NAA mediaXchange : digital

Video: The sequel

Amanda Knowles — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:15:00 GMT

By Varun Saxena

Video is a space worth watching, panelists agreed at this session Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal does 4-1/2 to five hours of live video a day, said Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor, online.

The iPhone has made video stories easier to produce and less labor intensive, he said.

Murray said it also uncovers top talent, such as reporter Jeremy Page, who produced a live broadcast about the death of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il.

"They [the audience] get it that this a real reporter on site doing real reporting, and they're getting in on it," Murray said.

The Journal receives 12 million monthly video views, half of which views come from offsite partners such as YouTube, for which it provides premium content.

Best of all, Murray said, ad sales are backlogged.

Jim Bernard, senior vice president for digital at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, said his paper has experienced a strong upsurge in video views and revenue due to a recent strategy revamp that included spending more money on a high-quality online player.

Ads known as prerolls, which appear before the video, are the main method of monetizing video, and metrics show that half of all viewers click away before the ad ends.

Panelists debated the optimal length. Bernard said he favors 30-second prerolls because metrics show that the retention rate is similar for 15-second prerolls.

Autoplay is another lightning rod, but the speakers agreed that allowing videos to play automatically increases viewership, and they are employing the tactic at their papers.

"Video is about singles, not home runs," Bernard said, because 3 percent of videos generate 82 percent of all views.

Popular topics include sports and the weather, he said. But, Murray noted, "you don't always know what ones are going to be the hits."

One of the top videos on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch site was about a two-legged dog, Assistant Managing Editor Bob Rose said.

Placing videos within the context of a print story increases viewership, he said.

The optimal length of an online video is "totally in flux," Murray said. Three minutes used to be considered long, but that's changing, he said, as he held up his iPad. Metrics show that people watch longer video on iPads.

The editors agreed that the trend is toward less editorial control of video due to live streams and the proliferation of outside content.

"We're already in the self-publishing world," Murray said. The Journal is considering launching a blog onto which reporters can post video directly, he said.

"The mere act of publishing makes it viewable," he said. With the advent of Internet-enabled liquid crystal displays, he said, expect the trend to accelerate.

Varun Saxena is a student at the University of Maryland. He is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Digital Shopping: New products to reach shoppers

Amanda Knowles — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:22:00 GMT

By Drew Grossman

Mighty Amazon.com may reach a national audience, but speakers at Thursday's conference promoted applications for reaching local shoppers.

Representatives from Find n Save, iCircular and DealChicken shared experiences and best strategy for reaching a local digital audience.

It is critical to partner with a strong brand, said Chris Tippie, acting CEO of Find n Save because strong brand partnership results in instant traffic from online search engines. This is essential for a company like Find n Save, which receives about one-third of its traffic from search engines.

Once users are on your site, Tippie said, you need lots of content, meaning lots of deals. Content must be local, fresh and unique.

Christian A. Hendricks, vice president of interactive media for The McClatchy Co., an affiliate of Find n Save, promotes the digital shopping service across McClatchy newspapers, the most aggressive of which is The Sacramento Bee.

According to Hendricks, the Bee's classifieds section has been converted to the Find n Save service. The newspaper has converted all of its classifieds ads onto its local Find n Save website.

Paul Farrell, vice president of sales & marketing for Lee Enterprises, spoke about The Associated Press' iCircular local shopping application, which includes weekly deals, search tools, shopping lists, maps and hooks to social media. But Farrell said the most important thing is to "promote, promote, promote."

Farrell noted that in digital shopping, mobile has tremendous potential. "You learn so much in this day in age by learning by doing," he said.

DealChicken, Gannett Co.'s digital shopper, is taking a slightly different approach to local shopping.

DealChicken is more about discovering local experiences and less about finding money-saving deals, said Rajan Mohan, Gannett's vice president and general manager of social commerce.

Mojan said it is important to offer unique and relevant deals to consumers and to advertise using successful past deals. DealChicken uses testimonials to advertise its shopping application.

Drew Grossman is a student at the University of Maryland. He is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Digital First: What it really means

Amanda Knowles — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:22:00 GMT

By Kara Rose

It is no surprise that news content is becoming more digitalized each day, and media outlets are finding new ways to stack digital dimes.

Adam Burnham, senior vice president for local digital sales of Digital First Media, said the first step is to "be prepared for the realities we face."

Burnham said Digital First is a "local company with a national scale," with more than 10,000 employees, a sales force of more than 1,000, 1.3 million followers on Twitter and more than 600,000 Facebook fans as of January.

This, he said, was achieved through finding social media platforms that invigorate the sales force and drive results because his company follows an audience-based selling principle.

"You should sell things that advertisers want," Burnham said. "They might not like what they're buying, but . . . if there is an audience, the advertisers will buy it."

"We don't talk brands, we talk audience," he added later.

Each panelist said news organizations must start putting "digital first" to survive in the climate of today's journalism.

Derek May, executive vice president newspapers for Morris Communications, said this concept has been a driving force for his company's sales model.

"[It's been a] battle cry for us in the last year as we tried to turn our company around," he said. "If you have a growing audience, you have more to sell. If your audience is shrinking, you're in trouble."

Similarly, M. Scott Havens, vice president for digital strategy & operations of Atlantic Media Group, said 30 percent of traffic he sees is through social platforms.

"For us, a differentiator - and one of the successful things we've done - is clamped down on costs, be more efficient, ask people to do more, force them to take on more responsibilities and . . . refuse to accept the status quo," Havens said.

The biggest roadblocks he has, though, are individuals resistant to change.

"We will continue to shed them if they can't make the leap," Havens said. "If they can't keep moving forward, they probably won't be around too long."

Kara Rose is a student at the University of Maryland. She is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Mobile product development

Amanda Knowles — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:02:00 GMT

By Varun Saxena

From video games to medical exams, newspapers are experimenting in areas loosely related to their traditional function due to the advent of mobile technology.

The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City created Pancake Frenzy, a downloadable video game for smart phones, as part of a marketing campaign for De Wafelbakkers, a food manufacturer.

The newspaper's profit margin on the product was 50 percent to 60 percent, said Chief Information Officer Dan Barth.

The technology also benefits readers.

QR codes are displayed on The Oklahoman's print edition. When scanned, related multimedia content is displayed on a reader's mobile device.

The Dallas Morning News' most successful app is SportsDayHS, a smart phone app that displays high school sports standings and real-time updates of high school football games.

Originally, the app was designed to provide locations of the area's high schools, but further researcher determined that real-time updates were in demand.

"It's an evolving process," said Amin Pirani, the paper's digital project manager.

DMNmedia, the affiliated company, launched My Mobile CE, an app that helps health care practitioners participate in hospitals' continuing education programs.

Once the test is passed over a smart phone, tablet, the Internet or a combination of all three for those who can't take the entire test at one time, the results can be shared with others over social networking sites, said General Manager Michael Mayer.

The Boston Globe has launched a variety of mobile apps, including Boston Deals and Best of the New to keep customers informed of best prices and latest business openings, said Domenic Vecchiarelli, senior product manager of boston.com, the Globe's website.

The Morning News and The Globe work on apps with third-party developers, while The Oklahoman has one developer. DMNmedia has a goal of developing 100 apps annually.

All three companies reported that their mobile initiatives are paying off. For example, boston.com, has recorded almost 25 million total views, with the vast majority after 2009.

Varun Saxena is a student at the University of Maryland. He is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Paid Content Strategies: Are they working?

Amanda Knowles — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:26:00 GMT

By Varun Saxena

Paid content strategies are "sure as hell better," Chris Peck, editor of the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, told the audience at this session Tuesday afternoon.

Before moving toward paid Internet content, revenue at the paper had fallen by 50 percent, and the website received "a lot of eyeballs but not enough revenue," he said.

Now, the paper charges $9.99 a month for smartphone and tablet computer apps, and content has contributed $400,000 in new revenue in its first four months.

Tasaka Digital consultant Guy Tasaka helped to design the Commercial Appeal's strategy. He said it was focused on retaining paid print subscribers by bundling digital content with the print subscription.

Tasaka and Peck said they expect the trend toward more paid electronic content to continue. Peck cited a study which found that 26 percent of American households have a tablet.

"The budget isn't the enemy. Time is," Tasaka said.

Robert Gursha, vice president of marketing for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, also reported that charging for digital content is a winning strategy.

The keys are to have a strong brand name, relevant and differentiated content, and a sound pricing strategy, he said.

The Star Tribune uses a "step up" price strategy, meaning the cost of digital content rises after the trial period, he said.

The newspaper has increased the price of home delivery by 10 percent and included access to electronic content. Sunday-only print subscribers pay extra for digital content.

The Star Tribune has 132,000 digital accounts and has experienced 24 consecutive months of circulation growth, Gursha said.

In the past advertising, accounted for 75 percent of Star Tribune revenues, with subscriptions accounting for the remainder, but Gursha said subscriptions will contribute half of future revenue.

The Boston Globe started charging for content in September 2011 and owns boston.com. This approach allows the company to reach casual readers and charge serious ones, said Peter Doucette, the newspaper's director of circulation, sales and marketing.

Lisa DeSisto, Boston.com's chief advertising officer, said it's a challenge to promote the Globe's content on the site without undermining its fee-for-service model.

Varun Saxena is a student at the University of Maryland. He is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.

iPads, tablets, bundled subscriptions

Amanda Knowles — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:56:00 GMT

By Dave Nyczepir

A panel of publishers shared their digital subscription plan success stories at this session Tuesday afternoon.

Moderator Rem Rieder, editor of American Journalism Review, noted the dynamic shift in publications charging for access in recent years.

"For many years, if you were charging for content on the Internet, it was probably in the pornography business," he said.

James M. Moroney III, publisher and CEO of The Dallas Morning News, contended that smaller publications like his have a differentiated and relevant product to sell - local news and information.

But the decrease in print revenue jeopardizes the size of newsrooms, which is critical to in-depth local reporting and warrants the switch to a paid model, he said.

"I hope that some of you will take this to heart," Moroney said. "I think that if we lose the scale of our newsrooms, not only is our democracy going to be in peril, but I also believe that it's the quickest way you're going to lose your profitability and your business."

The New York Times toyed with the idea of digital subscriptions for a while but ramped up its research into the area when the recession hit, said Paul Smurl, vice president for paid products at NYTimes.com.

"We kept getting this fairly consistent percentage of readers who said they were willing to pay something, and it surprised us," he said. "But that gave us the courage to go forward and say, 'You know, we've got an asset here.' "

The Times employed a metered approach, requiring serious readers to purchase a digital subscription after 10 monthly page views.

Walter E. Hussman Jr., CEO of WEHCO Media Inc., and publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, explained how his paper pioneered digital subscriptions in 2001 and found price elasticity as the cost increased.

Such increases could one day enable the Gazette to fund investigative reporting, he said.

The panel predicted that tablets would be a game-changer, with Smurl saying one-in-five people would own a tablet this year.

The three dismissed the notion that most readers would object to pay walls as undemocratic, saying that the sentiment was generational and that older readers are accustomed to paying for content.

"In 1980, no one could read The Dallas Morning News unless they bought it or they had someone give them their copy," Moroney said. "So what's undemocratic about what we're doing today?"

Dave Nyczepir is a student at the University of Maryland. She is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012.

Sharing digital revenue success stories

Amanda Knowles — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:12:00 GMT

By Robert Baird

Last week, a family-run nursery in Wichita, Kan., made $22,000 in sales over just five days, and it has the local newspaper to thank.

Sales executives from across the country heard this and other revenue success stories on the first day of NAA's mediaXchange conference. A panel of newspaper sales vice presidents experimenting with new digital revenue streams explained what has worked for them.

Marty Carry, vice president of advertising for The Wichita Eagle, said his newspaper helped the "Plant Kingdom" nursery attain those impressive sales figures with the help of dealsaver®, whose website says it features daily deals, coupons and discounts.

Carry said a program that started with a promotion for a local yogurt shop has grown into a sizable and reliable revenue stream for the Kansas daily.

"I love dealsaver® . . . it's the single most powerful program that proves the power of print and online when utilized together," he said.

Tony Bernados, corporate vice president of digital media sales at Morris Communications, said small to medium businesses are time poor. It's important, he noted, to devise a strategy that works for them and to be flexible.

"My advice is define what success will look like for you early on, and be nimble," he said.

Robert Baird is a student at the University of Maryland. He is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Optimizing consumer revenue across platforms

Amanda Knowles — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:36:00 GMT

By Sarah Hogue

An economist and marketing analysts from newspapers across the country discussed methods they studied and used for increasing consumer revenue via print and online incentives.

Mick Cohen of the San Francisco Chronicle, Matt Lindsay of Mather Economics, Hugh McGarry of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Suzanna Frank of Lee Enterprises Inc., presented their experiments in pricing and metering print and online content.

Frank studied online and print revenue at several Lee properties in Montana. One of the most effective methods she cited was giving print subscribers a reduced rate for online viewing. Another was to limit the amount of free content provided daily to "unique," not subscribing viewers.

To do this, she said, "meters," online counters, notified system users when their access to free articles remaining was near zero. Frank said that although the meter was in place, it had no impact on unique visitors.

Amid his joking about the Green Bay Packers and their effect on readership, McGarry emphasized that the Journal Sentinel benefited greatly from bundling all its content for one price.

"JS Everywhere" is a branded package that includes the print edition, online content, an iPad app and other features including a Kindle edition. McGarry said he noticed that people would readily pay extra for greater content. For papers considering bundling, he recommended having mobile apps ready for download at launch time and making registration easy.

Cohen's package at the Chronicle was very similar to the Journal Sentinel edition. But the Chronicle, at the advice of readers, added content that made the applications and Kindle editions seem more like a print newspaper. Comics, puzzles, breaking news, live traffic and blogs were part of the Chronicle's digital content and brought in 1 percent of total revenue.

Lindsay, who spoke last, affirmed what the others said. An economist, he said papers he worked with found success when they added online content for a higher price. He emphasized that such pricing gives customers an idea of the value and accessibility of content.

Referring to Frank's comments about metering, Lindsay added that 93 percent of people won't know about the metering option unless told beforehand. That isn't a deterrent, however, he said, because most people look at fewer than the threshold number of free stories posted.

Sarah Hogue is a student at the University of Maryland. She is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.

How are newspapers innovating to maximize digital platforms? Learn this and more April 2-5, Washington DC.

Kevin McCourt — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:29:00 GMT

Engaging Customers With New Products and Experiences

As consumer and advertiser media behaviors continue to shift, newspapers need to be prepared to serve their needs in new ways on new platforms. This session will focus on how newspapers are innovating to maximize digital platforms and more deeply engage traditional and new customers. One of the many program sessions confirmed.

Updated January 26, 2012

Digital Sales Executive Pre-Conference Event

Kevin McCourt — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:35:00 GMT

Digital Sales Executive Pre-Conference Event
Monday, April 2, 2012 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Venue: Marriott Wardman Park

This half day pre-conference meeting will focus on digital revenue growth and feature ideas and strategies attendees can take home and implement for immediate revenue generation. Sessions will include:

Digital Advertiser/Agency Panel: What our customers are buying and how can newspaper media gain share in the digital world. An interactive session designed to help newspapers develop the value proposition more fully.

Inventory Optimization: How are newspapers faring in an RTB (Real Time Buying) world? How are newspapers dealing with networks? What sorts on approaches are being taken to maximize inventory use?

Newspaper Best Practices Panel: This idea session is designed to show some creative approaches that are working for newspapers selling digital applications. We hope that attendees will see ideas they can adapt for their own markets to immediately generate revenue.

"The View" Coffee Klatch with the Experts: This session, based on the TV show, will feature an interactive discussion between customers and digital newspaper execs that probes needs and perspectives. This fun session will dig deeply into motivations and perspective and get our "studio" audience involved.

mediaXchange 2012 Registration Required.

Updated December 28, 2011

AdPerfect and Spreed Announce Partnership

Kevin McCourt — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:29:00 GMT

AdPerfect and Spreed Inc. join to offer media publishers a single mobile solution for classifieds and news content. See the release in the mediaXchange 2012 Press Room. Read more about the @adperfect and @spreed announcement, and follow #NAAmxc for ongoing Associate Member news.

Updated November 10, 2011

Newspaper innovation is ‘a way of thinking’ - #NAAmXc11

Amanda Knowles — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:22:00 GMT

By Fernando Valdes

The "Newspaper Labs Brewing Innovation" session featured a look at how some newspaper companies are fostering creativity internally.

Ron Adams, vice president of national digital and print advertising for the Philadelphia Media Network, talked about the company's eight-person "MediaLab."

"It is a way of thinking, not just a good art department," he said.

MediaLab combines technologies to provide campaigns that deliver results by incorporating clients' names throughout the newspaper in a very subtle way that delivers results.

Tribune 365 does not have a formal innovation lab, said Brent Hardesty, the company's vice president of digital sales, marketing and retail sales development. However, Tribune does have eight diverse media companies around the country. Hardesty said these test ideas; successful ones are implemented in other markets.

For example, the Los Angeles Times developed a front-page ad for the 2010 movie "Alice in Wonderland" starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. The idea was costly but it created a big splash and Tribune was able to replicate it in other markets.

Both Hardesty and Adams said their companies have been trying to enter the world of social media. An issue is how to measure it, they noted. MediaLab hired a person dedicate solely to social media.

"Clients overall know they want to be part of it, but don't know exactly how to get there," Adams said.

>> View and download speaker presentations from the Newspaper Labs Brewing Innovation session. (NAA Members Only)

Fernando Valdes is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Find out more about Fernando and other students reporting live from NAA's mediaXchange here.

Move to digital is crucial for survival - #NAAmXc11

Amanda Knowles — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:40:00 GMT

By Mai Lyn Ngo

The "Digital and Print Fusion - Driving Cross-Media Integration Across the Value Chain" session featured a panel of four media and advertising executives.

The panel included Lora Anthony of American Airlines, Stan Richards of Richards Group, Antony Young of Optimedia International and Gregory Osberg of Philadelphia Media Network. Moderator was Jason Klein of Newspaper National Network LP.

Panelists all reiterated the same piece of advice for newspapers: Moving into the digital age is crucial for survival. From an advertising perspective, Young said there is the desire to access all consumers on multiple platforms. Getting to consumers on their phones, in print and on the Web is an attractive prospect for many advertising agencies.

Richards said print and digital integration is critical - newspapers with separate departments for print and digital are making a big mistake. Newspapers that refuse to jump on the digital bandwagon will not survive, he said. With the training the younger generation is receiving in print and digital convergence, these "dinosaurs" will be left behind.

Klein steered the conversation to the paywalls that newspapers such as The New York Times have implemented. Three of the four panelists agreed that paywalls are a good thing. Anthony was on the fence, saying that If the paid audience stays, then advertisers will be interested. However, she added that advertisers are worried about accessing customers.

Osberg said that although Philly.com lost a significant number of users, the company was "willing to take the hit to jump into paid content." He noted that no momentum was lost on ads from the digital side.

In closing, Klein asked the panel if 2011 is the year of mobile - or something else. Panelists all offered different answers, saying it is the year of social media, the year of smartphones, the year of integration and the year newspapers take back local commerce.

Mai Lyn Ngo is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Find out more about Mai Lyn and other students reporting live from NAA's mediaXchange here.

Nisenholtz: ‘Our content is not out there to be stolen’ - #NAAmXc11

Amanda Knowles — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:04:00 GMT

By Fernando Valdes

The New York Times, the most linked and tweeted source in the world, started a new era today (March 28) by seizing control of its content and managing the way its links are used by implementing a highly anticipated paywall.

Monday morning's keynote speaker Martin Nisenholtz, senior vice president of digital operations at The New York Times Co., said online newspapers are in a new era in which they can't sustain themselves by allowing people to use their content freely with no preconditions and copyright controls. Newspapers have to manage content in order to keep providing it while still remaining successful.

"I would really be careful of the word lockdown - it is not what we are doing," Nisenholtz said. "We don't want to do that. We call this ‘managed links' because we are saying we need some managed process on the way our content is used on the Internet."

With the new paywall, users can read up to 20 articles for free every four weeks. After that, users must pay in order to access content.

The paywall is part of a larger Times strategy to manage its content.

"We are beginning to enforce the idea that our content is not out there to be stolen and to be remixed into a greater experience that can be monetized by Silicon Valley. It's not fair and will not continue," Nisenholtz said.

According to Nisenholtz, a pure link is of no value to The New York Times. It only creates value for those aggregating the links to their own websites.

Nisenholtz said that if links are not managed, in five to 10 years there will be no content providers because they will all be out of business.

He noted that The Times is confident in its paywall and has no plans for moving away from it in the near future.

"We have done a significant amount of research," he said. "We are reasonably sure of ourselves. I don't think any of us is looking at a plan B."

The New York Times has implemented a flexible module that allows for raising the number of free articles users can view in order to generate more advertising revenue. Alternatively, the number can be lowered to gain more subscribers.

Nisenholtz said the paywall gives The Times flexibility with content and tighter controls over copyright. The alternative? The industry "will be nibbled to death."

Fernando Valdes is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Find out more about Fernando and other students reporting live from NAA's mediaXchange here.

A tale of two hyperlocal cities - #NAAmXc11

Amanda Knowles — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:26:00 GMT

By Fernando Valdes

The "Hyperlocal Strategies" session looked at how news organizations in Miami and Seattle are incorporating user-generated content and contributions from community correspondents.

Rick Hirsch, managing editor of The Miami Herald, explained how the newspaper collaborates with local bloggers and community correspondents from all over the Miami area. The partnership basically enables the bloggers and correspondents to publish their own content, which is prominently featured on the newspaper's site.

"Having these partners in neighborhoods is bringing us content that we simply are never going to have on our website," he said.

After one year of this hyperlocal strategy, The Herald realized a traffic increase of 500 percent across all sites. Visitors rose from an average of 80,000 in February 2010 to 500,000 a month in 2011.

Hirsch said he hopes that as the community sites get more traffic, advertising revenue will increase as a result of the opportunity for highly targeted advertising.

Mark Briggs, director of digital media for Belo's KING 5-TV in Seattle, has taken a different approach with implementing hyperlocal networks.

"What works in one neighborhood, because of the audience and the people behind it, might not work so well in other neighborhoods," he said as he detailed some of the reasons why hyperlocal networks are hard to implement.

Briggs, author of "Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive," added that "gathering content at this level is difficult, time-consuming and expensive unless the audience is helping them out."

KING-TV teamed up with The Seattle Times, which like The Miami Herald had partnered with community sites, to build and manage a local online advertising network.

They work with community bloggers and other online publications to sell ads on their sites, sharing the resulting revenue. The partnership has helped the community bloggers grow and has increased their viability.

"Our goal is to drive page views, advertising revenue and help them become a sustainable business. And that KING 5 makes money along the way," Briggs said.

Belo has decided to replicate the KING 5 model at its stations around the country within the next year or two.

>> View and download speaker presentations from the Hyperlocal Strategies session. (NAA Members Only)

Fernando Valdes is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Find out more about Fernando and other students reporting live from NAA's mediaXchange here.