Sarasota (FL) basking in $87k of new online revenue (from new and existing print advertisers) in just 3 days!
The Opportunity
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has a site with over 3 million page views per month. Like a lot of newspapers, they were looking for ways to leverage this expanded audience for their customers, and generate more ad revenue. During a planning session led by The Blinder Group, the team at the Herald-Tribune developed a program that would extend the reach and frequency of their advertisers print ads. By strategically placing those ads online--next to the high-traffic news stories, advertisers were able to reach both print and online newspaper readers.
Program Overview
The Herald-Tribune created a banner position located just right of the headline of each editorial/story page. The banner rotates throughout all content areas--giving advertisers maximum online exposure. Every advertiser receives a minimum of 50,000 impressions per month. Because they wanted to guarantee a minimum number of page impressions to their advertisers, this program was limited to an exclusive group of 16 customers.
Advertisers are able to place changeable text messages inside the banner position. The messages are linked to a pop up version of the advertiser's newspaper ad, which could then be linked directly to a Web site and/or e-mail address. The program, called PIP (Peak Internet Performance) ads, allows advertisers to change the online text message each time the print ad changes. This gave the group of 16, the opportunity to expand the reach and frequency of their message.
Sales Strategy
Because of the limited inventory, the team brainstormed the best candidates, to include new and existing print advertisers. The sales staff was armed with a sales flyer designed by the Herald-Tribune and online sales sheets created by The Blinder Group. The sales sheet clearly showed the advertiser how the program would work online--including a visual sample of how the print ads would appear. The Blinder Group accompanied the print sales staff on calls to close business.
Results
The Herald-Tribune launched a four-day sales blitz with The Blinder Group. The program was sold out after only 3 days of sales, generating $87,000 in new revenue. All of this revenue was credited to the online department.
"The Blinder Group team helped us exceed our goals and expectations." said Shari Brickley, Classified Advertising Manager for the Herald-Tribune. "We sold out our positions, generated new revenue, offered a terrific value to our customers and our sales staff had a great time. We can't wait to launch our next multimedia program."
Contact Information
The Herald-Tribune is a 107,000 daily newspaper located in Sarasota, FL.
For more information about the sales strategy of this program, contact:
Shari Brickley, Classified Advertising Manager
(941) 957-5151
shari.brickley@heraldtribune.com
Bert Panganiban. New Media Manager
(941) 957-5100
bert.panganiban@heraldtribune.com
Lead Consultant for The Blinder Group:
Mike Blinder
(917) 865-4827
mike@blindergroup.com
The Blinder Group
Tampa Offices: 6139 Fjord Way
New Port Richey, FL 34652 USA
(727) 847-2464 ~ (727) 847-5959 (fax)
profit@blindergroup.com
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