Ogden (UT) Standard Examiner Generates Over $80,000 with a new Multimedia Top of Mind Awareness Campaign
The Challenge
"Top of Mind Awareness" campaigns can benefit advertisers as well as the newspaper's bottom line. The Ogden (UT) Standard Examiner wanted to put a new "twist" on their latest Top of Mind Awareness offering by adding an online element to the program. The Blinder Group was asked to advise on packaging and assist in deployment.
Program Overview
The newspaper allocated a new ad position, appearing on the "right rail" of the Web site pages, for the new Top of Mind Awareness campaign. These small online "thumbnail" ads were exact replicas of weekly ads that were sold into the traditional newspaper as well, so advertisers could be offered the advantage of the combined "reach and frequency" of both medias.
The advertisers for the program were solicited from specific categories of business to be targeted for specific content areas and sections of the newspaper and the Web site. Also, advertiser participation within these categories was limited to a specific number, in order to maintain a high frequency of exposures for the ad for each advertiser on the Web, as well as create some urgency on the part of the advertiser to participate. The actual content areas and newspaper sections targeted for the campaign were:
- Sports advertisers placed within NASCAR page on Mondays
- Restaurants in the weekly "GO" entertainment area on Thursdays
- Collectables advertisers on the classified pages on Wednesdays
- Personal Finance advertisers on the main news page on Tuesdays
- Sports and Recreation advertisers appeared on the weather page on Mondays
- Home Improvement advertisers appeared on the weather page on Saturdays
- Professional Service advertisers appeared on the weather page on Sundays
The "package" offered each advertiser a weekly 1 column by 2 inch print ad, along with a minimum number of 30,000 monthly online impressions of the ad for a fee of $295/ month. The program was offered for a full year's commitment.
Sales Support Presentation
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The Blinder Group also crafted an easy to use "PowerPoint" sales support presentation for the traditional ad reps to use in explaining the program to advertisers. Too often, media companies do not understand the need for high impact, easy to present, sales support materials as a means for showing interactive marketing elements to potential advertisers. The Blinder Group believes that traditional ad reps can offer online products and services WITHOUT the need for computers, as long as they are "armed" with effective sales collaterals.
One of the key elements in ensuring sales success of this initiative was garnering advertiser approval of meeting attendance as well as the validity of the concept in general. Too often sales reps set up appointments with "non-decision makers," without meeting with the person who can offer a final decision. Also, some advertisers are wary of trying new ideas. One of the most effective means of accomplishing attendance and acceptance is to introduce the advertiser to an industry respected "outside" consultant who has had success with similar programs, with similar businesses, in similar markets, all across North America. That is why many media companies contract with the Blinder Group to perform "4-legged" sales training/closing calls with traditional ad reps, to assist in the launch of programs like the one defined in this document. It also proven that as a direct result of these "4-legged" sales calls, where the sales rep witnesses the most effective way to present the product from an experienced trainer, the traditional ad rep adopts a more stronger belief in the concept.
Results
The Blinder Group was in the market with for four full days of assisted sales training/ closing calls, on targeted advertisers, with the sales reps. After each day of the training calls, the Blinder Group consultant issued newspaper senior managers a daily update on the progress of the program. This detailed daily report offers information about every meeting, the result of the call, along with useful information about each advertiser.
Results.
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The result of the entire training program was over $80,000 of new print and online business generated in the 4-days, with an additional $26,000 likely to close in the weeks to come. "Once again we found the work from the Blinder Group to be a valuable asset for our training needs and our 'bottom line' said Brad Roghaar, Director of Sales of the Ogden (UT) Standard Examiner. "Having The Blinder Group in market always gets the reps excited about offering new concepts to our advertisers and this latest visit was no exception. We have a motivated staff, new advertisers in full year print and online programs and over $80,000 contracted business, with just 4-days of sales training calls!"
Contact Information
For more information about the sales strategy and program deployment of this product, contact:
- Brad Roghaar, Director of Sales,
Ogden (UT) Standard Examiner
(801) 625-4310, broghaar@standard.net
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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