Here is today’s understatement: Dealing with the future is complicated. So, dealing with today’s stuff should be easy, right? As every Chaser knows, making changes around what we do today can greatly improve our chances of success in the future. Change the present and realize the future.
On that note, we shift to a report from an investment company, Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.
The folks at Chaser HQ sometimes receive copies of the reports written
by Paul Ginocchio, an analyst who specializes in the media industry. We
like Paul’s view on the media world, especially the newspaper business.
He is generally positive, but also very realistic, about the changes
needed for the future.
The report, written by one of Ginocchio’s associates, David Clark,
struck us as very “future-focused.” Clark wrote about what
newspaper companies need to do to secure their future when it comes to
advertising — especially retail advertising. Here are Clark’s seven
themes, picked up at a recent industry conference:
Theme One: ZIP code zoning, or die
Newspapers must quickly improve their zoning capability, as
targeting is now the single most important marketing factor for
retailers.Theme Two: Creativity creates opportunity
Newspapers need to think outside the box to provide retailers with
differentiated marketing opportunities. New sections and Post-It notes
are not enough.Theme Three: Stabilize circulation in key geographies
Retailers have penetration targets by ZIP Code, so circulation in key ZIPs is more important to them than overall circulation.
Theme Four: Prove your value
The newspaper industry needs to quickly develop ROI metrics to justify rising ad rates in the face of a declining audience.
Theme Five: Know the client
Newspapers do a poor job of understanding the retailers’ strategy
and needs. Retailers want newspapers to see clients as partners, pass
along market intelligence, and stop pushing unwanted products.Theme Six: Less separation of church and state
Retailers want newspaper ad sales departments to push the editorial
side to be more flexible and allow more creative advertising. (We think
movement on this front is unlikely.)[Chaser note: We agree, although we are seeing some signs of a willingness to try different shapes and positions.]
Theme Seven: Standardize rate cards
It is difficult for retailers to do national/regional ad buys
because every newspaper has a different rate card structure, so
industry standardization was urged.
It’s a good list. In fact, you could probably use those
same themes for other aspects of the industry, including the newsroom.
OK, not the rate card thing. But being creative, listening to
customers/readers and thinking about local needs are important
themes, regardless of department.
Clark’s contention is “that many of the newspapers’ retail
[advertising] woes are driven by cultural inertia rather than
inexorable structural changes.” In other words, change is hard and
there isn’t a push to do things differently.
One other perspective on the topic is in a report
commissioned by the Newspaper Association of America and written by
this Chaser and consulting associates. The gist of the report, “Leveraging Your Web Site for Ad Sales,” discusses the missed opportunities for newspapers to use their Web sites to help advertisers place print ads.
Some highlights:
- Fifty-five percent of the sites reviewed have an area for
marketing the print edition. That still leaves lots of sites without
any marketing information for potential advertisers. - Sixty percent provide visitors with advertising rates and information about deadlines, terms and ad sizes.
- Less than 10 percent provide a self-service area for advertisers.
The report defines self-service as the ability to schedule and upload
an advertisement.
The opportunties are there, making the change is hard. Throwing off “cultural inertia” is essential for any future thinker.
