NAA mediaXchange : innovation

Engaging customers with new products and experiences

Amanda Knowles — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:50:00 GMT

By Varun Saxena

The audience learned Thursday that hackathons are not about hacking.

They are a method of "creating an environment where, in a compressed set of time, people can rapidly innovate without the day-to-day constraints," said Vijay Ravindran, chief digital officer of The Washington Post.

They are also responsible for many of the top innovations at ESPN and The Post, including the NBA Trade Machine and @MentionMachine.

"How we build is equally if not more important" than what is built, Ravindran said.

Another point of emphasis was the importance of continuously monitoring and updating the new products.

David Perpich, vice president of product management at The New York Times, said it's important to learn from previous experiences and make sure the engineering staff doesn't immediately move to new a project when the previous one is completed.

Rob King, senior vice president for ESPN, said the app business is dominated by a few hits. Of more than 30 apps developed by ESPN, three are responsible for 92 percent of the usage.

King said "failing fast" is important so the company doesn't sink too much money into unsuccessful products.

He stressed the importance of functionality and simplicity, saying apps should be designed for features pulled from shrinking newspapers. "I'd create the ultimate obituaries app," he said.

Another important tool is use of metrics, King said.

For example, he learned that 62 percent of mobile usage of espn.com and its apps occurs at home. This surprising insight made him think about the "second screen experience," or viewing two screens simultaneously.

Monetizing the new products is another issue.

ESPN uses the "freemium" model. Initial usage is free, but customers must pay for additional content, such as news available on ESPN Insider.

The New York Times charges for electronic content, regardless of how it is accessed. To charge only for content from certain devices "would defeat the model," Perpich said.

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.

Monetizing Mobile – Successes and Innovation driving new revenue. Participate at NAA mediaXchange 2012 and learn.

Kevin McCourt — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:52:00 GMT

Mobile Revenue Strategies
Wednesday, April 4, 2012, 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM

Mobile device penetration continues to skyrocket and newspapers' mobile audience has grown along with it. But monetizing the audience has been a challenge. This session will highlight a variety newspaper successes and innovation in driving new revenue on mobile platforms.

Updated January 29, 2012

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.

Come up with a plan for mobile innovation - #NAAmXc11

Amanda Knowles — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:00:00 GMT

By Andy Garcia

Smartphone technology has newspapers trying to push their mobile presence, but experts warned against playing the field without having a game plan.

In the "Mobile Innovations" session, Will Sullivan of journerdism.com said that well-developed mobile applications get people excited and steer them toward wanting to create their own apps. With the dramatic loss of retained users for most apps, developing a strong mobile presence takes thought.

Sullivan said potential apps should use "APPI":

Always On
Personal
Purchasable
Impulsive

Sullivan also warned that those interested in apps should analyze whether they really need one. With 141.1 million mobile Internet users in the U.S., it might be hard to ignore the temptation to create an app. However, rushing into the game may have serious consequences.

Jason Fulmines of Gannett Co. cited USA TODAY's mobile app as having had problems in the past. During coverage of the 2009 emergency plane landing in New York's Hudson River, USA TODAY's app errors prevented a story on the subject from going to the top of the app's page (a story on Denny's free breakfast took precedence).

Fulmines, however, said he takes comfort in this statement by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman: "If you're not somewhat embarrassed by your 1.0 product launch, then you've released too late."

With new innovations in technology, there will be more ways to expand upon mobile use. Andy Vogel of Los Angeles Times Media Group, said new trends will continue to advance media. He suggested that HTML5 will be pitted against downloadable apps in the near future, and that people will be able to use their phones for daily fiscal transactions.

Looking forward to the future, Vogel said he thinks it is going to be a great decade for mobile technology.

>> View and download speaker presentations from the Mobile Innovations session. (NAA Members Only)

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

Driving Innovation #NAAmxc10

Amanda Knowles — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:47:00 GMT

By Ashley Carnifax and Jeffrey Riley

GENERAL SESSION -- Great minds met and discussed innovation, the key concept of the afternoon general session for the first day of mediaXchange.

The Detroit Media Partnership was a topic of discussion for Susie Elwood, the organization's CEO.

The partnership is responsible for managing the business side of both The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press, as well as digital and direct marketing for the newspapers.

Elwood discussed the changes the partnership has gone through and the process taken to make it all happen.

She said that the changes - including decreasing the number of weekly home delivery days for each of the publications - show that the core of what newspapers were founded upon is still alive and well, but not quite the same.

The company has supplemented print products with e-editions, mobile updates and e-reader-compatible papers.

Michael Maness, vice president of design and innovation for Gannett Co., talked about the changes that can come about through paying attention to the wants of readers - the consumers of the product.

The key to the proper implementation of new ideas once they are created is knowing the society in which the ideas exist, Maness said.

The data based on the Detroit readership area that Maness examined showed that people ages 25 to 40 are interested in the places where they shop and the culture that creates, not the civics aspect common to many news stories.

Maness also pointed out that people were discouraged by the current state of news. The news focuses too much on fear within content and the credentials of reporters and not enough on solid visual design.

He noted that the days of "pure objectivity" are over. Subjectivity is the key. That way, readers can see there is a heart and soul behind the product giving them the news, he said.

On the topic of innovation, Maness said some people exhibit "cognitive closure," in that they make a decision and stick with it without considering other options. They "seize and freeze." People who think like this flock mostly to jobs with tight deadlines, he said.

While these people are needed to get the product done on time, they are not always the best for being free-spirited enough to create ideas and see through their implementation. Maness said that a flat organization, or one with a lack of hierarchy, is one that can better produce fresh ideas.

Ashley Carnifax and Jeffrey Riley are students at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Find out more about Ashley, Jeffrey and the other students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange here.