www.newsandtech.com www.newsandtech.com July/August 2019 The premier resource for insight, analysis and technology integration in newspaper and hybrid operations and production. GateHouse cracks the code to boosting single-copy sales u BY TARA MCMEEKIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER GateHouse Media launched a nationwide single- Some 22,000 retail locations across GateHouse’s copy promotion earlier this year in an effort to boost markets — including 7-Eleven, Circle K, Speedway and readership and sales. Starting in May, the publisher ran H-E-B grocery — supported the promotion with store its “Crack the Code” promo for eight weeks, giving away signage. Regular print subscribers were also allowed to weekly prizes totaling $150,000. participate in the sweepstakes, with positive results. “As of late June, we’d already received more than 341,000 entries,” Rick Dumas, senior director of single- Lift in revenue copy sales for GateHouse, told News & Tech. On average, Dumas said GateHouse’s single-copy Dumas said GateHouse partnered with audience en- sales account for about $77 million in revenue, so it gagement platform provider Second Street to power the made sense to spend the $150,000 to boost those sales sweepstakes across more than 150 newspapers in 32 states. further. Readers could enter by picking up a copy of their local print publication “We’ve had good engagement from a number of our home-delivery sub- and entering a code printed on page 2A on the sweepstakes website. Weekly scribers, and we’ve also saved some that were planning to cancel their sub- winners had a chance to win between $2,000 and $12,000, with a grand prize scriptions,” Dumas said. “We also had a 3.16 percent lift in single-copy rev- of $100,000. Through that entry, the publisher is able to collect reader infor- enue that equaled $37,000 in a week, so that was really good.” mation including name, email, phone number and date of birth. Of all the entries, Dumas said 23 percent or more were non-subscribers. Dumas said the GateHouse promotions department also worked with Second This isn’t the publisher’s first sweepstakes initiative. Over the holiday sea- Street to monetize the sweepstakes through rich media features, including high- son last year, GateHouse launched a hot rod giveaway in which it accepted ly visible ads across participating newspapers’ websites and landing pages. 100,000 entries over a weeklong period for a chance to win a car. The winner “We’re running print ads and sending email blasts to past subscribers and chose a yellow Chevelle convertible. non-subscribers, and we’re promoting it with our free products,” he said. “We “These sweepstakes have been a great lift for us, thanks to the work of our also did a video ad and launched some Facebook ads to attract some of the marketing department and promotions department as well as our social media younger demographic.” experts and our editorial department,” Dumas said. p Las Vegas Review-Journal maximizing revenue from ad space u BY TARA MCMEEKIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER It’s been a year and a half since the Las Vegas The Las Vegas-Review ley Times, Boulder City Review, El Tiempo, Luxury Journal said its programmatic Review-Journal partnered with Orlando-based ad revenues have increased Las Vegas and NevadaPreps.com. diDNA in an effort to optimize its ad inventory significantly since partnering “For us, this was an efficiency play,” Belinda and increase monetization of its digital content. Image: diDNA with diDNA in 2017. Englman, vice president of digital for the Review- The publisher is using diDNA’s software to manage Journal, told News & Tech. “In the past year to programmatic advertis- 18 months we’ve had a significant increase in our ing and drive revenue numbers in programmatic — for some of our pub- from remnant digital ad space. lications, it’s doubled.” In addition to programmatic Englman said diDNA’s products have allowed the Turn to advertising, the diDNA platform Review-Journal to truly automate these processes. page 33 combines predictive modeling, “Every two weeks we have a phone meeting that machine learning and automa- involves a couple of web developers and they also for expanded tion to help publishers optimize share reports and opportunities for improvement and ad yield. Besides its flagship pa- optimization,” she said. “Occasionally we get code industry per, the Review-Journal deployed to implement on our side, but that’s an easy lift.” the platform across sister publica- coverage tions, including the Pahrump Val- Las Vegas Review-Journal continues on page 5 News & Tech July/August 2019 u 1 www.newsandtech.com — Let’s write the future. With retrofit solutions that give your press another ten years of life. ABB’s retrofit solutions for newspaper presses will extend the productive life of your press, improve print quality, reduce waste and improve efficiency — for a fraction of the cost of a new press. Worried about the availability of spare parts for your existing controls? With an ABB retrofit you know that spares will be available worldwide for ten to fifteen years. Whether looking for replacement drives, new controls, conversion to shaftless or a complete press reconfiguration, ABB has the right solution for you. The key to the future of your printing business lies with ABB. www.abb.com/printing 2 t July/August 2019 News & Tech ABB-Ad_Newsandtech_228x276_a.indd 1 21.07.2017 07:51:57 uVendor News Chicago Tribune gets upgrade from Electronic Design Group Electronic Design Group has announced a recent contract with the Electronic Design Group says. The upgrade involves a full transplant Chicago Tribune for the rejuvenation of the Tribune’s 23 Ferag stacker of the control cabinets where the PLC, drive and auxiliary compo- infeed assemblies (SIA). nents are housed. With the addition of a touch screen at each SIA, The order comes a year after EDG upgraded the Tribune’s 15 SCC- mounted in the cabinet door, the equipment status is always known, USA conveyors. resulting in more uptime, according to Electronic Design Group. The SIA solution is designed to address the reoccurring theme of Like the Ferag conveyors, the SIAs are networked over ethernet, obsolescence by replacing the controls and drives in the system, along with the conveyors. Trib Total Media goes with Siebold for drive controls, upgrades Trib Total Media, a family of community daily and weekly papers, a “Our new TSC Press Controls were developed based on customer weekly shopper, commercial printing, promotional products, direct demand to eliminate the need to rely on the OEM for expensive parts, mail and digital services, chose The Siebold Company to replace their service and software upgrades,” said TSC’s Products, Parts and Service Goss Community SSC press controls. Vice President Eugene Albright. The new TSC Press Controls product line was developed to give Goss The new TSC Press Controls product line includes press drive re- Community press customers the ability to replace their Goss Omincon placements, press console and press controls, folder interface, registra- controls with a press controls system that offers maximum functional- tion controls, dampening systems controls and reporting and remote ity and more cost-effective off-the-shelf components, according to The diagnostic service capability, according to The Siebold Company. Siebold Company. PCF launches ‘to the door’ service for Doorfront Direct Publishers Circulation Fulfillment has begun “to the door,” final newspaper carrier team. mile service for magazine and catalog delivery network Doorfront “PCF welcomes the opportunity for growth with Doorfront Direct Direct. Deliveries started in May in the Boston area and will spread and we expect the added volume and revenue to support our carrier across PCF’s New England, New York and New Jersey footprint over retention efforts, as well as our bottom line,” said Kevin Daly, chief a four-month deployment, with monthly volume estimated to reach operating officer for PCF. over 500,000, according to PCF. “We also view the ‘to the door’ aspect of Doorfront Direct deliver- “We are excited to launch with the PCF team,” said Randall Brant, ies as a natural evolution of our core newspaper delivery process and executive director of Doorfront Direct. “From New Jersey up through one that supports our movement into the parcel delivery arena.” New England, PCF has the most extensive delivery operation in the Doorfront Direct is a partnership of Gannett Publishing Services, country.” based in McLean, Virginia; Quad, headquartered in Sussex, Wiscon- Doorfront Direct now serves 35 markets, according to PCF, pro- sin; and ACI Last Mile Network, based in Long Beach, California. viding magazine publishers and catalog merchants with a delivery PCF is a provider of final mile distribution services to the print me- alternative. Customers receive their magazines and catalogs in in- dia and parcel industries. dividually addressed packages, delivered to their door by the area’s Centro Stampa Quotidiani, Q.I. Press Controls make another deal Italian Centro Stampa Quotidiani (CSQ) and Netherlands-based For CSQ, this represents the fifth order since the start of the col- Q.I. Press Controls (QIPC) are expanding their business dealings. laboration with QIPC in 2005. “In fact, this order is identical to the After having a IDS-3D system for automatic color and dampening last one in 2015,” said Dario de Cian, CSQ general manager. “We’re control installed on four towers of its WIFAG OF370GTD printing now expanding the IDS-3D system to the second part of the press.” press, CSQ has placed an order for the same system on another five According to de Cian, the IDS-3D system has more than proved its towers. worth over the last two years.