America East Newspaper Operations and Technology Conference Day1

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This post will be continuously updated throughout the day.  Check back often.  Just arrived in God’s Country, Hershey PA for the

America East Newspaper Operations and Technology Conference

I’m not sure if the wireless connection will be available in all rooms but I’ll try and update frequently here and at  twitter.com/metaprinter.  Follow the #AE hashtag for event updates on Twitter.


2009 America East Newspaper & Technology Conference Exhibit Hall from robert ivan on Vimeo.

Also, the conference has it’s own twitter feed at twitter.com/ameast

metaprinterOverheard, “i’m having as much fun as anyone in this business is having”. #ae #ae2009

Jack Myers:

  • “i canceled my print NYTimes subscription. I get in on my Kindle now”
  • This newspaper problem is a cyclical problem last seen 100 years ago when we left an agrarian society.
  • I am concerned about “the Free Press”
  • we must dispel myths, then meet challenges
  • we need to change
  • 5 myths about advertising
    • myth 1 “if you build it they will come”  -no they won’t.  Commoditization  of online is driving down cpm rates, now at ~20cents.  See PubMatic AdPrice Index Quarterly Report | Q4 2008.
    • myth 2 “people have to advertise” -This is the first time in history that advertising is falling as part of entire ad spend (marketing, branding, advertising, etc.)  Advertising is becoming less significant to marketers.
    • myth 3 “businesses can transform themselves if they understand what businesses they are in” – not really (shows a picture of a flying train car)
    • myth 4 “no medium has ever replaced another” -yeah until it does
    • myth 5 “the more things change, the more they stay the same” -
  • Supply is outstripping demand (in every single part of our world not just news, it is products and services)
  • There is a fundamental shift going on
  • The urgency conundrum (battling economic forces while building for the future)
    • crisatunity!!!
  • Opportunity 1- Rethink the business model.  (we are in the business of filling up boxcars, loading them up and distributing them and creating a futuristic landscape around that)
  • Opportunity 2- You need to be the low cost provider, you need to be walmart if you are in the distribution business.
  • Opportunity  3- create new business, create new pockets of demand.
  • Opportunity 4- Get out of advertising business and into promotion business.
    • events
    • merchandising / licensing
    • couponing
    • sweepstakes
    • etc…
  • Opportunity 5- Create Sponsored Events (collect info / data)
    • job fair
    • sweepstakes entries
    • couponing
    • swap meets
    • etc..
  • Opportunity 6- Local sports Twitter !!! “everyone needs to be twittering in this room”  it’s where everyone is.  Why not have twitter feeds for you local high-school sports teams?
  • Opportunity 7-  “Thursday penny saver”  create demand
  • Opportunity 8- Sunday photo day “sponsor local contests”  see Second Street Media Solutions Owners Matt Coen and Doug Villhard
  • Opportunity 9- Follow the Technology “talking about daylife and twitter and etc…”
  • Opportunity 10- “do good and you will do well”
  • NOW Content- distribution- subscription promotion -  Ad sales
  • Future Content to reader and ad sales “break down walls between audience and marketing
  • Build sustainable relationships

Summary

  • Economy camouflages systemic business reality
  • Make decisions, not choosing is not a decision.

After the Keynote I asked if Newspapers could / should buy Twitter and Jack said “they should, but cannot afford it”.    

More info go to JM@jackmyers.com  or go to JackMyers.com

First Session

Transformation in AD sales

Jennifer Keegan – E.W. Scripps

  • “we need to increase ad revenue dramatically”
  • focus focus focus
  • by targeting training to “the big 3″ yahoo bt (behavioral targeting), zillow, and yahoo hotjobs
  • Scripps Interactive University
  • Weekly pipeline reports
  • avoid the “WTF dogs” and target the “cash cows”
  • Scripps is #1 in the yahoo consortium $6billion display revenue through Feb. 20, 2009

Transform the managers and rep’s behavior.  Scripps partnership with Yahoo is a 10 year contract.  Get used to it.

  • Hire “hunters” aggressively.
  • Aggressively prospect for new business leading with online
  • Takin’ share of business contest – 100 calls in 100 days
  • The sales calls must include:
    • a needs analysis
    • a digital presentation
  • 2 tiered sales reps compensation plans
  • Hunters
    • Self motivated
    • Hungry
    • Secures new business
    • Turns account over to Farmers
  • Farmers
    • relationship sellers
    • organized
    • Manages and maintains hunter accounts and grows them over time

Ray Marcano – Cox Ohio Publishing

  • Long term initiatives
  • “transformation has opened our eyes to other opportunities”
  • Sell a solution/audience NOT A PRODUCT
  • Beginning a call center for smaller accounts
  • Rethink compensation – changing how you sell effects more than sales

New Business Development

  • Team of 6
  • Purpose to sell our entire portfolio of offerings
    • print
    • niche
    • online
    • BT
    • commercial print
    • ad studio
    • search
  • What does the Ad Studio do?
    • inexpensive creative alternative
    • SEO for advertisers sites
    • Build display ads
    • “we already have the staff and expertise”

End Session Follow up with Ray Marcano:

RI- looking forward, what will your main revenue streams be?
RM-  Direct sales not tied to print / classified upsells.  Our direct sales are up 30% year over year.

RI- Tell me about your Ad Studio business.  When did it launch?  Who is using it?  Is it a major revenue stream?
RM- We started that business in 2008.  Our biggest customers are media companies outsourcing to COX for ad design.  It is a significant new revenue stream.

RI- Is an online only presence like the what the seattle P-I did anything your company has considered?
RM – No because our product is thriving, that’s not to say we don’t have stand alone online sites because we do have 937moms.com and activedayton.com

Thanks!

For more information visit Ray Marcano’s blog

Session 2 | Revenue on Demand:

How Print Publishers Can Thrive in an Online World

Jennier Saba – E&P and Fitz&Jenn Blog

  • Is moderating

Eric Grilly – President Philly.com

Q- are you going after small and medium size businesses online?
A- our local group goes after local retailers which generate $500 to $2500 per month.  We will launch phillydigital as soon as we come out of bankruptcy protection in a bout 90 days.

  • There is a difference between broadcast quality and web quality video.  On the web, people want to be entertained.
  • Paid firewall is not the answer. The numbers show we would trade $1 for 50cents
  • Micropayments could be a revenue stream, but no way sustain an organization.
  • We have 1000 eReader subscribers… a real barn burner!  (funny.  the audience laughs)  IF iPhone gets in this game it will be a gamechanger.

Peter Zollman – Founding Principal The AIM Group

  • anyone can place ads on multiple sites.  news organizations must figure a way to charge by branding.
  • focus ad sales on branding your publishing platform
  • find a way to do more in print classifieds “if you are running your classifieds 7 days a week, stop it now.  You should be doing it 3-4 days a week and driving users online the rest”.
  • Pocono Record sent out 6million text alerts, that’s great branding.  see Pocono Record Text Alerts
  • Suggests sponsoring local schools to send out their text alerts.

Q -What do you think of google’s inclusion in the behavioral targeting space?  Does it do anything for

A-behavioral targeting is a phenomenal targeting tool but lots of sites need to first figure out how to publish and sell online.   It doesn’t work unless you have real huge audiences.

  • sell weather targeting to advertisers ie, 24hrs before a snow storm we’ll run your ad for shovels.
  • advertisers care about one thing and one thing only, RESULTS.
  • The reason online ad sales fell for newspapers last year is because they were tied to print ad upsells.

I ask a question (Jennifer Said I Could).

There’s a lot of talk about yahoo consortium and behavioral targeting, my question is “How can print publishers thrive in an online world?  I haven’t heard anything about print.  It it to abandon print?

A- Peter – auto trader is stopping all print distribution by the end of the year.  publisher must become platform agnostic and get back involve d with you advertisers.

A – Eric – is this a yes or no question? just kidding.  I think there will be a print media component, our product offering is superior in our market.

A – Jennifer – I think cutting back print is a big mistake, you are hurting your best customers.

 

Related posts:

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  2. 2008 America East Newspaper Operations and Tech. Conference Review
  3. Just a reminder that I will be at the America East 2009 Conference
  4. Flexible Display Technology Will Not Generate Print Revenues
  5. Hyperlocal Disaster – East Iowa Herald Closes After One Year

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