}ideasmarch 2010 the magazine of newsmedia marketing

{cover} before, during, and after the recession … Gannett U.S. Community alsoinside Publishing’s newsmedia companies must act fast to link print with mobile. Industry game plan experts offer quick timeline to catch up with mobile opportunities. by kerry j. northrup by Michelle Krans. How Gannett’s U.S. Community + newspaper re-designed as the Publishing division made strides during the worldwide “ultimate browser.” How Austria’s Vorarlberger Nachrichten became even more economic downturn to position itself for the recovery. successful, attractive, and readable. by gerold riedmann

inauguration provides social media opportunity. New York Times Facebook campaign grows web site users and increases its fan base. by murray gaylord tableofcontents >> eventcalendar march 2010 march 2010. 10: INMA Workshop: Unleashing the Power of Print: Kickstarting Advertising Revenues. {coverstory} gannett’s game plan Mumbai, India. april 2010. how gannett’s u.s. community publishing division made strides 5 26-28: 80th Annual INMA during the worldwide economic downturn to position itself for the World Congress. New York, recovery. by Michelle Krans USA. june 2010. 24-25: Séminaire Ciudad de Panamá Francophone INMA. Lille, France. august 2010. 5-6: INMA South Asia Conference. Mumbai, India. september 2010. 9-10: INMA Seminario Latinoamericano. Ciudad de Panamá, Panama. 29-1 October: INMA Outlook 2011 Conference. inmastaff Krakow, Poland. october 2010. Executive Director. 7: Advertising Summit. Earl J. Wilkinson Hamburg, Germany. ([email protected]) Associate Director. {profiles} Maria E. Terrell ([email protected]) 10 audiences show more Office Director. similarities Jara Geczi ([email protected]) by Susan Cody Event Manager. 11 newspaper re-designed megan deleon as “ultimate browser” ([email protected]) by Gerold Riedmann editor, ideas magazine. dawn mcmullan 13 inauguration provides ([email protected]) media opportunity New York Creative Services by Murray Gaylord Manager. 14 integration increases Danna Emde INMA World Congress ([email protected]) revenue, audience Europe Division by Virginie Fortun new york, usa / 26-28 april 2010. The 80th Annual Coordinator. 15 approach ties event to INMA World Congress will bring together a global lineup Inge Van Gaal Customer brand of speakers that explores emerging strategies to grow ([email protected]) audience, advertising, and brand of newsmedia companies. SOUTH ASIA division by Sudha Natrajan Coordinator. 16 companies must act fast PRIYA MARWAH to link print with mobile Séminaire Francophone INMA ([email protected]) by Kerry J. Northrup PROJECT MANAGER. Lille, France / 24-25 June 2010. The INMA French andrea loubier 18 patience, attention Seminar is a hands-on, intimate seminar designed ([email protected]) results in niche success to explore the practicalities of what's happening at PROJECT MANAGER. by Ann Craven newspapers in France and the French-speaking regions of TOM CORBETT ([email protected]) 19 panel contributes to Switzerland and Belgium. strategy, decisions by John A. Newby howtojoininma 21 tabloid replaces sunday INMA South Asia Conference newspaper to cut costs mumbai, india / 5-6 august 2010. The INMA South company membership by Bob Cox Asia Conference is a market-leading event designed to US$2,995 for 12-month membership for capture strategic best practices and the practicalities of unlimited employees as business unit or 22 success begins on single address foundation of questions newspaper advertising sales for newspaper executives from by Rogier Rijkers the leading companies in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri group membership Lanka, and others interested in this region. US$1,000 for 12-month membership for 23 newspaper embraces unlimited employees at all business units higher calling (minimum of 3 units) by Patricia Centeno individual membership 25 lessons from hurricane cover image: Gannett / Florida Today US$695 for 12-month membership for one }ideas help with recession individual by John McFarland Publisher. Earl J. Wilkinson Editor. dawn mcmullan Art Director. Danna Emde how to join 26 Join online or download application forms creating partnership Contributing writers. with community patricia centeno, susan cody, bob cox, ann craven, virginie fortun, murray gaylord, at INMA.org. Or contact INMA at Michelle krans, john McFarland, sudha natrajan, john a. newby, kerry j. northrup, [email protected] or +1 214 373-9111. by Lukas Widjaja gerold riedmann, rogier rijkers, lukas widjaja boardofdirectors international newsmedia marketing association << viewfrominma President. www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 3 MICHAEL PHELPS The Washington Examiner, USA VICE President. RAVI DHARIWAL Bennett, Coleman & Company, New Delhi, India Past President. Ed Efchak Belden Interactive, Hackensack, USA Treasurer. Scott Stines mass2one, Cedar Rapids, USA ASIA Division President. tariq ansari Mid Day Multimedia Ltd., Mumbai, India Europe Division President. wolfgang bretschko Styria Medien AG, Graz, Austria Latin America Division President. JOSé LUIS PARRA U.S. early warning of trends El Mercurio, Santiago, Chile North America Division President. JAMES GOLD by earl j. wilkinson The United States newspaper industry is a peculiar beast. New York Times Regional Media Group, Tampa, USA INMA Executive Director Its publishers are lambasted worldwide for the harvesting Directors. strategy they’ve employed the past two decades that has left their OLIVIER BONSART Ouest France, France products, employees, and buildings shells of their former selves. DISSICA CALDERARO Yet the markets they inhabit are of acute interest to publishers A Crítica, Manaus, Brazil Mark Challinor worldwide, as the United States is often a harbinger of consumer g8wave Europe Ltd., London, United Kingdom and advertiser trends. rob curley Greenspun Interactive, Las Vegas, USA The advantage to watching what happens in the United States ROGER DUNBAR is that there are strategies and tactics that can be employed to The Globe and Mail, Canada SANDRA GÓMEZ-Valle avoid or mitigate many of these trends: El Diario de Hoy, San Salvador, El Salvador HAROLD GRöNKE >> European publishers employed Verlag Dierichs, Kassel, Germany “slow-down” tactics in the past decade Shaun O’L. Higgins The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, USA to protect automotive, real estate, jerry HiLL and employment advertising after the St. Petersburg Times, USA alberto jaramillo cepeda devastation of U.S. newspapers’ classifieds. El Universal, Mexico Yasmin Namini >> East Asian newspapers carved The New York Times, USA out cash from print classified profits to bengt ottosson Expressen, Stockholm, Sweden invest in digital infrastructure, making tom ratkovich Earl J. Wilkinson is them better prepared than their U.S. smartFOCUS ASTECH, Denver, USA executive director and CEO Dennis Skulsky of INMA, a frequent speaker counterparts for the Digital Age. CanWest, Toronto, Canada at industry conferences and >> Latin American and South kjersti Løken stavrum Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway newspaper companies, and African newspapers witnessed the online bernhard weissberg the author of many reports, Blick, Switzerland books, and The Earl Blog revolution in the States and opted to ROBERT WHITEHEAD at INMA.org. He may be target mobile strategies as a bypass Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia reached at earl.wilkinson@ medium for content and advertising. LUKAS WIDJAJA inma.org. Kompas Daily, Indonesia The lessons to learn from the United States in 2010 are positive and negative. contactinma First, there are intense conversations www.inma.org and experiments in the U.S. advertising headquarters P. O. Box 740186 community surrounding digital options, Dallas, Texas 75374, USA social media, and the synergistic effects Tel.: +1 214 373-9111 Fax: +1 214 373-9112 europe office of multi-media. U.S. newspapers “get” Minderbroedersrui 9, Bus 9, Antwerp B-2000, Belgium this conversation, yet struggle with how Tel.: +32 47 760 53 67 Fax: +32 3 288 69 47 south asia office to position themselves to deliver real B-5 Kailash Colony, (First Floor), New Delhi 110048, India value. This is at the heart of the integrated Tel.: +91 987 199-6878 advertising sales debate. aboutinma Second, newspaper publishing can be scaled. For all the fire and brimstone INMA (International Newsmedia Marketing Association) is the world’s largest and premier newsmedia marketing organisation. rained down on publishers the past two This practical network of progressive marketing professionals now years for cost-cutting, it was a necessary totals nearly 2,000 members in 82 countries worldwide. Members exchange ideas through a bi-monthly magazine, multiple web sites, step in the transition to eventually e-mail executive summaries, discussion forums, message boards, conferences, workshops, travel study tours, awards competitions, becoming digital-first operations. If the benchmark surveys, and online directories and databases. recession hadn’t hit, U.S. publishers would have been talking about the game plan ideas: the magazine of newsmedia marketing (ISSN 0896-1441) that they just implemented. is published 12 times annually, monthly, by the International Love it or hate it, there are lessons Newsmedia Marketing Association Inc., P.O. Box 740186, Dallas, Texas 75374, USA. Each edition is archived at INMA.org and can be accessed by topics or by keyword to be learned from following what’s search. Only INMA members may access the ideas magazine archive. happening in the United States. F

<< coverstory www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 5

Before, during, and after the recession … Gannett U.S. Community Publishing’s game plan

How Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing division made strides during the worldwide economic downturn to position itself for the recovery. by michelle krans

annett is an international media and marketing solutions company providing Gmillions of people with the information they want and connecting them to their communities of interest through multiple platforms — including internet, mobile, newspapers, magazines, and TV. The company’s strong multi-platform future was built on a foundation that was established when it was producing content with nothing but ink on paper. Among the attributes that have helped the company bridge the years between being a newspaper company and a sophisticated multi- {media company are: >> An unwavering focus on responding as local readers’ and advertisers’ needs change. >> A sharp focus on monitoring changes in fiscal trends and responding aggressively. Those traits remain at the heart of U.S. Community Publishing’s strategy as the economy turns toward recovery.

Gannett’s history. Gannett newspapering began in 1906, when Frank Gannett bought a half interest in the Elmira Gazette in Elmira, New York. Regional acquisitions were followed by national acquisitions. By the 1960s, the company had >> > << coverstory www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 6

developed a national footprint and went public in understand and aggressively pursue the different {author} 1967. audiences for different platforms. Michelle Krans Early in its history, Gannett was a major The Democrat and Chronicle shapes its daily is senior vice innovator. For example, in 1929, Frank Gannett newspaper for the Baby Boomer audience, offers president/strategy invested in the development of the teletypesetter. a deep web site for young professionals, produces and development Printing presses were adapted for colour as early as a magazine for affluent women, and has products at Gannett U.S. 1938. In 1982, Gannett launched USA Today, which for Spanish-speaking residents. It is true audience Community Publishing was a landmark not only for Gannett but also for the aggregation. in McLean, Virginia, newspaper business. It was the first truly general- USA. She can be interest national newspaper in the United States, During the economic downturn. Over reached at mkrans@ and its use of colour and graphics revolutionised the the past two years, U.S. Community Publishing gannett.com. newspaper industry. has fundamentally restructured the cost side of its This belief in the value of innovation never business. waivered. More than half of our newspapers are now outsourced and printed by commercial printers, Innovation at U.S. Community other Gannett sites, or non-Gannett newspapers. Publishing. Among the innovations rolled Close to half of our newspapers are now designed out recently by U.S. Community Publishing was and paginated in centralised editing hubs. We are the creation of its Information Centers. In 2006, exploring additional opportunities for consolidation traditional newsrooms underwent a sweeping or outsourcing of printing and distribution this year. transformation and became Information Centers. In 2009, U.S. Community Publishing began Instead of writing stories for newspapers, Gannett the consolidation of advertising production in journalists began producing news and information two Gannett production centers, which will be on whatever platform consumers prefer — completed in early 2011. These centers, in Des newspapers, non-dailies, and a wide digital portfolio. Moines, Iowa, and in Indianapolis, Indiana, will Hanging in the Newseum in Washington, D.C., is allow Gannett to stay competitive — maintaining a photo of a “mojo,” a concept pioneered by Gannett high quality and service for advertisers while and widely copied throughout the industry. These improving efficiencies. The centers leverage mobile journalists provide real-time coverage of the management and infrastructure of our two events through Twitter, post web updates, write successful regional toning centers. stories for print, and repurpose content for weeklies. Our efforts in aggressive restructuring allowed us The form of content is designed to serve the specific to protect front-line journalists and advertising sales needs of audiences of each platform. executives, leaving us poised to take advantage of an It’s working. Scarborough Research measures economy that is showing signs of strengthening. {rochester} aggregated audience (the total media reach in the 81% of in-market nation’s top markets). Four of the six best markets Anticipating economic recovery. adults read the in the United States are Gannett markets. Leading U.S. Community Publishing is entering 2010 with Democrat and is the Rochester, New York, market, where 81% of continued confidence in our aggregated-audience Chronicle’s print or adults read the Democrat and Chronicle or its digital strategy. digital products each products over seven days. Our focus is on maximising audience reach week. These markets are industry leaders because they >> > << coverstory www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 7

and depth. Web sites and emerging mobile platforms will focus on breaking news, hyperlocal content, and social interactivity. Valuable niche audiences will be targeted with unique content and experiences in print and digital products. Gannett’s corporate staff will help local sites with this by: >> Offering deep market research. >> Providing training on readers’ and advertisers’ changing needs. {sundays} >> Sharing best-practices for tailoring content to key audiences. Gannett’s “Super 2. Strengthen our products: All key audiences — Sunday” steering affluents, Boomers, women, young professionals— committee is can be reached through a strong Sunday newspaper. considering ways Sunday is also the strongest draw for advertisers. to improve Sunday With that knowledge, we are launching a cross- products for readers departmental initiative to make Sunday editions and advertisers. substantially more engaging. Ideas for improvements are being vetted by and engagement through product enhancements a “Super Sunday” steering committee and tested and winning local market share by delivering the at selected sites. The concept: create a Sunday best results to advertisers. We also plan to actively newspaper experience that is irresistible to readers pursue product development and strategic alliances and advertisers. that provide unique value to consumers and Our coveted affluent readers expect us to be customers. community watchdogs, and an aggressive year- New content distribution strategies will be long push is being made to strengthen investigative tested across print,Key digital, strategies and mobile — to e-editions, battle reporting. creative A partnership destruction with the Investigative e-readers, paid subscription models for content or Reporters and Editors organisation will provide services, and other options. Successful strategies will hands-on watchdog training for more than 200 be rolled out companywide. journalists. The battle for readers and revenue is increasingly Our key audiences all use digital products, but local. We have the largest footprint in our local use them differently. A key strategy for 2010 is to markets and are confident that we can grow those more clearly target specific digital offerings for footprints. distinct audiences. 3. Expand marketing efforts: We are committed Strategies for 2010. U.S. Community to reinvesting in consumer marketing. We saw good Publishing strategies for 2010 include: return on a strategic investment in the last four 1. Target key audiences: Consumers’ experiences months of 2009, when we invested in Gannett’s 29 with print and digital platforms are evolving rapidly. largest markets to improve paid circulation. The In response, we will more aggressively differentiate goal was to boost Sunday home delivery sales. print and digital offerings. We improved the trend significantly in just Newspapers will focus on analysis, perspective, four months. Six markets have moved above 2008 Sunday home-delivery levels. We will continue those sales and marketing investments in 2010. In addition, we will create a regionalised consumer sales operation that will provide more sophisticated sales and retention programmes. A centralised database marketing center will be created to leverage deep consumer insights. 4. Redefine, reinforce our role as leaders: Local newspapers have a long tradition of identifying issues through journalism and guiding solutions through editorials. We believe this remains vitally important to protecting relationships with communities. However, the changing media world causes us to >> > << coverstory www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 8

clients a competitive edge in the marketplace. The Regional Client Solutions Groups will also offer non-traditional marketing services, such as event planning, strategic planning, and social networking services. Enhancing our sales performance is a critical strategy for 2010. We will work to build our core competencies in recruiting talent, performance management, customer focus, and in-field coaching. In an increasingly competitive environment, our local sales forces need to be excellent at selling digital solutions. Initiatives to achieve this include {watchdog} spending quality time with our “best of class” sales executives to set new standards on sales Gannett is performance, as well as regional sales management strengthening training workshops. its investigative As our online offerings continue to evolve, journalism, answering training is critical. We are investing in an intense the call to be the yearlong digital training session that includes SEO, community watchdog. SEM, and behavioural targeting.

revisit what community leadership looks like for the game plan for 2010 and beyond. Our readers of 2010. As we look to build readership and aggregated-audience strategy has given us larger revenue, we are asking our top leaders to evaluate footprints than ever before. Our goals build on the and strengthen their role as community leaders. goals that have sustained our value through the This involves the entire local media organisation’s toughest economic times in decades. position in a community — its relationship with We strive in Information Centers across the advertisers, its strength in solving problems, and company to give readers the news and information its marketing involvement in addressing important they want — where, when, and how they want it. issues facing the community. We work together across departments to target the 5. Maximise revenue and market share: Our 2010 audiences that advertisers covet. At the same time, advertising market share goals are built on three we respect that news content must have integrity to aspirations: have value. >> Be more consultative and sell packages that We strive in advertising sales to target our get results. offerings to customers’ needs. For small businesses, >> Understand market potential. we have new self-service solutions. For national >> Build our proficiency at sales. prospects, we have created a solution that spans To continue to lead in an increasingly competitive all Gannett divisions, from broadcast to daily landscape, we must ensure our sales organisations newspapers, from USA Today to digital products. have deep market knowledge, efficient sales force We continue to test new ways to serve readers design, and laser-sharp sales strategies. and advertisers, rolling out successes across the We will enhance our sales organisations company. With each, we build on the audience through initiatives that leverage best-of-class aggregation strategy that makes us the leading practices (within and beyond our industry) and media company in our communities. F new capabilities. We will dramatically improve our sales capabilities through the implementation of standardised technology, including an enterprise CRM solution and deployment of self-service sales channels for small- to mid-sized businesses. We also will build an easy-access communication tool that provides sales representatives with customised market intelligence, sales support material, and training resources. To better serve our top local customers and win more market share, we are creating four Regional Client Solutions Groups. Functioning much like high-level advertising agencies, the groups will serve our most sophisticated local marketers. They will provide highly designed creative campaigns to give

<< profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 10 Print and online audiences show more similarities than differences Irish Times research shows print and online readers see platforms as complementary, yet have key differences in their interests, loyalty, interaction, and value. by susan cody

The Irish Times commissioned and carried out have been developing over the past number of years, extensive internal and external market research on such as the area of health. Niche interest areas within some of our reader segments throughout the first this overall sector were also identified, and it was half of 2009, allowing us to identify a number of key shown that print could serve these well. communities in print and online. The audiences were >> Interaction and engagement: When it came to not as different as might have been expected. In fact, interactivity, online forged ahead, as might have been they probably had more in common than not. imagined. Certain audiences clearly indicated their One of the key findings was that print and online desire to interact — not just in a dialogue but in a were seen as complementary. We found that in every broader conversation. They were doing this already age group, Irish Times’ readers also interacted with with other media and expected to be able to do the irishtimes.com. So the differences lie less in the same through our online presence, particularly given channel or platform for accessing The Irish Times our role in presenting them with topical, relevant and more in the areas of interest, levels of interaction “food for thought” on a regular basis. and engagement, influences on purchase decision, >> Loyalty and influence: Another finding that and value and reward: differentiated our print and online audiences was >> Areas of interest: The research strengthened that family and tradition are still key influencers in and validated some areas of interest in print that we choosing to read The Irish Times — but this had no bearing on the choice of online news source. {online} Generally speaking, the majority of Irish Times newspaper readers stick to buying just the one Research shows newspaper, only occasionally buying a competing irishtimes.com readers title. Our online audiences, on the other hand, get enjoy interacting with their news from a wide variety of online sources — the newspaper, as not generally from online newspapers. When they they have become do get their news from the web site of a traditional accustomed to doing newspaper, it could well be from The Irish Times, with other media. along with other internationally recognised newspaper brands, such as The New York Times or the Guardian. Traditional print newspaper loyalty does not translate into loyalty for the equivalent online offering. >> Perceived value: Value to our audiences in print and online also differed. Our print readers wanted their loyalty and the strength of their relationship with us to be recognised. Online users aren’t as bothered about being loyal but want to feel valued more in terms of interacting with the site and being recognised for the contribution they can make to lively, “real-time” debate. As mentioned above, most of our readers demonstrated that online and offline reading channels are complementary in their mind. Newspapers offer readers the tactile, intimate pleasure of reading them, while online news sites provide more utilitarian benefits. Together they provide our reader base/audience with a complete S>>usan Cody is head of programme management at The Irish Times in news and services offering that meets their various Dublin, Ireland. She can be reached at [email protected]. but specific and relevant needs. F << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 11 Newspaper re-designed to become the “ultimate browser”

How Austria’s Vorarlberger Nachrichten worked with Swedish designer Per Boström to make a local newspaper that already reaches 70% of its community even more successful, attractive, and readable. by gerold riedmann

Never change a running system, that’s what they there’s no chance to read or say. skip over 800 news reports in Well, the Vorarlberger Nachrichten (VN) system 20 minutes. actually was running very well. Circulation figures the briefing sessions. We have been more than satisfying, market share first heard about Boström’s growing. Seventy percent of local residents read our work for Metro, the world’s daily subscription newspaper, which received the largest newspaper. He did a “Newspaper of the Year” award at the World Editors major redesign for them in 2006, for which he was {redesign} Forum in 2006. awarded “Art Director of the Year.” In the briefing There hasn’t been a desperate need to change. Yet sessions in early 2009, we discussed how we Vorarlberger we wanted to get closer to our idea of the newspaper understand “local, local, local.” Out of the 360,000 Nachrichten is as being the “ultimate browser.” We hired 28-year- inhabitants of the state of Vorarlberg, VN runs designed to provide old Swedish designer Per Boström to do his first photos of roughly 100,000 of them within its pages 800 bits of news that newspaper redesign for a non-Swedish customer. in one year. can be read in 20 the ultimate browser. The efficiency of a printed readers in the driver’s seat. The whole redesign minutes. newspaper is unrivaled — and will not be beaten project was accompanied by our reader advisory in the next years. VN is designed to be readable board. We introduced this consulting authority in in 20 minutes; usually there are 800 news bits in 2007, willing to get even closer to our readers. In one edition. Compare this amount to a 20-minute late 2009, the consultation with the reader advisory news show on television. If they are fast storytellers, board and the first test print was a huge success. they will squeeze 15 stories in their air time. Even After five minutes of reading, page turning, and the mighty internet is not yet as efficient as printed rustling, we got all the feedback we needed. Good newspapers. Because it is still in its Stone Age, feedback. Our readers picked the important body text typeface, for instance. They gave us the strong feeling we were headed in the right direction. The first redesign briefing with Boström took place in early 2009. Six months later, on December 3, the first issue of the all-new VN was delivered to every household in Vorarlberg. Accompanied by a party in our printing house with 1,500 readers attending, the new design had a perfect start — including a kitschy firework show. Via VN, we prompted our readers to call and give us their opinions — and we answered every single call the next morning. Although the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, one big mistake was criticised in 95% of the calls: the Sudoku game was inexcusably scaled down to the great displeasure of G>>erold Riedmann is deputy editor-in-chief of Vorarlberger Nachrichten in Vorarlberg, Austria, and headed up the redesign our riddling community. project. He can be reached at [email protected]. Well, that was easy. We changed it the next day. F

<< profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 13 Obama inauguration provides social media opportunity

New York Times Facebook campaign grows web site users, raises awareness of multi-media capabilities, and increases its fan base. by murray gaylord

In early 2007, just months after Facebook opened up the site to all internet users, the social network saw a surge in new users that has continued to today. NYTimes.com’s marketing team saw a clear opportunity to engage Facebook users with New York Times content and to create a trusted forum on Facebook for people to talk about newsworthy events. We started with The New York Times News Quiz in August 2007, followed by the official Facebook Page of The New York Times, providing “fans” with exclusive content and interaction with The New York Times right from Facebook. During the next year, our fan base grew steadily and reached more than 200,000 fans by the end of 2008. designed by New York Times’ op-ed artist Christoph {facebook} Below is a case history for one campaign using Niemann. We also promoted the Facebook campaign social media to further our brand DNA. in several complementary ways off Facebook.com — The New York Times We launched a home page roadblock campaign ads in The New York Times and on NYTimes.com, embraced Facebook on Facebook on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009. street teams with free lapel pins, and an inauguration early, creating interest The campaign’s goals were to: night event at the New Museum in New York City. with events like its >> Increase users and visits to NYTimes.com for Our advertising roadblock delivered 128.4 million Inauguration Day inauguration-related coverage. impressions (+157%). Our advertising presence campaign. >> Raise awareness that NYTimes.com is resulted in an additional 180 million organic and an interactive news center with videos, blogs, boosted impressions through user comments and community, and more. fanning on that day. All told, we reached 21.6 million >> Increase fans to Facebook.com/NYTimes by users and had more than 300 million impressions 25% on that single day (from 204,000 to 260,000). (500% over goal) on that single day. There were more The tentpole for the campaign was a homepage than 60,000 total video plays on Facebook of our roadblock, created to ensure that every person who Obama swearing-in ceremony on January 20 alone. visited Facebook.com on January 20 was exposed to Our Facebook presence that day helped drive our brand message. multi-media consumption on NYTimes.com as well. We engaged the Facebook community by inviting We had the seventh-highest number of pageviews them to share a video of the swearing-in ceremony on NYTimes.com on January 20, and the day after and to send friends a free virtual Obama lapel pin, inauguration saw the third-highest pageviews in the site’s history, with a record-breaking 40% higher- than-average pageviews per visit. Our Facebook fans grew from 204,000 to 331,000 that day — 63% growth overall and 44% over our goal. Facebook fans shared 576,000 virtual Obama pin gifts. Our New Museum event attracted 500 guests and was covered by major media. The above case is just one example of the ways we are approaching social media. Today, we upload several NYTimes.com videos to YouTube every day, and we have more than 525,000 Facebook fans. The New York Times also has 2.3 million followers on its M>>urray Gaylord is vice president of marketing and consumer insights for The New York Times, USA. He can be reached at main Twitter feed and a total of 8.3 million followers [email protected]. across all 200-plus official NYTimes Twitter feeds. F << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 14 Advertising revenue, audience increase with newsroom integration

Le Temps knew it had to integrate its news production to ensure the company’s long-term sustainability. Its objective was to create a faster path from newsroom to market and provide an exciting user experience. How exactly to do that was the question. by virginie fortun

{channels} Convergence doesn’t mean the death of the print Lessons learned from our newsroom edition. It deals with carrying news and stories conversion concern technology aspects and change Integrating news anytime, anywhere, on any devices, exceeding management. Implementing new technologies is production gets Le targeted audiences’ expectations. Adding value quite easy. But making the correct use of them, Temps closer to its when you go to a different channel — not just respecting the company’s DNA, market positioning, readers, who want replicate existing content — is a pressing condition. and sticking to internal culture and codes are much content on a variety of At Le Temps, market size, limited resources, as well more complex. At the end of the day, deploying a platforms. as a strong call for consistency among channels multiple media platform is not about IT; it’s about motivated our decision to integrate editorial people. operations. To go digital by integration is not a norm or Delivering valuable information across all an industry trend. It’s a choice. Each publisher touch points requires skilled editors, efficient must know exactly why this decision is relevant for organisation, and mastered technology. his own business or if this will drive sustainable Experienced journalists and know-how were success in today’s tougher operating environment. already in-house, so we focused on the last two Day after day, Le Temps becomes an all-media aspects. brand, moving from a newspaper to a media First, we redefined strategy and operations, company that is closer to its users. As inventing redesigned internal processes, fine-tuned the future is better than just discovering it, we are workflows, and finally adapted daily rhythms and now looking for what’s coming after the integrated pace. Then we started to think about the tool newsroom. F we would need to shift from print-only to web and mobile. We implemented a single editorial platform based on the “one story, many renderings” principle. We installed the web/mobile components of our print content management system to minimise use resistance. Our aim was to quickly bring greater integration and generate productivity benefits, allowing us to offer additional online content as well as enhanced intra-day reactivity to our online readers. More attention was needed to develop skills to become even more multi-media oriented. A specific training plan supported our efforts. One year after the system integration and the processes redesign, there is still room for improvement in terms of web attributes embedded in article files. But we know that practice makes perfect. On the other hand, the pure web content V>>irginie Fortun is head of strategic development at Le Temps SA production increased significantly, and audience in Genève, Switzerland. She can be reached at virginie.fortun@ figures linked with advertising revenues grew 50%. letemps.ch. << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 15 Company uses integrated approach to tie event to customer brand India Fashion Week allows platform for Lintas Media Group to showcase its apparel client on a multi-media level, taking a business-to-business event and using it as a business-to-customer branding campaign. by sudha natrajan

Wills Lifestyle is a premium Indian apparel brand, offering the latest international style of classic work wear, relaxed wear, and evening wear. In 2006, Wills Lifestyle partnered with India Fashion Week, the leading fashion business event of India, where all the leading designers showcase their designs to fashion buying houses that come from all over the world. An uphill task lay ahead of Lintas Media Group, as there was considerable public relations coverage of events unfolding during Wills India Fashion Week (WIFW) — and not much about the Wills Lifestyle brand itself. There were also many other fashion shows happening in India at around the same time. The dual task from a media context was to quickly strengthen the synergies between the brand and event, and to build awareness and excitement of the event amongst the target audience (the event is primarily a business-to-business event). placed in all articles carrying news about the Wills {coverage} The media strategy focused on establishing Wills India Fashion Week, all five days of the event. Lifestyle as an integral part of editorial content in all >> Event branded slugs: The branding slugs were Lintas Media Group news covering Wills India Fashion Week. At the same strategically placed in editorial covering the event in takes advertiser time, we wanted to build the brand’s engagement and leading English newspapers. from overlooked interaction with consumers by placing the brand in >> Front page pictures: Pictures were used in event sponsor to relevant platforms (although this is primarily a B2B leading English newspapers to showcase special key editorial content event, the brand caters to premium consumers). moments during Fashion Week, using the Wills during the event’s We collaborated with various media partners Lifestyle brand. coverage. across different mediums and created innovative >> Featured look: Each day, a newspaper fashion tactics at minimal investments, taking the event to editor chose a specific look that created discussion the consumer at large. We launched the event on the during the show, carried as the Wills Lifestyle “Look false front covers of leading English supplements, of the Day.” a move followed by many innovative and successful >> Special events: We collaborated with integrations, including: newspapers to do special coverage of specific events >> Customised logos: Designed in partnership related to WIFW, such as the announcement of grand with leading newspapers and client, these logos were finale designers. >> Media partners: We ran branded “Fashion Statement of the Day” segments with the leading TV news channels. We also has a social media presence with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Today the event is popularly known as Wills India Fashion Week. The brand was rated amongst the top five luxury brands in the country in a Global Luxury Survey conducted by Time magazine. We had a holistic multi-media approach, using both conventional and out-of-the-box initiatives to S>>udha Natrajan is president and chief operating officer at Lintas Media Group in New Delhi, India. She can be reached at augment consumer engagement with the brand and [email protected]. strengthen association with WIFW. F << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 16

Newsmedia companies must act fast to link print with mobile

Industry experts offer quick timeline to catch up with mobile opportunities. Will you be ready? by kerry j. northrup

{timeline} It’s not a new idea: that print and mobile January, IT researcher Gartner Inc. moved that are practically made for one another. But with date up to 2013. Mobile use may indications that mobile will outstrip all other If you are a print publisher and are not already surpass internet use digital platforms in the next three to five years, it working on a mobile-first strategy as suggested by by 2013. Check out this could be a salvation strategy for smart publishers. an increasing array of industry notables, time is timeline to see if your As long as a decade ago, when I was just running short. Perhaps you should adopt the action news company will be starting to build the Newsplex prototype micro- plan laid out by Clyde Bentley, 2009-2010 Fellow ready. newsroom for exploring multi-platform publishing, of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute we were already calling mobile the fourth point of and an associate professor at the Missouri School the convergence compass — next to print, online, of Journalism (see http://bit.ly/mobtime). and video. Now just look at how digital video has That means: exploded since then, a la YouTube, et al. >> Appointing mobile editors by next month. Yet the ascendance of mobile was even easier to >> Getting all reporters equipped and trained on see coming. It’s a lifestyle thing. mobile apps and devices by next year. Glancing at one of those management SWOT >> Optimising your web sites for mobile visitors (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) and printing mobile-scanned bar codes with stories analyses makes mobile’s synergies with newspapers and ads by middle of 2011. and magazines equally obvious. As explained in the >> And becoming the top mobile news provider Newsplex Convergence Guides published back in in your market by January 2012. 2004: Then just hope mobile growth doesn’t accelerate “The mobile phone is developing into an even faster. F ideal real-time companion to the newspaper. This is because news over mobile — immediate, interactive, multimedia, but limited by bandwidth and screen size — tends to be the exact opposite of news from a newspaper, which is static and seriously time-delayed but relatively expansive in depth and detail. In combination, they seem to cover the spectrum and share a key attribute in the media marketplace: the convenience of portability.” The situation today is the same, but even more so. Print media desperately need mobile’s personal connection with people, and mobile is about to eclipse all prior communication channels. As of last year, more than half the people on the globe have mobile phones, according to the United Nations. A study last December from investment K>>erry J. Northrup, founding director of the Ifra Newsplex and firm Morgan Stanley concluded “the mobile former director of publications for the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra), is currently the internet is ramping faster than desktop internet Cal Turner Multimedia Professor and a professional-in-residence did,” and more users will go online via mobile at the Western Kentucky University School of Journalism & Broadcasting in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. He can be reached devices than personal computers by 2014. This at [email protected].

<< profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 18 Patience, attention to details result in niche magazine’s success

Yakima Herald-Republic createS partnership to learn about magazine business before going it alone with Yakima Magazine. by ann craven

In 2006, the Yakima Herald-Republic started Even though we would to explore the possibility of creating a local lifestyle be decreasing the overall magazine. We knew there was a niche to fill, but number of magazine copies we we didn’t have experience creating, developing, distributed of the new Yakima and executing a magazine. We wanted to start Magazine (16,500 copies with something we could test and began looking at per edition) when compared options we could implement quickly — that would with From House to Home fail or succeed quickly with little upfront financial (circulation 25,000), we commitment. believed we could get as many With no true experience in creating a magazine, or more readers with a targeted we decided it might be best to learn from others distribution plan. who did. Our initial product, From House to Home, We focused on a specific was created in partnership with Florida-based PSA income demographic by carrier magazines. This arrangement started to give us the route. We also developed a magazine experience we needed and allowed us to prototype of the new product gauge reader and advertiser interest in the kind of to share with advertisers. And product we thought we might someday publish on based on feedback from staff, our own. Response from consumers and advertisers advertisers, and consumers, to our the home-and-garden product was solid, and we decided to base each issue of this bi-monthly {magazine} the magazine was profitable from day one. Two years magazine feature content on six topics: entertaining, later, we knew it was time to venture out on our own travel, food and wine, the arts, home and garden, The Yakima Herald- — even in the midst of one of the worst economic and outdoors. Republic took its time times in history. Advertisers responded well to the 48-page learning the magazine In June 2009, we conducted an informal prototype in mid- to late-2009. In fact, sales were so business before feasibility study and began analysing the cost of strong that the magazine debuted at 72 pages (and launching its own. production and potential advertising revenue for a more than 50% advertising). The premiere edition new stand-alone community/lifestyle publication. was distributed on November 6, 2009, less than As we have for several years, we used the Newspaper six months after our decision to create a lifestyle Next (N2) model as we moved through the magazine. Distribution went to more than 13,000 development process, focusing on quality, content, subscribers, and 3,500 copies were distributed to advertising, and distribution. various single-copy locations within the targeted zip codes. Response from readers to the design, layout, and content of the magazine has been overwhelmingly positive. Newspaper subscribers and non-subscribers from non-targeted routes have routinely asked how they can get the magazine. The second edition of Yakima Magazine was published in January and featured 80 pages of stories and ads, driven largely by increased advertiser demand. The third edition will leap by another eight pages. Both advertiser and reader demand for the product continues to rise, and we continue to ask both for feedback on the magazine >> so we can improve our product. Our future plans are Ann Craven is circulation director at The Yakima Herald-Republic to continue to establish presence in the market and in Yakima, Washington, USA. She can be reached at acraven@ yakimaherald.com increase editorial quality. F << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 19 Online reader panel contributes to strategy, everyday decisions

The Dominion Post’s online reader panel keeps newspaper connected to its readers, bringing in their opinions as part of the long- and short-term decision-making process. by paul williams

{panel} The Dominion Post for some time wanted to our readers presenting the various options, with the develop an ongoing research programme with our response being used as the basis for our decision. The Dominion Post’s readers that was dynamic in nature and allowed us The reader panel allows for a mix of both closed- online reader panel to have an ongoing dialogue with our readers. At that response and open-ended questions. The length of steers everyday stage, the research programme consisted of irregular verbatim comments received best reflects the passion decisions as well as ad-hoc pieces of research but nothing longitudinal in that our readers have for their newspaper — and they long-term strategy. nature that could be used for tracking purposes. clearly appreciate the opportunity to have their say. After an extensive planning, tendering, and review The most recent use of the reader panel best process, we created a reader panel-based research exemplifies its power. Ongoing research via the panel programme to be used by ourselves and three other indicated a weakening connection with our readers. Fairfax mastheads. The panel is run in conjunction This led to a major relaunch of the newspaper. To with an external research partner which develops support the redesign of the newspaper, readers were the surveys and provides subsequent reporting and probed in a number of areas. Just prior to launch, analysis. readers were recruited to participate in focus groups This reader panel has now been up and running during which they were asked for their thoughts on for more than three years and continues to be a various mockups. This allowed for fine-tuning prior key contributor to business decisions and strategy. to relaunch. Post-relaunch, readers were asked for As a result of recruitment drives, we now have their immediate feedback, and four weeks later, were approximately 2,000 readers who are broadly asked for more detailed feedback, allowing for further representative of the cross-section of our readers. We fine-tuning. receive excellent response rates, and our readers do We continue to grow and refresh the members on not refrain from issuing both brickbats and bouquets. the panel. Of utmost importance has been the way The online nature of the reader panel makes it the results have been embraced and acted upon by all extremely quick to develop and deploy surveys and departments. F is used for both short, hot topic surveys and for longer, more in-depth surveys (20 to 25 questions). Reporting via a portal is instantaneous. A number of our annual surveys are run repeatedly, including an annual usage and attitudes survey and an annual survey checking on the health of our subscribers. These annual repeats allow us to track trends, identify any concerns, and instigate any necessary remedial action. For instance, if the likelihood of our subscribers to be subscribers in 12 months time was slipping, this would alert us to the need for a change in our subscriber interactions. The dynamic nature of the reader panel was perhaps best demonstrated in the relatively early days. Internal debate was raging among departments over P>>aul Williams is marketing manager/central region at The alternative covers for a looming magazine. Within Dominion Post in Wellington, New Zealand. He can be reached at two hours, a survey was developed and deployed to [email protected].

<< profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 21 Single-copy sales tabloid replaces Sunday newspaper to cut costs

Winnipeg Free Press does what it once thought inconceivable: successfully converting advertisers and readers to a different weekend model. by bob cox

The Winnipeg Free Press was facing a common editions. This allowed the Free Press newspaper question in 2009 — how to improve to set a pricing strategy that that did quality while lowering expenses. Managers realised not lower costs for daily subscribers cost-cutting was leading where no one wanted to go: and increased the Saturday price to a thinner daily newspaper that readers abandoned for single-copy sales and Saturday- because it had lost value. only subscribers. Advertising vice The realisation put dropping Sundays, once president Laurie Finley informed considered a crazy idea, on the table. advertisers, shifting those who were The Sunday newspaper was not profitable. in Sunday to other days. Many, Advertisers never took to it. Manitoba shopping including Homes advertisers, restrictions limit stores to opening only Sunday enthusiastically embraced the afternoons. Also, with a unionised carrier force changes. getting guaranteed increases, the Free Press had only 2. Develop a new Sunday tabloid, one way to reduce delivery costs: use carriers less. On7, to take on the Sun for single- But the risks were big, including potential reader copy sales. Staff designed a fun and backlash and giving up Sundays to the Quebecor- breezy product, emphasising sports owned Winnipeg Sun. and entertainment. Before proceeding, the newspaper surveyed 3. Create and execute a readers, arranged focus groups, and interviewed communications and marketing newspaper executives who had stopped Sunday plan. Audience Development publication. The conclusion: The impact of dropping Director Dean Lytle developed our Sundays could be minimised if planned and executed plan with the help of an outside carefully. So we did just that with three steps getting agency, Fusion. A key element was that every {on7} us to our goal: complaint or concern about the changes would be 1. Preserve value for readers. Editor Margo addressed individually. The Winnipeg Free Goodhand oversaw the creation of a Weekend As publisher, I started holding meetings with all Press promotes its new Edition with popular Sunday sections, including Free Press employees. I also wrote a full-page letter, single-copy Sunday Homes and Books and a new Feed Your Intellect published on a Saturday, explaining why the changes tabloid, On7. section of features and essays. We also doubled were necessary and what was at stake — the survival Saturday’s puzzles and comics, as well as added of a quality Free Press. The letter also went directly to weekend news and sports summaries to Monday all subscribers. Lytle’s team followed with a publicity blitz of in-newspaper ads and external media, such as TV, radio, and outdoor advertising prior to (and after) the changes the weekend of October 31. The response was big. Extra staff was needed to answer hundreds of calls daily. Goodhand and I personally answered calls and emails for weeks. The change was difficult, but the project succeeded. Some Saturday-only readers balked at the price increase, but there have not been many subscription cancellations or non-renewals. All Sunday advertising was relocated. The Weekend Edition is a high-quality newspaper. On7 attracts advertising and has held the single-copy sales of the old Sunday Free Press. Most importantly, the changes cut costs while B>>ob Cox is publisher at Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Canada. energising and engaging staff in the newspaper’s He can be reached at [email protected]. future. F << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 22 Successful newsroom integration begins on foundation of questions Greece’s Lambrakis Press goes through its step-by-step process of newsroom integration. Their advice is to start with an approved vision statement and focus on quality. by nikos gouraros

Lambrakis Press SA is the largest media network The answer comes from the audience. We need in Greece. Its network includes two daily newspapers to know our new audience and its needs to have the (Ta Nea and To Vima), one Sunday newspaper (To ability to anticipate those needs to drive the shape of Vima Sunday), one sports daily newspaper, several the emerging web. We believe those needs are first magazines, web sites, and the largest Greek portal (in.gr). to enjoy, then to participate and communicate, and Our challenges include optimising operations, lastly to be informed. increasing sales and profit margins, and ensuring We then assessed why we wanted an integrated our competitive lead. However, we have different newsroom: strategies that are highly medium-dependent with 1. To cut costs? different business units for each brand, a separate 2. To move a step forward? business unit for digital activities, different decision 3. To change? makers, different newsrooms, and different P&Ls. 4. To adapt to a more promising multi- We need and are working on change. But how do dimensional world? we go about it? Three very simple questions needed 5. Maybe a bit of each? answers: An integrated newsroom is about redefining 1. Is the web a media medium? sufficient mechanisms, procedures, and 2. Is it an entertainment medium? organisational structures for multi-dimensional 3. Or is it a communication medium? content creation and distribution. Are there prerequisites? Yes. Our advice: {content} >> Redefine your vision statement: You speak to The Lambrakis Press MSN and they say: “We are a media company.” OK, believes all news must but you know more about software, you include be platform agnostic, services, you rely on software services, you are use social media, and Microsoft. They say, “No, forget software. We are allow participation. MSN, a large media company owned by Microsoft.” In a meeting with MSN executives from around Europe, they asked us what Lambrakis Press is. We simply said, “We are a medium independent media company.” >> Ask your CEO to approve this vision: What content do we want produced from our new newsroom? Breaking news, multi-media, and broadcasting content, including web radio and TV. Everything must be platform agnostic. Everything must be social media integrated. Everything must allow participation. Content and its creators must be dynamic, adaptive, and highly time-sensitive. >> Don’t forget quality: The new newsroom produces breaking news and lighter content and creates quality journalism from quality journalists for quality distribution channels and quality customers. Designing and integrated the newsroom is an extremely challenging process, requiring senior, wise, open-minded journalists, young and fresh mojos, digital strategy and business experts willing to work together. The only pitfall — and it’s a scary one — is a N>>ikos Gouraros is business development director of the Digital lack of clear understanding of what has been decided. Media Business Unit at Lambrakis Press SA and vice president of the Online Publishers Association (OPA) Europe in Athens, Greece. So get started. Will we succeed? I don’t know. But He can be reached at [email protected]. there is still time to try. F << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 23 Newspaper embraces higher calling: educating its country La nación book programmes bring affordable education to Costa Ricans and helps the newspaper fulfill its role as a community advocate. by patricia centeno

Throughout the history of Grupo Nación, the topic of education has been one of great concern with our readers and our community. For 20 years, La Nación has published numerous educational projects with our programme “La Nación en el aula” (“La Nación in the classroom”). During this time, we have developed strategic actions to promote the reading habit and reading comprehension. Our goal, which developed from the passion of Alejandro Urbina, director of La Nación, is simple — to strengthen the academics within Costa Rica. “Leer para disfrutar” (“Read to enjoy”) is a collection of literary pieces and short stories published every two weeks for people of all ages to read and access at a very low price (US$0.50). The project, which began seven years ago, has been a real success, as more than three million copies (in a country of four million people) have been sold. In 2007, Urbina proposed extending the model of “Leer para disfrutar” to another market: that of academic schoolbooks. The actual price of today’s economic levels to afford quality academic books at {classroom} schoolbooks is inaccessible to the majority of the a fair price. Our purpose is to facilitate educational student population in Costa Rica. In the best-case material for children of less privileged socio-economic La Nación’s book and scenario, students and teachers rely on photocopies of sectors, with the clear objective of strengthening the textbook programmes chapters or parts of books as their only learning tool. overall education of our community. work to increase La Nación published its first libros de textos escolares For 2010, the books published are specifically education within its (school textbooks) in January. The sale price of each for 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade students. These books country. book is approximately US$2, seven times less than are focused on the four basic subjects: Spanish, the average market price. social studies, math, and science. For 2011, work has La Nación’s new project, “Textos escolares: para already begun as a means to publish books for 1st, que todos podamos aprender” (“School textbooks: 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades as well. in order for all of us to learn”), makes it possible While we were developing these books, we for parents, teachers, and students of most socio- contacted numerous companies we thought would be interested in sponsoring schools with the books, joining us as partners on our social responsibility project. And as of today, 16 entities have already adopted the programme, helping more than 170 schools in diverse regions across Costa Rica. More than 30 other enterprises have expressed interest. This, in turn, is helping us position La Nación as a brand concerned and oriented in community service and the welfare of its people. Our main challenge is to maintain a constant level and quality of our product. If we are able to accomplish that, we will in essence change the rules about education in our country and achieve the P>>atricia Centeno is manager at Grupo Nación in San José, Costa ultimate goal of getting to more classrooms across Rica. She can be reached at [email protected]. Costa Rica, permitting a quality education for all. F

<< profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 25 Lessons from hurricane translate into lessons for recession

The difficulties faced as a community and a newspaper after Hurricane Katrina helped the Sun Herald become the multi-media company it needed to be in uncertain times. by john mcfarland

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi missed a day of publication. For six weeks we Gulf Coast in the early morning hours of August 29, delivered newspapers free of charge anywhere we 2005, she created the worst natural disaster in United could find people. In the aftermath of the storm — States history. when there was no radio, no television, no telephone, For the Sun Herald, the next few weeks and and limited Internet access — we saw first-hand how months would present our greatest challenges and absolutely vital a newspaper can be. Industry talk that provide our finest moments. What we learned in the newspapers will be replaced by the internet seemed aftermath of Hurricane Katrina better positioned comical; we saw how useless the Internet or any other the newspaper for what would become the worst medium is when the power is out. recession since the Great Depression. But a newspaper can’t survive without advertising, Of the newspaper’s top 25 advertisers, none were and we knew that our retail and classified advertising still in business in the wake of the storm and most base was lost for some time. Fortunately years earlier, would not return for at least three months — some we had begun to diversify our products so we had have yet to return to business. a greater variety of platforms to offer the business With the help of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, community. one of our sister newspapers, the Sun Herald never Since the mid-1970s, we have published two military newspapers. In the late 1990s, we added {survival} the Diamondhead News, the official newspaper a local property owners’ association. In 2002, we had The Sun Herald’s launched our own B2B publication, The Journal of advertising diversity South Mississippi Business. Mailed free to more than helped it survived 10,000 business leaders within a 12-county area, the Hurricane Katrina and Journal provides a vehicle to sell business-to-business the recession. advertisers in a geographic area twice the size of our newspaper’s market area. In 2004, we contracted with NASA to publish the official newspaper for NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center. In the wake of Katrina, we published hard-cover photo books — selling more than 60,000 copies — and a biography of Brett Favre, hometown hero and National Football League quarterback. We launched an upscale, glossy bi-monthly magazine — beachblvd — and a new tourism web site. All these niche products found their own audience and advertisers. We added video to our web sites, creating our own Sun Herald TV and other advertising vehicle. As a McClatchy newspaper, we joined in a partnership with Yahoo to sell geographic and behaviourally targeted ads on Yahoo’s network of web sites. Today, we are refocusing our efforts to train our sales staff to effectively use these various products to provide advertising solutions for their customers. Becoming a true multi-media company has given us the opportunity to extend our reach to the point where we touch eight of every 10 South John>> McFarland is marketing services director at the Sun Herald in Gulfport, Mississippi, USA. He can be reached at jmcfarla@ Mississippians at least once a week and provide a sunherald.com. variety of platforms for our advertisers. F << profile www.inma.org ideas March 2010 page 26 Print-online strategy creates new partnership with community

Breaking away from one-way communications, new Kompas Gramedia projects create new synergy with new media to attract advertisers and readers. by lukas widjaja

Kompas Gramedia has created several print and social responsibility into the products that — with their online counterparts — Ekspedisi (“Expedition”) series. have created new audiences, new advertisers, and a Ekspedisi Ciliwung, for one, is a new, interactive partnership with our community. series of human-interest stories on the Kompas Kita (“Our Kompas”) was first printed abandoned Ciliwung River, which flows for readers on July 3, 2009, featuring the profile through the city of Jakarta. The river on Indonesia’s iconic rock star Iwan Fals. Kompas once played a significant role to locals Kita is a weekly print publication featuring profiles as they used it for daily transportation — ranging from literary legends to politicians to and for leisure. In recent years, it has artists — suggested directly by our readers via the been so polluted with trash that has Kompas.com web site (http://kita.kompas.com). The slowly become forgotten by the public. print version of Kompas Kita covers only selected The initial piece published on the questions readers have posted and their respective Ciliwung River was an investigation answers by the person being profiled, whereas the to determine why the city of Jakarta full version is available online. is prone to flooding. It then grew Kompas Kita is breaking away from the tradition to Ekspedisi Ciliwing, retracing of being a one-way communication news channel. the lost track of time and brought The publication optimises the synergy between back nostalgic moments, while calling attention {strategy} traditional media (newspaper, out-of-home, radio) to those who are in authority and citizens alike to with the new (web site, mobile updates) to promote do something about it. Advertisers responded in a Kompas Kita features editorial content, interact with readers, and digitalise heartwarming way to support the activities through profiles suggested by print content for multi-channel usage. It is also a sponsorships. readers. new way to bring in fresh advertising dollars to the Ekspedisi was a successful integrated on- and off- medium. For the year 2010, the section has been print product — so much so that Jakarta Governor sponsored by a car manufacturer. Fauzi Bowo pledged his support with aide from We also extend our print medium to reach out to provincial, regency, and city authorities to manage our readers, advertisers, and authorities alike, asking and restore Ciliwung River. The city also pledges them to channel whatever means they have to give to clear 1,000 cubic meter of trash daily during back to our society. We do so by incorporating our rainy season and to purchase more open fields for investigative reporting skills with travel journalism reservoirs to prevent floods. A photo exhibition was also held for public viewing after the expedition concluded. The video streaming on the expedition can be found at: http://www1.kompas.com/ lipsus012009/ciliwung. Among other expedition series are Ekspedisi Susur Selatan (“Southern Coasts of Java Expedition”), which traced the towns and infrastructures that link the socio-economic/cultural route on the eastern end of Java island (Banyuwangi) to the western end (Pandeglang); Ekspedisi Anjer-Panaroekan, which commemorated the 200 years of the Postal Route created by forced labour during the reign of Governor General of the Dutch East Indies Herman Willem Daendels; and Ekspedisi Bengawan Solo, L>>ukas Widjaja is senior advisor to the CEO at Kompas Gramedia in which looks into the environmental issues, history, Jakarta, Indonesia. He can be reached at [email protected]. and anthropology of the longest river in Java. F