Georgia weeklies find new online revenue success from existing print advertisers
The Challenge
The News and Farmer, a weekly newspaper in Lousiville, GA, had been online for nearly two years with 42,000 pages of information viewed each month. Just like most newspapers, they were looking for ways to generate more revenue off this traffic. Their sister paper--The McDuffie Mirror located in Thomson, GA--printed their first edition in July 2003 with an online edition being launched in December. They wanted to create a program that would allow them to launch their online edition with an already established revenue stream. During a planning session led by The Blinder Group, the staff of the two weeklies decided to launch a program that would extend the reach and frequency of their current print advertisers by strategically placing their ads online--next to the high-traffic news stories. Now advertisers were able to reach both print and online newspaper readers and The News and Farmer as well as The McDuffie Mirror were able to generate some serious online revenue.
Program Overview
The newspapers created banner positions located just right of the headline of each editorial section on each Web site. The banner rotated throughout all content areas--giving advertisers maximum online exposure. Advertisers of The News and Farmer were guaranteed to receive 42,000 impressions each month. Since the McDuffie Mirror had not launched their online edition, advertisers were not given a minimum number of impressions. The program was limited to just 10 advertisers for each newspaper's Web site.
Advertisers were able to place changeable text messages inside the banner position. The messages were linked to a pop up version of the advertiser's newspaper ad which could then be linked directly to the advertiser's Web site and/or e-mail address. The program, called InStory Ads, allowed advertisers to change the online text message each time their print ad changed. This gave advertisers the opportunity to expand the reach and frequency of their print ad by participating in one program.
Sales Strategy
Because of the limited inventory, this program was first offered to existing print advertisers. The sales staffs were armed with a rate card and a sales sheet created by the newspapers' online team. The sales sheet clearly showed the advertiser how the program would work online--including a visual sample of how the print ads would appear. A consultant from The Blinder Group accompanied the print sales staffs on calls to close business.
Results
The News and Farmer generated $12,000 in new online revenue within a few days of selling with The Blinder Group. All 10 positions were sold for the entire year. The McDuffie Mirror will be launching their online edition with $12,000 in online revenue as well--again, all advertisers are on board for an entire year. "We couldn't be happier with the results," said Joyce Beverly, publisher of the two weeklies. "Not only were we able to generate online revenue without taking anything from our weekly print editions, but we were able to secure revenue for an online edition that hasn't even been launched!"
Contact Information
The News and Farmer is a weekly newspaper located in Louisville, Georgia.
The McDuffie Mirror is a weekly newspaper located in Thomson, Georgia.
For more information about the sales strategy of this program, contact:
Don Bailey, General Manager, The Augusta Chronicle
706-823-3543
Don.bailey@augustachronicle.com
Lead consultant for The Blinder Group:
Mike Blinder
(917) 865-4827
mike@blindergroup.com
The Blinder Group
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New Port Richey, FL 34652 USA
(727) 847-2464 ~ (727) 847-5959 (fax)
profit@blindergroup.com
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