Entries for month: January 2011
Newspapers, mobile, Internet gain share as average media use increases
24 January 2011 · By Scott Stines
Every week my inbox contains the latest “research” results revealing audience and media trends. While oftentimes the results shared seem to directly benefit the sponsor of the communications, occasionally some valuable information arrives that is worth sharing or discussing. Such is the case with research results that showed up in my inbox shortly before the end of last year.
On December 28, eMarketer shared their meta-analysis of data from “dozens of research firms using a variety of methodologies.” Before my professional research friends react to the validity of meta-analysis of disparate research studies, I did find the results to be valuable, whether accurate or not, in terms of understanding both the challenges and opportunities newspapers and newsmedia companies face for growing audience and revenue.
The meta-analysis resulted in a series of estimates of “how much time each day U.S. consumers spend with all major media, regardless of multi-tasking or simultaneous usage.” Keep in mind that eMarketer indicates “estimates apply to average media usage of the general public, not solely to the users of each medium” for 2008 to 2010.
...[more]Green economy will become hot again for news companies
11 January 2011 · By Herman Verwimp
One of the marketing buzzwords three years ago was “green.” But that word disappeared when we were confronted with a global economic crisis. Now, when the first signs of a prudent recovery are showing up, I believe it will soon be on top of the hit parades of marketers all over the world. And it will become very relevant for the newsmedia industry. As a threat, or as an opportunity. Just depending on your mindset.
Let's start with an example, from an economic sector that's known for a good feeling in which direction the economy will develop. On November 3, Nasdaq launched 66 green indices designed to track the performance of companies in the environmental and clean energy sector. Nasdaq says the green economy is shifting economic development towards sustainable practices in business and infrastructure.
Well, if the center of the financial world shows interest and creates products around this economy, it's time to act. Or at least to put this issue back on your dashboard.
Where could “green” be of interest for a newsmedia company? A non-limitative list shows already how rich this issue can be. But better is to make your own list after a brainstorm with some of your colleagues who are marketing sensitive:
...[more]Changing the culture of (newspaper) advertising sales
04 January 2011 · By Bob Provost
Earlier this month I had three experiences that successively drove home how profound the changes in our (newspaper) marketing philosophy have become. Each was a uniquely different circumstance, but each in its own way provided perspective both to me and to others on the increasing complex and sophisticated approach we (newspapers) have developed to revenue generation.
In the interest of brevity, I will recount each encounter briefly, but provide details on only one in particular.
Encounter 1: In late November, Rutgers University brought a visiting delegation of Korean newspaper executives to our offices in Newark, New Jersey. They wished to study the response of American newspapers to the challenging consumer and economic environment. We exchanged ideas on subscription development and multi-media content delivery, but what really fascinated them was our still-evolving transition to multi-media thinking in advertising sales. To say that they were skeptical would be an understatement.
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