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Sun, April 26, 2009
With all of the recent changes in the newspaper industry, a new question is being asked as many begin to expand their presence online – does a print edition drive significant online readership? Last month, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer shuttered its print edition to move exclusively online. A little over a month after this change, it’s now being reported that SeattlePI.com (the official site for the former newspaper) experienced a 23% drop in website traffic while 75% of the top 30 online editions of newspapers saw double-digit upticks in traffic. Does this mean that the print edition was having that much influence on web traffic? If so, you can bet your bottom dollar that the other print publications exploring moving to a digital-only format had better readjust their website traffic projections upon making such a move. Our friends at the NY Times continue to lead the pack and were up 7% from last year at this time.
For what it’s worth – we still are yet to see a strong connection between print and online.
Read on.
Tue, June 10, 2008
So, it’s old news that print advertising is rapidly on the decline. At least the NY Times can begin charging admission for people to climb the Times building if things get ugly (full page rates get you a camera crew with helicopters.) So, publishers need to identify ways to distribute their content to be relevant and useful in the daily lives of consumers. Below is a link to an interesting story in how the Washington Post is aiming to adapt its strategy towards creating hyperlocal content. The idea – “pair a journalistic powerhouse with a dream team of Internet geeks to build a virtual town square for one of Virginia's and the nation's most-affluent and fastest-growing counties.”
The story goes on to say:
“Like hundreds of other hyperlocal sites launched in the past few years, LoudounExtra.com reflects a basic premise: Metro newspapers probably can't compete with the Internet or cable TV in covering breaking national and international news, but they can dominate what happens in their backyards. LoudounExtra.com offers detailed databases including every church, restaurant and school in Loudoun County, about 25 miles west of Washington, D.C. It embraces the idea that a high-school prom is as newsworthy as a debate over where to build a hospital, and that Little League deserves major-league attention. And it promises to let visitors to the site shape the news through blogs and photo and video submissions.”
The results have been significantly less than impressive. They have yet to attract an audience and any real ad revenue to support the venture. Personally, I applaud the effort and I don't think they should throw in the towel yet. The market for localized news and information will only continue to climb - so, if they can figure out a way to provide that information in a meaningful way, there is money to be made.
The newspaper industry is in for some rough times ahead and I think the Washington Post is smart for at least testing some new initiatives.
Read On
Tue, April 29, 2008
With so much money spent on advertising in print for live entertainment, I saw this article to be particularly interesting.
In what I would suspect will be an increasing trend, The Capital Times, one of Wisconsin’s leading daily newspapers, will suspend its daily printed newspaper and move its operations almost exclusively online. According to the article, “the staff will also produce two print products: a free weekly entertainment guide inserted in Madison’s remaining daily newspaper, The Wisconsin State Journal, and a news weekly that will be distributed with the paper.) While the business plan is still really being created for the move, it’s clear that they are proactively trying to address what, to me, seems like the critical issue being faced by daily newspapers - remaining relevant.
Let’s start with the basic fact that the news that goes to print is way-too-often old news by the time it hits newsstands. The news (aside from feature stories) has to be posted throughout the day on publishers websites if they expect their editorial to remain relevant. The speed of news reaching consumers moves faster than ever – publications have to break the news on their website first if they expect to survive. In addition, news in print that you pay for is available for free online. Both of these points are, in many ways understandably, self-inflicted wounds.
So, when you add up the fact that consumers have less time in their day, more options to consume media and less disposable income why would a consumer pay for a daily newspaper if they can get the same content online when they want it, in a quicker way and for free?
I don’t think the distribution channel is necessarily the big issue. I think plenty of people read newspapers (our Dot project showed many Sunday Times readers) – they just don’t rely on it as much for daily news. Same goes for the nightly news on TV - it’s painful to watch as it feels like a wrap-up to news you’ve already heard about from 10 different sources that day.
Times are changing rapidly and I think this move by The Capital Times is just the start of what is yet to come. If this is a good thing or a bad thing, I'm not sure.
Read On
Mon, September 17, 2007
Well, it’s official – the NYTimes.com is waiving it’s paid service. I guess the rumor was true.
Let me start with saying that I’m a fan of the NY Times online. They have a great group of people that we work with and their online advertising has shown proven results in the past for us. Also, I love the editorial.
But, I am deeply concerned about this move. With more open access, comes a less-targeted audience. When I say less-targeted, I’m saying you are not talking to the traditionally more affluent ‘Times Reader.' You’re talking to someone interested in that particular story they are reading – the new audiences they will be pulling through search engines have no brand connection to the NY Times editorial. There is a large difference in the audiences and I think you will see the effect in the advertising results. I totally get the need to expand revenue channels but they must think long-term. Why not create stronger connections between the paper in print and online? Why not create real services online that warrant payment other than just the content? Why not create more inventory within the existing content they are offering?
I don’t know why it frustrates me so much, because the decision they are making really is consistent with what the rest of the industry is doing. I guess overall, everything just feels like a short-term, knee-jerk reaction. Print advertising is down – shrink the newspaper. Overall revenue is down, give away the content to create more of the advertising inventory that is selling right now. But what’s the bigger, long-term plan? What’s the plan in building equity as a brand?
Again, I’m actually one of the ‘believers’ in the NY Times print and online edition both from a personal and business standpoint. But, the assumption that online advertising rates along with effectiveness will continue to increase is simply not something I would bet on.
Read On
Wed, January 03, 2007
In yet another sign that print advertising is still a major channel in reaching the core theatrical market, here is an interesting report about empty nesters and their media consumption patterns after the kids have flown the coup. According to the study, "the media habits of the affluent empty nesters are dominated by newspapers and the Internet." {Cue smiles in the ad department at the New York Times.} :-)
Click here to read more.
Wed, December 20, 2006
While not surprising, it’s a major milestone for online advertising. Print advertising has been surpassed by online advertising as the marketing channel of choice for employers recruitment efforts. I would make the assumption that auto and real estate could very well be next if they haven’t already done so.
Click here to read more.
Sun, December 10, 2006
Score one for print! While print advertising continues to take punches to the gut in the current market space, here's some research that shows that print advertising should be an important part of your marketing mix. According to a new study, "almost two-thirds of American adults actively check advertising at least weekly for things they might want to buy, but they are selective about when and where they check advertising." The study goes on to say that "Sunday is by far the most likely day for about one half of shoppers to consult advertising, while Saturday is a distant second, noted by one-fifth of consumers. The only other days in double figures are Wednesday and Friday, at 13 percent each." So, maybe those Sunday Times ads aren't as crazy as some people suggest?
Read on.
Wed, July 19, 2006
There are clearly three things working against the print world right now: a slump in advertising sales, declining circulation and rising costs of newsprint. I think over time, supply and demand will ultimately stabilize the market for print advertising. Rates will have to come down to match the decline in circulation but I think print will remain a solid piece of the media budget for the foreseeable feature. The good news for some newspapers is that they are currently seeing a rapid increase in their online advertising sales. According to the story, "The Chicago Tribune said its online revenue grew 27 percent in the second quarter, and CEO Dennis FitzSimons told an investor conference last month that Tribune hopes to see online advertising make up between 12 percent and 15 percent of newspaper revenues by 2010. Other major newspaper publishers reporting this week, including Gannett Co. and McClatchy, experienced similarly fast growth in online revenues. But many analysts remain skeptical about whether that growth will outpace the advertising lost to Internet-only destinations such as Yahoo and Craigslist."
Click here to read more.
Sun, June 18, 2006
According to a new report from the Newspaper Association of America, advertising expenditures for newspaper web sites increased by 34.9 percent to $613 million in the first quarter versus the same period a year ago. Print advertising is not seeing the saming growth. According to the report, spending for print ads in newspapers totaled $10.5 billion, up 0.3 percent versus the same period a year earlier.
Click here to read more.
Tue, May 23, 2006
According to a new report, "one in three Internet users visit newspaper Web sites at least once per month. That's 55 million visitors to online sites compared with the 116 million who pick up a paper edition over the course of a week."
More interesting, is that the report suggests the newspaper aren't just moving their print readers to online. They are actually recruiting a newer, younger audience who wasn't previously engaged.
Click here for the complete story.
Fri, February 10, 2006
According to a new report, "the average online consumer spends the same amount of time on the Web, as they do on TV." So, what does that mean for print? Not good news.
According to Jupiter Research, "even the most intensive users of newspapers and magazines spend less time reading these publications than they do online or watching TV."
The research goes on show how the Internet is displacing the use of other media, such as radio, magazines and books. Books are being hit the worst, with 37 percent of all online people reporting that they spend less time reading books because of their online activities.
To us, this doesn't necessarily mean we should spend significantly more in online advertising. We believe this shows the importance of keeping a well balanced media plan that supports all media with a consistent messaging strategy.
Click here to read the story.
Fri, February 03, 2006
The web presence of The New York Times has moved from being 'ancillary' to being 'core' according to Arthur Sulzberger Jr, Chairman and Publisher, The New York Times at a recent World Economic Forum.
Look out - that may be the code word for "raise rates" and to lower the gap between print revenue and online revenue.
It's important to note that while the print version of The New York Times still provides most of the revenue, there are actually more readers accessing the online version of the publication.
The reporters also added the following which we found interesting:
"Similarly, Sulzberger said, readers who might drift to [news] aggregators at first would always come back to the Times for quality news. The average reader of the daily version of The New York Times is 43 years old; for the Sunday version, he or she is 45. Sulzberger said that these numbers have not changed in a decade. To him this indicates that teenagers may get their content from the Internet, but when they begin to have to rely on information later in life, they go to the Times."
From an editorial standpoint we would agree with the above statement. But, they better hope their technology keeps up with the demands of the younger generation if they expect this trend to continue.
Click here to read the full story.
Wed, October 19, 2005
Are our local newspapers missing the boat when it comes to their ABC listings?
So, they have ABC's in print so people can look at a list of shows currently playing. But, how is this information offered on their websites? Or, better yet, is it offered on their website?
According to a new study, "dramatic gaps exist between the classified offerings of large newspaper publishers, smaller publishers and online-only players, suggesting that newspapers are missing the opportunity to use audio, video and other technologies."
Now, I know this study is focusing on classified ads but after poking around on the main New York Metropolitan area websites, I think the same problems can be said with how our productions are being displayed.
Many just list the address of the theater, a phone number and a one line blurb about the show. Why not offer a video clip, production photos or a more elaborate show description?
For what it's worth, we are asking the publications these questions. Hopefully, we will get some positive feedback.
Click here to read the complete story.
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