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| NAA mediaXchange is the largest annual gathering of industry executives in North America, offering unprecedented networking opportunities that combine an exchange of information and ideas with programming designed to generate results. The conference is designed to provide valuable ideas and insights to help newspaper professionals grow audience and revenue for their print and digital products. Sessions highlight leading-edge thinking about media strategies, successes in product and revenue development, new ideas and innovation inside and outside the industry, and tactics and techniques to employ in print and digital. |
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Customer Straight Talk #NAAmxc10
By Rachel Purdy
GENERAL SESSION -- Today's media landscape is increasingly competitive and constantly changing. Dave Murphy, CEO of Novus Media Inc., said this atmosphere is forcing newspapers to think: "There is always a better way." The customer is becoming a more prevalent factor in adapting to this environment, Murphy said.
Judy Vogel, research director for PHD, identified six qualities the typical consumer exhibits:
- Anxious
- Smart shopping
- Trading down
- Cocooning
- Free fun
- Redefining luxury
Anxiety about debt and finances has created the trend of smart shopping, which includes using coupons and thoroughly researching products. This leads consumers to trade down by shopping at less high-end stores or eating out less at fine dining establishments. More consumers are staying in and focusing on less costly home-oriented activities. Luxury is less about owning products as status symbols; more consumers are searching for meaning in their purchases.
Along with these changes, there are even more ways to connect with customers. The industry needs to restructure its traditional model, said Craig Atkinson, Midwest director of Omnicom Media Group Inc. He suggested replacing it with a new one based on testing approaches that may not be perfect, but are innovative and appealing.
Jeff Minsky, director of emerging media for Outdoor Media Group, predicted several future developments:
- Ultra-fast broadband
- 3-D standard in all televisions
- "TV everywhere" continues to decentralize the video viewing experience
- Geo-location brings a new level of contextual relevance
- New laws to protect privacy
- "Generation IP" - people with no experience of an Internet-free world - will enter the work force in three to five years
The dynamic and challenging nature of media's advertising approach means the newspaper industry will have to adjust to these predictions.
"Embrace the gray, despite it being black and white and read all over," advised Dave Yacullo, president and CEO of Outdoor Media Group.
Rachel Purdy is a student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Find out more about Rachel and the other students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange here.
Published
Apr 14 2010, 03:21 PM
by
Amanda Knowles
About Amanda Knowles
Amanda Knowles is Web & Social Media Manager at the Newspaper Association of America. Before coming to NAA, Amanda spent four years working in print journalism, both at the college and professional level. She has worked as a copy editor and news page designer for two daily newspapers in northwestern Pennsylvania, The Erie Times-News and The Meadville Tribune. Most recently, she collaborated on The American Observer, the online magazine edited and produced by graduate journalism students at American University in Washington, D.C. Amanda believes strongly in the secure future of the newspaper, and is excited to be a participant in the movement to integrate traditional print media into the burgeoning digital world.
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