers. Thanks Augie! F profile>> page 38 January+February 2009 ideas

The news will find you: Tracking the emergence of micro-personal news and social networks

Online social networks are changing the way people collect and use news. While a challenge to newspapers, they also represent a new way to reach audiences. by ken sands

Media consumption habits have altered course of her election news from the micro-blogging site 180 degrees in my lifetime, yet news companies have Twitter, in which users post items and links that changed course only a few degrees. They still try to amount to 140 characters or less. sell one package of information to a mass audience, “Twitter itself is hardly the future of news, whether it’s delivered ink-on-paper, or on a desktop especially the future of producing in depth public or mobile communication device. service journalism,” McLellan writes. “But Twitter As media consultant Vin Crosbie points out in a illustrates a larger point about consumption and November 2008 article “The Myth of the Missing delivery of news. People increasingly believe that Digital Business Model,” consumers are demanding news will be there for them on demand or find them individualised news products. Traditional media when they aren’t even looking. Twitter and other companies are slow to develop such products, so social media tools (Delicious, for example) enable consumers are gravitating to social media sites, consumers to get recommendations from people where their “friends” recommend what to read or they trust.” watch online. Look at today’s early adopters to get a sense of How does this work? where this is headed. Robert Scoble, who produces Way back in May 2007, internet entrepreneur the “tech-geek” blog “the scobelizer,” has about and self-described early adopter Chris Pirillo 3,000 “friends” on the social networking aggregator claimed to a roomful of journalists that he hadn’t “FriendFeed.” That site is intended to help you used any traditional media news sites in following “discover and discuss interesting stuff that your the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech a month earlier. friends and family find on the web.” He claimed to have learned everything he needed Scoble’s network is so active that his FriendFeed to know that day through social networks such as changes every time he refreshes the web page. With Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter. The that constant stream of information, how does he claim seemed unbelievable at the time, even to the keep up? He doesn’t. Instead, he says, he engages in web journalists who already were using Facebook what he refers to as “snacking,” or dipping into the and Twitter. FriendFeed at various times throughout the day to Fast forward to the 2008 election. Veteran see what’s happening at any one moment. journalist Michelle McLellan writes on the Knight If the news is important enough, he says, it will Digital Media Center web site that she got most find him. It’s critical for news executives to understand this concept. Instead of consumers seeking out information as they have historically — subscribing to newspapers and magazines, buying books and watching cable TV — they’re letting the information come to them through recommendations from trusted sources. What to do? Here is Crosbie’s recommendation: “Media executives must cease delivering the same content to everybody and begin delivering a unique mix of content that satisfies an individual consumer and Ken>> Sands is executive editor of innovation at Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C., USA. He can be reached at do so to massive numbers of consumers. Otherwise, [email protected]. their companies will be toast.” F << profile ideas January+February 2009 page 39

Revamped newspaper offers “Seriously Westcoast” opportunity {deeper} MULTI-MEDIA marketing campaign highlights changeS to The Vancouver Sun The Vancouver Sun’s as it updates itself to meet its audience’s needs. by patricia wu marketing campaign surrounding changes The Vancouver Sun launched a campaign to in the newspaper’s October 4 edition. On that day, to its print edition promote awareness around changes to its print readers were treated to a special gatefold wrap on touched on multiple edition. These were a result of research conducted the front cover. On the inside was a letter outlining media, a new creative by Ipsos Reid, engaging current and past readers to all of the new changes. Outside was the first of many theme, and included a determine what they want in their newspaper. campaign headlines, “You’ll love our deeper look at three-week free trial of The newspaper is changing to match shifting the news. Provided you’re not a criminal,” as well the newspaper. consumer habits. Alongside print, it now shares the overall line for the campaign, “More in-depth content through a variety of channels including coverage than ever before.” online and mobile devices. News and content is “The tone of the creative was key,” said Dan updated on the web site almost around the clock. Nelken of The Creative Department. “The work had Alongside words and photographs, stories are made to appeal to hardcore news enthusiasts but couldn’t with videos, podcasts, blogs, and photo galleries. alienate readers with an appetite for lighter news The expanding variety of delivery platforms has or the latest on ‘Branjelina.’ ” Ken McCarty of The led The Vancouver Sun to rethink the print product. Creative Department adds: “The existing tagline for Reflecting the timely nature of the web site, it is The Vancouver Sun, ‘Seriously Westcoast’ helped us where much of the newspaper’s breaking news strike the right balance. In every execution the work is published. Content in the print edition follows is both serious, and to suit the west coast, also a little on with greater analytical focus. Among the other witty or laid back.” changes to the print edition, local news was moved to The multi-channel marketing campaign included the A section, and world and national news to the B television, print, point-of-sale, and online in a variety section. Furthermore, a daily headline news summary of publications and media outlets. It ran until the end page, News on the Go, was added on page A3. of November. Canwest’s in-house media planning Integral in the launch of this re-worked print agency handled the media planning and buying. F edition was the newspaper’s first-ever widely available three-week free trial of the print edition. The trial was created to encourage new readers to discover the changes for themselves. Highlights include increased analysis, context, and commentary; a new daily, stand-alone section for national and international news; enhanced lifestyle content in areas such as health, food, fashion, nutrition and fitness; and a daily headline news summary. A marketing campaign by The Creative Department in Vancouver kicked off in September Patricia>> Wu is marketing manager at The Vancouver Sun in with a one-week teaser print campaign to build Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She can be reached at awareness before the changes were officially revealed [email protected]. profile>> page 40 January+February 2009 ideas

Reorganising the newsroom for modern age Traditional newsrooms are not designed for the requirements of the modern, multi- media age. Newspapers like the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are taking a new look at their newsroom and reshaping them for today’s challenges. by julia wallace

Have you ever been swimming in a river? You can not allow the company to make the changes needed. swim with the currents or against them. Depending Management at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution which way you go, the experience is totally different. understood it needed to make changes to structure It’s the same way with running a newspaper. and process — and it needed to change the culture. Culture, structure, and process are the currents. For that work, the company followed the steps Spend time on those issues, and the swimming is so outlined by John Kotter, a professor at Harvard much easier. Business School. Unfortunately, in the haste to action, it is In the newsroom, changes were made to the sometimes easier to focus on the strategic goals long-standing and historic structure. The traditional and the tactics instead the hard work of cultural, departments like sports, metro, and features — all {ajc} structural, and process change. Focusing on tactics built around print sections — were gotten rid of and gets results, but the going is so much slower if in their place three new departments were created. The Atlanta Journal- attention hasn’t been paid to culture, structure, and This included one focused on producing digital Constitution’s process. products, one focusing on producing the newspaper, strategic planning Fortunately, there is a lot of science on how to go and one content department that serves both. process prompted about achieving cultural change. There are lessons The company mapped processes to make its work a new newsroom to be learned from other industries. It takes time, more efficient. Methods to communicate were built structure that got rid dedication, and focus. It’s not easy, but it sets us up based around templates and very specific methods of departments like for easier times ahead. so everyone would hear the same message. Goals sports and metro. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution began a were developed for every staffer tied to those of the The new departments strategic planning process a few years ago. Out of that company. It built behaviour-based interview guides focus on platforms: work came the understanding that it can no longer be so people would hired and promoted who would be one on digital, one on a newspaper company. Instead, it needed to become a good cultural fit. Mission statements were written the print newspaper, a media company that was significantly growing its for the various departments and referenced back and a content digital operations while reinventing the newspaper. to during the decision-making process. A training department that serve That launched a series of projects. It was clear programme was developed that tied closely to the both platforms. that the current structure in the newsroom would goals. Was all of this a lot of work? Yes, but it was essential in giving the company the speed to transform. After the newsroom re-organisation, digital traffic growth doubled. The Atlanta Journal- Constitution now ranks as one of the top newspaper site for reach within the market. This year, it will have more than 1.3 billion pages views on its site. Sunday print has stabilised, and the company has been able to devote dedicated resources to focus on the company-wide effort to re-invent the Sunday newspaper. The new features were debuted through a rolling introduction and the newspaper has received an excellent response from readers. There is still more to do, but each step of the way, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks about culture, structure, and process. And then, it thinks Julia>> Wallace is the editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She can be reached at [email protected]. about it again. F advertising << campaigns ideas January+February 2009 page 41

The Gazette + Circulation 108,000 Trade publication advertisement puts newspaper market “on the hook” Through an advertisement placed in trade publications, the objective was to remind media buyers of The Gazette’s penetration of Montreal’s English-language media market. As an English newspaper in a French province, The Gazette has to stand out to be noticed. Although the image of the newspaper’s market being “on the hook” is slightly jarring, it conveys the message well and fits into the Gazette’s ongoing “Words Matter” campaign. Nancy Diggins is marketing manager at the Gazette in Montreal, Canada. She can be reached at [email protected].

Mittelbayerische Zeitung + Circulation 440,000 Service awards competition aimed at infrequent advertising clients Mittelbayerische Zeitung has a strong focus on the local advertising market. A key element of its strategy is the way it connects with local advertisers. Events are a key part of the newspaper’s strategy to strengthen relationships with existing advertisers and win new customers. The “Mittelbayerische Service Award” was designed to communicate the advantages of combining editorial independence, a big audience, and the advertising budgets of 50 local clients who usually don’t advertise in the newspaper. The awards competition drew 50 competitors. The newspaper had a net sales result of €80,000 and published a 40-page supplement. The competition prompted 4,000 readers to vote for their favourites. The winner was a car dealer who offered everyone a test drive and a free dinner for two on their birthday. He still uses the award in his campaign, doubled his spending in and will spend some more the next year. The runner-up used the award in a supplement that was published in a competing weekly newspaper. Albert Islinger is a copywriter at Creativ Concept GmbH in Regensburg, Germany. He can be reached at [email protected].

The Tampa Tribune + Circulation 226,990 Testimonial campaign highlights newspaper-advertiser relationship The Tampa Tribune created a multi-media testimonial campaign to increase awareness of the success advertisers have achieved through advertising in the newspaper. It also sent the message that no other newspaper reaches more active consumers in the Tampa Bay area. The campaign consisted of print, online, video, and e-mail. It featured relatable small business owners and Tribune advertisers who represent different geographical areas of the Tribune’s market, explaining in their own words how advertising has been successful in growing their business. Response from advertisers was overwhelmingly positive. Advertisers like to be a part of a winning team, and hearing the positive results from peers about their experiences strengthens the newspaper-advertiser relationship. Matt Larson is marketing creative manager at the Tampa Tribune in Tampa, USA. He can be reached at [email protected]. campaigns >> alternativeproducts page 42 January+February 2009 ideas

Guelph Mercury + Circulation 14,000 Advertiser sales kit, party mark launch of magazine targeting affluent readers The launch campaign announced the arrival of Guelph Life Magazine to pique advertisers’ interest in the controlled circulation publication, which was free to selected homes. Launched in 2007, Guelph Life Magazine is distributed to 9,000 well-heeled homes in the Guelph area. Since it is not a subscription-based business model, the key is to sell advertising opportunities to area businesses. A sales kit emphasising the high-end lifestyle focus of the magazine was delivered to targeted accounts and ads in the newspaper started the “talk” around town. The same targeted advertisers received an invitation to an exclusive party on the day the magazine launched. The combined result was great support from advertisers and a profitable first edition right at the start. Jennifer Malcolm is a graphic designer at The Record in Kitchener, Canada. She can be reached at [email protected].

Knoxville News Sentinel + Circulation 122,587 Web site connects with time-pressed, information-hungry audience segment With its Knoxmoms.com web site, the Knoxville News Sentinel sought to become a resource for local moms to find places to go, things to do, and connect with other moms. It site proved popular and useful for its target audience. Over 70 percent of users return more then once a day. They’re spending, on average, more than 20 minutes on the site and viewing an average of 24 pages. Knoxmoms.com has become so successful that it is being used as the model for “mom” sites in other Scripps markets. The site is drawing over 14,000 unique users per month. The newspaper estimates that it reached over 40 percent of its target market — households with children aged 0 to 6 years — in less than 7 months time. Laddy Fields is the creative brand manager at the Knoxville News Sentinel in Knoxville, USA. They can be reached at [email protected].

Irish Examiner + Circulation 58,000 Sports supplement attracts readers and boosts the newspaper’s brand image GAA (hurling and football) are Ireland’s indigenous sports and the most popular. The Irish Examiner, which is noted for the strength of its GAA package, identified a gap in the market for a dedicated GAA supplement. In 2007, The Irish Examiner introduced the first dedicated GAA newspaper supplement. Throughout the season, it published 12 supplements ranging from 20-24 pages. This targeted supplement was aimed at sports fans in general as well as GAA fans. A 2 percent increase in the newspaper’s Monday sales figures can be attributed to the Championship supplement. This was a strong result considering the newspaper had already reached near saturation point within this market, and it was the year of introduction of the new supplement. The supplement attracted new readers and led to increased brand awareness of the Irish Examiner at a national, local, and grassroots level. Mairead Maher is head of marketing at the Irish Examiner in Cork, Ireland. She can be reached at [email protected]. brand << campaigns ideas January+February 2009 page 43

Dainik Bhaskar + Circulation 1,400,000 Application connects the newspaper’s brand with mobile technology Dainik Bhaskar sought to use different media to enhance the newspaper’s brand image across media platforms. The campaign also promoted the newspaper’s accessibility to consumers throughout their day, using different media such as computers and in print. Promoting the newspaper’s accessibility via mobile telephones was especially important. The campaign generated a 9.67 percent increase in users downloading the newspaper’s news update application on their mobile telephones. Sanjeev Kotnala is the national head of communications at Bhaskar Group in Mumbai, India. He can be reached at [email protected].

Fort Worth Star-Telegram + Circulation 400,000 Following research, newspaper reshapes its brand and itself to fit readers’ needs The Fort Worth Star-Telegram sought to re-engineer itself using research that indicated that readers wanted and needed more from their newspaper than a reiteration of news that they had seen on TV or online. This premise was behind the reengineering that included a redesign and renaming of sections, such as Your Life, Work, and Money. The other critical part of the redesign was the change in the way stories and topics were covered. Stories were rewritten to include what the story means to the readers, why they should care, how it can affect them, geographical references, and how to obtain more information. It was this reengineering of the Star-Telegram that prompted the need for the “U” campaign. Research after the launch found that three out of four readers who expressed an opinion preferred the new format to the old. Specifically, 48 percent said the new Star- Telegram met their personal needs and interests better than the old format, compared to only 15 percent who said it was worse. Diane Wakefield is the creative director of the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, USA. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Columbus Dispatch + Circulation 219,000 Promotion emphasises the importance of the Sunday edition in readers’ lives Extensive research The Columbus Dispatch commissioned showed that for people in many demographic groups, the newspaper is an important part of their Sunday. The campaign was geared toward what were called the “Lunch Bucket Families” — families that include two or three kids and working parents who don’t have a lot of spare time or money. Using still photos from the newspaper’s archives, the Columbus Dispatch was able to both thank the people who already read the newspaper on Sundays and let those who don’t know what a big part of Sunday the newspaper is. The newspaper added about 2,300 home deliveries. Darrell Dawson is a copywriter/marketing projects specialist at the Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, USA. He can be reached at [email protected]. campaigns >> classifieds page 44 January+February 2009 ideas

Helsingborgs Dagblad + Circulation 49,500 Campaign attracts advertisers to a newspaper’s new online classifieds site Helsingborgs Dagblad noted the downturn in classified advertising in its print newspaper. Rather than giving up on this lucrative business line, it launched a campaign to capture classified advertising business online. This campaign was based around the launch of a new web site that allowed classified advertisers to advertise for free. On a daily basis, the site brings in more than 4,000 unique visitors and they search more than 6,000 advertisements, from old cars to gold watches. Jonas Brorson is brand manager at Helsingborgs Dagblad in Helsingborg, Sweden. He can be reached at [email protected].

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung + Circulation 471,000 Re-launch of jobs site establishes brand image for recruitment advertising The campaign for the launch of the new Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung job market had two prime objectives: the announcement of the new integrated careers platform FAZjob.net, and the positioning as the leading print and online job market for specialist and management personnel. In the campaign, personnel executives of leading international concerns provided statements confirming that FAZjob.net is the prime address when it comes to finding perfect jobs in leading concerns. This approach achieved credibility and relevance in the reader market. The campaign’s central theme was maintained throughout all advertising media for optimum advertising effect, with the message “We get you to the top” communicated in print, outdoor and direct marketing, on the radio, and online. The careers platform’s re-launch proved successful. Only six weeks after the launch, up to 20,000 job offers had been submitted. Andrea Bürger is head of advertising at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Frankfurt, Germany. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Boston Globe + Circulation 382,500 “Leaving isn’t easy” campaign targets targets students new to job market Bostonworks is the recruitment section of the Boston Globe. It launched its Student Center in 2006. This online channel of Bostonworks.com serves as a resource for career- related news, jobs listings, and internship opportunities. The newspaper needed a clever way to launch the site and make it interesting, particularly to graduating college seniors. It styled an image of a dorm-room door and a student being literally dragged out of the room, as evidenced by fingernail marks on the wall. The tagline read, “Leaving isn’t easy. We can help.” The advertisement proved effective. It helped attract thousands of hits to the Bostonworks.com’s Student Center channel after the ad ran. Lauri Martignetti is an executive assistant at the Boston Globe in Boston, USA. She can be reached at [email protected]. communityrelations<< campaigns ideas January+February 2009 page 45

Richmond Times-Dispatch + Circulation 214,971 Newspaper programme gives to the community following tragedy After the tragedy at Virginia Tech in 2007, the Richmond Times-Dispatch wanted to do something to honour the victims and assist the survivors and the victims’ families. Many of the newspaper’s employees have close ties to the university, and it hoped to aid in the healing process for them as well as for the community at large. The newspaper printed a poster based on a commemorative page the Times-Dispatch newsroom created. All proceeds from the poster sales would be contributed to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Print ads and displayed signs in lobbies promoted the availability of the posters to the public. The posters sold quickly and the newspaper received thanks from many readers for offering them. The entire allotment of more than 1,800 posters was sold out in three weeks. The newspaper donated US$3,654 to the fund at Virginia Tech. Teresa Edwards is audience growth manager at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Richmond, USA. She can be reached at [email protected].

Orlando Sentinel + Circulation 226,854 Back-to-school fundraiser generates funds for disadvantaged children Each year, the Orlando Sentinel Family Fund raises money for backpacks and school supplies for economically disadvantaged children through its “Back to School” campaign. The goal of the campaign was to increase donations from the previous year by promoting the fact that donations would be matched 50 percent by the McCormick Tribune Foundation. The campaign included print ads in the Orlando Sentinel, online ads, and direct mail. The Orlando Sentinel Family Fund’s Back to School Campaign raised US$90,768, up from US$81,504 in the previous year, and thanks to the community, more children were able to start the school year ready to learn with the proper school supplies. Jen Kugler is creative services supervisor at the Orlando Sentinel in Orlando, USA. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Sacramento Bee + Circulation 279,000 Kids Day street sale campaign raises funds for children’s hospital The Sacramento Bee’s Kids Day campaign sought to raise money for the Shriners Hospital for Children, which is a hospital that takes care of children with burns and other serious illnesses, regardless of whether the family can pay for the treatment. In a one-day street sale, volunteers raised US$60,000 and corporate sponsorships added an additional US$90,000 for a total of $150,000. Garth Nearents is creative director at the Sacramento Bee in Sacramento, USA. He can be reached at [email protected]. campaigns >> editorial page 46 January+February 2009 ideas

The Washington Times + Circulation 102,350 Campaign celebrates newspaper’s contributions on its 25th anniversary The Washington Times has lent a voice to the local and national political scene for 25 years. Since then the newspaper continues its vision of bringing strong content to both its political visionaries and loyal readers. The newspaper’s promotional piece was created to announce the 25th anniversary special section it was set to publish. Distributed by the advertising department to all contacts and advertisers, the special section promoted by this piece resulted in a net worth of US$57,000. Patrick Crofoot is graphics supervisor at the Washington Times in Washington, USA. He can be reached at [email protected].

De Standaard + Circulation 81,000 Editorial project between 2 newspapers encourages reconciliation on divisive issue The editors-in-chief of De Standaard and Le Soir worked together on an editorial series “North-South Confrontation.” It was one of the major examples of intellectual debate on the future existence of Belgium. The project brought together the two newspapers’ editorial teams, readers, and ideas. Contacts remain between the two newspapers’ French-speaking commentators now also appear on De Standaard’s opinion pages, even if their views clash with those of De Standaard. During the second — prior to the elections — and third — just after the elections — quarters of 2007 a lot of editorial work was done on Belgian politics. De Standaard’s paid circulation in the second and third quarters was up 3.39 percent on the same period in 2006. Sofie Pintens is an account executive at LDV United in Antwerp, Belgium. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Seattle Times Company + Circulation 220,000 Redesigned section draws in readers with relevant content The Seattle Times’ campaign promoted the redesigned and enhanced content of its Sunday lifestyle section, NW Life. The section offers tips on local fashion and beauty, health, and fitness information, and celebrity news, as well as lifestyle feature stories. The newspaper targeted readers — largely female — who had busy, active lives and those interested in life topics and planning tools, relationships, and fashion. The NW Life campaign helped help make The Seattle Times one of only three of the United States’ major newspapers to post an increase in circulation over the past year. Additionally, an increasing number of subscribers mentioned this section as a reason for subscribing. The section is also popular with advertisers. Megan McKinney-Rickey is project manager at the Seattle Times Company in Seattle, USA. She can be reached at [email protected]. events << campaigns ideas January+February 2009 page 47

Cape Argus + Circulation 104,000 Campaign highlights the newspaper’s sponsorship of whale festival The Hermanus Whale Festival is the only Enviro-Arts festival in South Africa. It is held annually to celebrate the return of the Southern Right whales to the waters of Walker Bay in Hermanus. The Cape Argus is one of the sponsors, and the client briefed the agency to come up with an ad that communicated this sponsorship. The campaign communicated that the Cape Argus probes deep into the heart of stories to bring its readers the information they are looking for. Lesley Wright is an account director at King James in Cape Town, South Africa. They can be reached at [email protected].

The West Australian + Circulation 203,000 Newspaper’s support helps a local arts event reach record success levels The Perth International Arts Festival is an annual international arts event held every February. The West Australian has been a major sponsor of the event for more than 15 years supporting the festival with a comprehensive sponsorship package of editorial, promotional, and advertising to maximise awareness of and attendance at the arts festival. In addition to The West Australian’s extensive daily editorial support of the event, a special Festival Guide magazine insert was produced by The West Australian together with an exclusive half price ticket offer on a daily basis for readers. The Perth International Arts Festival was the most successful festival in its 54-year history. With 149 events, 864 performances and the highest box office ever, numerous shows sold out in record time. The West Australian distributed 280,000 copies of the festival guide, a 1,120 percent increase in distribution on the 2004 when only 25,000 copies of a festival guide were distributed. Kelly Canfell is promotions manager at The West Australian in Perth, Australia. They can be reached at [email protected].

Austin American-Statesman + Circulation 173,579 Campaign promotes a race on its 30th anniversary, raises participation The Statesman Capitol 10,000 is one of Texas’ earliest road races and the state’s largest 10K. Marking its 30th anniversary, a creative campaign sought to increase participation and introduce the race to runners. Print, radio, television, billboard, and online advertising promoting the anniversary year and souvenirs created interest and increased participation. The newspaper’s campaign increased participation by almost 20 percent more than the previous year reaching the highest participation numbers since 1994. Lisa Sullivan is the marketing director of the Austin American-Statesman in Austin, USA. She can be reached at [email protected]. campaigns >> readership page 48 January+February 2009 ideas

The Record + Circulation 73,000 Campaign launched to prepare readers for changes coming to their local newspaper The Record’s campaign sought to mitigate a negative response from readers following the announcement of the cancellation of the newspaper’s TV Week television guide through strategically placed and timed ads. The decision to cancel the TV Week product was not an easy one, but an annual loss of 2US$350,000 made it necessary for it to go. To mitigate reader response, the newspaper’s approach was to give readers two months advance notice of the change; use the TV Week as a promotional vehicle for the first month to target the message to its users only; and to provide a new television book as a separate subscription for those readers who felt “lost” without their TV Week. At deadline entry, The Record received a manageable 300 calls to its customer service centre, 29 Record subscription cancellations as a direct result of the announcement, and more than 300 subscriptions to the newspaper’s new product. All three of these metrics were more positive than had been anticipated. Jennifer Malcolm is a graphic designer at The Record in Kitchener, Canada. She can be reached at [email protected].

Die Burger + Circulation 91,669 Promotion highlighted newspaper’s strengths as a forum for debate The newspaper wanted to establish Die Burger not only as a reliable source of information but also as a platform for informed debate. The MCQP campaign manipulated the famous statue of the founder of Cape Town, Jan van Riebeeck to highlight the country’s largest gay festival and the gay community’s preference for Cape Town. It also highlights Cape Town’s welcoming attitude towards the festival. Andile Mdakane is an executive assistant at Draftfcb Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa. They can be reached at [email protected].

The Roanoke Times + Circulation 88,334 Newspaper columnists introduced, promoted in multi-media campaign In promoting The Roanoke Times columnists, the objective was to retain current readers and attract new ones. The marketing team created a fun questionnaire that gave the reader a glimpse into each columnist’s life. By using illustrations of the columnists, their character and interests were presented in a unique yet personable way. This twist ultimately helped introduce the columnists to new readers, while current readers felt more connected to the columnists. The campaign included a billboard, mall boards, rack cards, TMC wraps, and in-newspaper ads. The campaign got the exact response the newspaper wanted: people talking. Friends from Cox Communications had nice compliments on the campaign, “They love it. The pictures ... the board on 581, everything. Kudos to you!” One of the columnists heard from six readers, two of which had never read his column and planned on doing so. Jody Kolars is art director at Kolars Marketing in Victoria, USA. She can be reached at [email protected]. single-copy << campaigns ideas January+February 2009 page 49

Quick + Circulation 110,000 Promotion gets free weekly newspaper new distribution opportunities Quick is distributed mostly through racks placed throughout Dallas and vendors who hand the weekly newspaper out to commuters. The company’s objective was to get Quick into more offices and office buildings. Its new campaign was directed at both employers and employees. As a direct result of this campaign, Quick is now bundled and delivered to over 65 new offices throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Steven Johnson is the director of creative strategy and execution at the Dallas Morning News. He can be reached at [email protected].

Het Nieuwsblad + Circulation 210,000 Deals to desirable destinations increase revenue, create bond with readers Het Nieuwsblad wants to offer good deals to its readers. To do so, it negotiated an offer with tourism operator Neckermann of a weekend trip for only €22 per person/per night. The in-newspaper promotion offered weekends to a number of desirable vacation destinations. The promotion was also designed to increase the single-copy sales of the newspaper during the two weeks of the promotion, increase revenues, and to create a bond with readers. The promotion resulted in an 8 percent increase in single-copy sales over 12 days. The newspaper sold an extra 48,000 single copies on top of the normal circulation. It received 15,000 saving cards and a total 180,000 saving points. Geert Potargent is client services director at TBWA\Brussels in Brussels, Belgium. He can be reached at [email protected].

Malayala Manorama + Circulation 1,540,000 Contest spurs newspaper’s single-copy sales, has lingering impact Malayala Manorama’s Weekly Six Star 200 campaign sought to arrest the continuous drop in sales of Manorama Weekly and to increase the casual sales of the weekly by 160,000 copies on the week in which the “Six Star” Game Card was distributed. The campaign was designed to create excitement at retail outlets which sell the publication as 80 percent of its sales are at retail locations. The hope was also that following the promotion, sales of Manorama Weekly would still show a 50,000 copy boost. During the week in which the promotion ran, the newspaper increased the single-copy sales of Manorama Weekly by over 180,000 copies. It also produced a lingering 50,000 copy increase in single-copy sales after the campaign concluded. Rajagopalan Nair is senior general manager of circulation at Malayala Manorama Limited in Kerala, India. He can be reached at [email protected]. campaigns >> subscriptions page 50 January+February 2009 ideas

The Columbian + Circulation 75,000 Campaign draws new subscribers during holiday season The Columbian aimed to use the print product as an avenue to acquire as many starts as possible during the holiday season. The newspaper ran four single-copy flyers: one-day sale print, one-day sale electronic, reduced rate gift subscription in print, and a reduced rate gift subscription online. These flyers were also mirrored as run-of-press advertisements in the newspaper. The newspaper received a record number of starts during the holiday season, including 200 directly related to marketing efforts. There was also an increase in sales for the newspaper’s outside sales department, due largely in part to the increased presence of the ads. Rachel Rose is a circulation promotion and sales executive at the Columbian in Vancouver, USA. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Palm Beach Post + Circulation 204,847 Newspaper mailer seeks to reconnect with its market’s seasonal residents The Palm Beach Post’s circulation numbers rise and fall according to the comings and goings of the market’s winter-season residents. To insure that these “snowbirds” resume their subscriptions when they return to South Florida in the autumn, it sent a “back north” postcard to their summer addresses, offering them a quick way to have their home delivery ready when they arrive. The postcard was mailed to 40,000 subscribers who had cancelled their subscription in the spring and indicated to customer service that they were going “back north” for the summer. Following the mailer, the newspaper received more than 1,210 orders, a 3.03 percent return. This was an increase over 391, a .98 percent return, two years earlier, and 539 orders, a 1.35 percent return, the previos year. This year’s cost per order was US$9.36, a very low cost compared to an average of approximately US$40 per order, and far down from the cost per order of US$34.16 two years ago and US$17.31 last year. Laura Cunningham is marketing services director for the Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, USA. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Charlotte Observer + Circulation 270,000 Airline partnership lets a newspaper offer something extra to new subscribers The Charlotte Observer’s campaign sought to increase its EZ-pay subscriptions online through a partnership with US Airways that offered 2,100 Dividend Miles to new subscribers. The promotion’s creative included a single-copy insert targeted to non-subscribers, an e-mail blast, and banners and rectangles on the US Airways site. The campaign produced 946 new orders and increased web sales, new and renewal, by 7 percent year-to-year. Angela Adamson is an account executive at the Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, USA. She can be reached at [email protected]. youngreaders << campaigns ideas January+February 2009 page 51

Toronto Star + Circulation 446,493 Teaching guide confronts school bullying, aims to grow NIE circulation The Toronto Star created a newspaper-based teaching guide to identify bullying, promote peer interventions, research, and analyse situations related to potential bullying. The teaching guide included a wide variety of activities. The circulation objective was to increase circulation by 150,000 copies from this Newspaper in Education (NIE) initiative. This programme reached a broad range of grade levels with lessons plans covering grades 4 to 12. The newspaper exceeded its circulation targets with over 1,500 teachers signing up for this programme, which resulted in a total circulation increase of 225,000 weekday copies. It also provided educators with additional curriculum to tie in with The Ontario Ministry of Education’s Violence-Free Schools Policy. Lorne Silver is director of creative marketing at the Toronto Star in Toronto, Canada. He can be reached at [email protected].

The Cairns Post + Circulation 45,643 Concert, promotion connect newspaper’s brand with young people The Cairns Post's marketing initiative had multiple benefits and objectives, including increasing the profile of its Thursday entertainment lift-out, timeOUT, and targeting the elusive youth market. To receive a free ticket, readers collected 12 tokens printed in the Cairns Post over a two-week period and attached them to an entry form, also available in the newspaper. A huge marketing campaign supported the promotion, including print advertising campaign, point-of-sale, TV promotions, and online. The promotion produced a 3.2 percent circulation increase over two weeks and more than 9,000 people attended the concert. The most important outcome was the positive perception this event had on the newspaper’s brand and with the community. Sylvia Palumbo is marketing manager at the Cairns Post in Cairns, Australia. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Chronicle + Circulation 30,758 New section showcases junior sports, drawing advertisers and young readers With a huge number of junior sports played in the city and surrounding region, there was an untapped market waiting for this void to be filled. JS, as the new section was titled, was targeted not only at parents, but also the children themselves, with the focus on all children, not just elite athletes. The launch was backed by in-house advertising, television, radio, editorial stories, posters, front page pointers, and displays in many newsagents. JS has proved to be popular. Not only with extra single-copy sales but with the acceptance it has gained in the marketplace and the kudos The Chronicle has received for featuring everyday kids and not simply elite athletes. Meanwhile, businesses have signed advertising contracts up to 40 weeks to be in the section, raising revenue of more than A$100,000 a year. Businesses have also provided great prizes to be won, ranging from iPods to DVD players. Markeeta Hatherell is newspaper sales and marketing manager at Toowoomba Newspapers in Toowoomba, Australia. She can be reached at [email protected]. inmanews >> page 52 September+October 2008 ideas

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Axeu Aislan Beluca, Gerente Int. Josephine Lisuzzo, Strategic Marketing Marketing Jornais, Gazeta do Povo, Manager, Chicago Sun-Times, USA Curitiba, Brazil Mark Medici, Director of Acquisition, Isshu Bhalla, Executive Vice President Retention and Circulation, The Dallas Revenues, Diligent Media Corp. Ltd., Morning News, USA Mumbai, India David Mele, General Manager, Mary Ann Brown, Director of Audience Interactive Media, The Virginian-Pilot, Development, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Norfolk, USA USA John Newby, Publisher, The Times, Doug Caldwell, Publisher, Petoskey Ottawa, USA News Review, Petoskey, USA Pontus Ogebjer, Director of Marketing, Bhanummati Chandiraman, General Aftonbladet, Stockholm, Sweden Manager, Diligent Media Corp. Ltd., Torry Pedersen, Chief Executive Mumbai, India Officer, Verdens Gang, Oslo, Norway Pramod Dabke, General Manager, K.U. Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Diligent Media Corp. Ltd., Mumbai, Diligent Media Corp. Ltd., Mumbai, India India Kim Dalglish, Marketing Manager, The Robert Redshaw, Director of Sales and State Pubishing Company, Columbia, Marketing, Cape Brenton Post, Sydney, USA Canada Luxury and Affluence: Claudine Garver, Loyalty Marketing Julie Rutledge, Market Inforamtion Manager, Newsday, Melville, USA Manager, Newspaper Advertising Leveraging audiences and products Petra Hallstrom, Country Manager Bureau, Auckland, New Zealand UK and Ireland, RAM-Research and Sheena Saji, Vice President of for upscale newspaper advertisers Analysis of Media, Stockholm, Sweden Marketing, Diligent Media Corp. Ltd., Mike Halstead, Managing Director, Mumbai, India HH&S, London, United Kingdom Lesley Schwartz, Business Sindre Hegna, International Sales Development Manager, Mixpo, Seattle, Generate high revenue and high profits for your newspaper Manager, Schibsted ASA, Oslo, Norway USA by delivering affluent audiences to luxury advertisers through Ed Hubbard, Vice President Sales, Bethuel Thai, Managing Editor, Public upmarket niche products — a strategy largely immune from Digital Technology International, Eye Newspapers, Maseru, Lesotho Springville, USA Jose Ortiz Valladares, Executive today’s economic downturn. Ozana Jurkovic, General Marketing Director, El Vistante, San Juan, USA Manager, Styria IT Solutions GmbH & Co André Van Tonder, General Manager, KG, Zagreb, Croatia MCS24, Johannesburg, South Africa Affluent readers, and the advertisers seeking them out, Jadran Kapor, Chief Executive Officer, Sanja Vernic, Dnevnik, Ljubljana, represent a valuable resource for newspapers struggling with Dnevnik, Ljubljana, Slovenia Slovenia Michal Klima, Chief Executive Officer, Calvin Wong, General Manager, Sing an ultra-competitive marketplace. Publishers around the world Economia, Prague, Czech Republic Tao Daily, Vancouver, Canada are developing unique, targeted products to cater to this important audience. grzegorz piechota. special This report lays out the opportunities available to publishers projects editor. gazeta wyborcza. Warsaw, Poland. Piechota develops in catering to the affluent market and successful strategies and runs multi-media editorial projects and practices to reach them. Serving these readers and luxury alongside editorial, marketing, and advertisers represent a valuable revenue opportunity for research teams. He is also responsible newspapers. for a number of successful products like supplements, collections, and promotional and advertising campaigns. He started his career at Gazeta 12 years ago as a reporter and rose to deputy editor-in-chief of one of the newspaper’s spin-off titles. Since 2006, he has been involved in a Order your copy today at number of projects at Gazeta, including editorial campaigns and series that achieved circulation and online traffic increases, improved reader www.inma.org/bookstore participation and won awards from INMA, IFRA, and the World Association of Newspapers, including the World Young Reader Newspaper of the Year 2008 title. Among his greatest achievements are interactive campaigns that engaged thousands of readers, such as “Save the River,” “Future of our Cities,” and “School of Photography Masters.” His biggest challenge now is to develop multi-media news services that link the quality journalism that the newspaper delivers with social features in order to make Gazeta an even more interactive medium than it is today. Piechota also serves as a vice president of INMA’s Europe Division board. {inma member} << inmaphotos ideas January+February 2009 page 53

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(Photo 1) Attendees at the INMA Europe Conference in Vienna. (Photo 2) Bhaskar Das of The Times of India, serving as moderator at inma the INMA South Asia Conference at Mumbai. (Photo 3) Rune Danielsen of Verdens Gang delivers a presentation at the INMA Europe chicago Conference. (Photo 4) Delegates from the Times of India in a jubilant mood in Mumbai. (Photo 5) Attendees gather for the opening session of the INMA Europe Conference. (Photo 6) Shahrukh Hasan of Pakistan’s Jang Group in Mumbai. (Photo 7) Attendeees at INMA’s Strategic mumbai Marketing and Innovation Summit in Chicago. (Photo 8) K.P. Narayanan of Mathrubhumi during a session in Mumbai. (Photo 9) Panel vienna } discussion at INMA Chicago summit. (Photo 10) Sunil Muteja of Amar Ujala Newspaper during a session in Mumbai. back >> inma << page 54 January+February 2009 ideas inmastaff

Copenhagen Scottsdale Miami Executive Director. Earl J. Wilkinson ([email protected]) Associate Director. Maria E. Terrell ([email protected]) Office Director. Jara Geczi ([email protected]) database and membership manager. kimberly pearson ([email protected]) Event Manager. megan deleon ([email protected]) Publications Editor. James Khattak ([email protected]) Creative Services Manager. Danna Emde ([email protected]) Europe Division Coordinator. january 2009. Inge Van Gaal 16, 30: INMA Awards 2009. Entry ([email protected]) latin america division Coordinator. deadline for Europe, Latin America, carla chavez and Asia: 16 January; Entry deadline ([email protected]) for South Pacific, North America, and SOUTH ASIA division Coordinator. PRIYA MARWAH Africa: 30 January. ([email protected]) 21-23: INMA Summit on Audience PROJECT MANAGER. Development. Scottsdale, USA. andrea loubier ([email protected]) 29-30: INMA/Ifra Tomorrow’s Media consumer trends Editor. Advertising Summit. Copenhagen, dawn mcmullan Denmark. ([email protected]) may 2009. 13-15: INMA World Congress. Miami,

USA. << march 2009. contactinma INMA Summit on Audience Development TBA: INMA Mixed Business Models www.inma.org Seminar. Lisbon, Portugal. Headquarters Scottsdale, USA / 22-23 january 2009. Examine best practices june 2009. 10300 North Central Expressway, Suite 467, in growing audience, readership, and circulation at this urgent 12-13: INMA Dutch-Flemish Media Dallas, Texas 75231, USA Tel.: +1 214 373-9111 summit of audience development executives. Congress. Utrecht, The Netherlands. Europe Office 25-26: INMA French Seminar. Lille, Minderbroedersrui 9, Bus 9, Antwerp B-2000, France. Belgium Tel.: +32 47 760-5367 INMA/Ifra: Tomorrow’s Media Advertising september 2009. South Asia Office 4-5: INMA Latin American Seminar B-5 Kailash Colony, (First Floor), New Delhi Summit Southern Region. Buenos Aires, 110048, India Tel.: +91 987 199-6878 copenhagen, denmark / 29-30 january 2009. Explore online, Argentina. print, and mobile innovations in advertising at Tomorrow’s 10-11: INMA Latin American Seminar Media Advertising Summit. Northern Region. Mexico City, Mexico. 24-25: INMA Strategic Marketing and << Innovation Summit. Boston, USA. howtojoininma INMA World Congress october 2009. Dues: US$595 for a 12-month membership miami, usa / 13-15 may 2009. Global best practices to grow 22-23: Outlook 2010: INMA European How: Go to “join inma” tab atop INMA.org advertising, audience, and brand will be on display at the 79th Conference Experience. Liverpool, Annual INMA World Congress. United Kingdom. << recentreports

Luxury and Affluence: Leveraging Newspaper Outlook 2009: Converting Best in Print 2008 audiences and products for upscale Bandwidth to Innovation Explore award-winning print entries newspaper advertisers Learn about global best practices in in this showcase from the 2008 INMA Generate high revenue and high profits revenue generation, business model Awards competition. Included are nearly for your newspaper by delivering innovation, and implementing real 120 of the newspaper industry’s best affluent audiences to luxury advertisers cultural change in this 8th annual report marketing promotions from the past year. through upmarket nich products. for the newsmedia industry. New Horizons: A Guide to Single-Copy Success: Strategies and New Ideas to Acquire and Retain Newspaper’s Online Advertising Best Practices for Newspapers Newspaper Web Site Visitors This report gives newspaper companies Find out how newspapers around the Take a global view of the strategies a strategic view of the online advertising world are growing and developing the newspapers are employing to attract landscape. It profiles four of the most newsstand sales side of their business audiences and traffic to their web site popular genres of online advertising and and how it connects them to their content, features, and services. their threats and opportunities. communities in this new INMA report. Newsmedia Outlook 2009 Converting Bandwidth to Innovation

Managing complexity amid structural changes, leadership in an economic downturn, drawing out maximum value from media platforms, and understanding the emerging context of content are key themes in INMA’s 8th Annual “Newsmedia Outlook 2009: Converting Bandwidth to Innovation.” Designed to be a look at the year ahead for senior managements of newspaper companies worldwide, the report is written by Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director of INMA. Learn about advertising, circulation, and profitability projections. Benchmark your expectations with those of the global INMA network. [ www.inma.org [ Stay ahead of the game and order your copy today