Wellness Guide finds more than $49k in revenue for San Angelo (TX)
The Challenge
Many newspapers create annual medical directories to capture that very unique healthcare advertising base. But, as with other annual publications, the information found in these directories often changes before the year is up and advertising is usually limited to doctors and hospitals. The Blinder Group facilitated a planning session with the management team of the San Angelo (TX) Standard-Times in which the group decided to change the annual print "Medical Guidebook" into a multimedia "West Texas Wellness Guide". This change, led the newspaper to uncover additional advertising segments and keep the information current.
Program Overview
The Standard-Times created a print edition of the West Texas Wellness Guide that was inserted into the newspaper. This directory contained the traditional medical content as well as other health & fitness related material. All content gathered by the newspaper for the print edition also appeared online along with additional features offered from vendors and other outside sources. The site was able to maintain its local focus in addition to having content of interest on a more national level.
The Web site was designed to be perceived as the quintessential online guide to area health and wellness issues. Any and all health related articles generated by the editorial staff were included in the site for reference. This allowed the newspaper to keep the content current long after the print publication had been produced.
Sales Strategy
All advertisers were offered a bundled advertising package that included an ad in the print and online editions. Any advertiser that purchased a display ad in the print publication also received a listing on the Web site. That listing was linked to a pop up window that featured a virtual version of the display ad the advertiser ran in print. A group of premium advertisers were also sold--each getting additional online and print exposure.
The Blinder Group designed a one-page sales sheet that was used to explain the new product and its benefits to advertisers. The Blinder Group also returned to the San Angelo market to help the sales team close business.
Results
By changing the focus of the "medical" directory to "wellness"--and giving it an online component, the team of The Standard-Times generated more than $49k in sales with 50% of the revenue coming from new business. The newspaper was able to raise its rates an average of 20% over the previous year.
"The West Texas Wellness Guide was a fantastic success. We expanded the quality of our medical directory, increased revenues over the previous year, and enhanced our ability to sell print and on-line. In addition, we learned valuable on line sales strategies that we are using today", said Derek Moffatt, Advertising Director.
See this program live at: http://www.westtexaswellness.com
Contact Information
The Standard-Times is a 29,951 daily located in San Angelo, Texas.
For more information about the sales strategy of this program, contact:
Jack Pate, Publisher
(915) 659-8201
jpate@texaswest.comFor technical information, contact:
Mike Howell, Online Manager
(915) 659-8366
MHowell@texaswest.comLead Consultant for The Blinder Group:
Mike Blinder
(727) 847-2464
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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