Three Newspaper Markets Achieve Big Wins with Online Video Offerings Thanks to Blinder Group Sales Programs
In a recent report from Borrell Associates, local online video advertising, which was worth about $161 million in 2006, is one of the fastest growing online advertising solutions for local media companies. While some may find it ironic that print companies – not TV broadcasters – are getting the lion's share of that revenue, the Blinder Group has been assisting newspapers large and small in consistently beating TV in the online game. "In my opinion," stated Mike Blinder president of the Blinder Group, "it is due to one of the most important competitive advantages which is the amount of local penetration newspapers have to advertisers. In short, newspapers have the most "feet on the street" over competing media."
Local online video advertising is the latest trend in generating new revenue for newspapers and has allowed them to effectively compete with the video offerings often reserved for TV reps. But adding video to a newspaper website isn't just about having a "pre roll" offering of a :15 second spot. The most successful video ventures come from those newspapers who offer already produced TV spots on their websites. "Let's face it," said Blinder, "offering an auto dealer a new way to show his TV spot to more 'eyeballs' is a pretty compelling value proposition."
So, who's doing it well? The Blinder Group has been working with numerous newspapers on developing and implementing successful online video offerings for local advertisers. One of the most innovative methods is to incorporate a navigation element within a rotating banner or skyscraper position that allows users to "click" and view multimedia offerings such as radio and TV spots. This program is usually limited to a select number of advertisers – giving them optimum impressions and allowing newspapers to charge a hefty CPM for the program.
The Blinder Group not only assists with the development of such programs as well as building marketing materials, but works beside the sales teams to introduce the concept to advertisers and close business. With the local online video offerings, the Blinder Group has experienced high "closing ratios" with advertisers making long-term commitments to participate.
This approach has been successful in markets large and small and for many it is has helped them gain significant online revenue. "The week in which we had the Blinder Group perform the "4-legged" sales training/closing calls exceeded our expectations as far as sales team acceptance and revenue generation," said John Beck, Director of Advertising and Business Development for the New York Daily News. "Now our traditional sales team really believes that offering online products can be easy to present with huge advertiser acceptance. The Blinder Group made our reps believers and delivered us nearly three quarters of a million in new online dollars at the same time!"
Here is a look at the markets that are making it work:
Large Market
New York Daily News (approximate circulation: 700k)
Contact: John Beck, Director of Advertising & Business Development
212.210.1997, JBeck@nydailynews.com
A look at a few pages from the actual sales materials, developed by the Blinder Group, that assisted this client in successfully taking this multimedia program to market.
On the right rail of the home, news and sports page, there is an expandable skyscraper. As the reader comes to the page, the ad enlarges showing the advertiser's entire current print ad and then it reduces back to normal size – always showing the main offer of the campaign. On the top of the skyscraper is the navigation element that offers the TV spot. The Blinder Group assisted the traditional ad reps with taking this to market to local advertisers, closing more than 75 percent of the qualified calls which resulted in more than three quarters of a million in new online revenue.
Medium Market
Augusta (GA) Chronicle (approximate circulation: 73k)
Contact: John Jackson, Retail/Online Sales Manager
706.823.3400, john.jackson@augustachronicle.com
A look at a few pages from the actual sales materials, developed by the Blinder Group, that assisted this client in successfully taking this multimedia program to market.
You will again notice the right rail that is an expandable skyscraper and reduces to show the main offer. As with the example above, the top of the skyscraper has a navigation element that offers links for the TV spot, website, e-mail, directions, etc. While the price points were lower than those found in New York, the Blinder Group helped this team close 77 percent of the qualified calls which resulted in nearly $250,000 in new online dollars.
Small Market
Grand Haven (MI) Tribune (approximate circulation: 10k)
Contact: Rob Francis, Director of Advertising
616.842.6400, ext. 241, rfrancis@grandhaventribune.com
Live Example: grandhaventribune.com
A look at a few pages from the actual sales materials, developed by the Blinder Group, that assisted this client in successfully taking this multimedia program to market.
This is a great example of how the campaign can work even if smaller advertisers do not have a current TV spot or the newspaper does not have an online sales manager or team. Again you will find the expandable skyscraper reducing to show the main offer as well as the navigation element. Not all participating advertisers have a TV spot as part of the navigation, but do offer links to e-mail, websites, etc. With the help of the Blinder Group, the Grand Haven sales team closed nearly 90 percent of the qualified calls generating more than $35,000 in new revenue.
According to the Borrell study, online competition with newspapers and TV stations is expected to increase as both sides continue to develop video products for their websites. The key categories: automotive, real estate, health and employment. All categories that are near and dear to the hearts of print publishers. The study concluded that the online video advertising market is expected to increasingly revolve around the strength of the websites' video content-making this a trend all newspapers need to incorporate in the near future.
The Blinder Group
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New Port Richey, FL 34652 USA
(727) 847-2464 ~ (727) 847-5959 (fax)
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