power to grow

Slide1: 

The Impact Study A joint venture of NAA, ASNE, Readership Institute

Slide2: 

Readership Trends

Slide3: 

The Moment Is Unique ABC changes open major opportunities: Report readership Establish a variable-priced strategy Count bulk sales Grow pass along Look at USA Today’s experience

This Time Is Also Unique Because of 9-11: 

This Time Is Also Unique Because of 9-11 For the moment, consumers have a deeper and closer connection to their newspaper because of 9-11 History says the connection will not last Backsliding can be stopped if you give readers new reasons to stay with your paper RI (Readership Institute) provides insights & tools to develop that connection

Measuring Readership: 

Measuring Readership RI measured readers’ usage of their newspaper on weekdays and weekends Readership is: Time spent Frequency Completeness RI rolled those dimensions into a single Reader Behavior Score (RBS) for each consumer

Measuring Readership, cont.: 

Measuring Readership, cont. Newspapers can easily add RBS to their current reader survey measures Follow RI standards (See paper at www.readership.org) Track the success of content, service and brand initiatives Compare your newspaper to industry norms, similar markets etc.

Slide7: 

The Impact study yielded “Eight Imperatives” for growing readership Each imperative fits into one of the “4 Cornerstones” of readership growth 4 Cornerstones and Imperatives

Slide8: 

Newspapers have tremendous opportunities to grow readership through improvements in the 4 cornerstones of: - Content - Brand - Service - Culture 4 are linked to each other 4 must be tackled together 4 Cornerstones of Readership

Readership Growth 4 Cornerstones: 

Content 9 types of content grow readership So does a particular kind of local news Content that is “easy to read” & navigable Content that is promoted Advertising content Service excellence Brand relevance Constructive culture Readership Growth 4 Cornerstones

The Four Cornerstones of Readership: 

The Four Cornerstones of Readership Content Service Brand Culture

Content That Grows RBS: 

Content That Grows RBS Topics with greatest potential to grow readership News about ordinary people, community announcement, obituaries 2. Health, home, food, fashion & travel Politics, government, international 4. Natural disasters & accidents 5. Movies, TV & weather 6. Business and personal finance 7. Science, technology, environment 8. Police & crime 9. Sports

Slide12: 

Content & Increased Satisfaction

Slide13: 

Content & Increased Satisfaction

Slide14: 

Content & Increased Satisfaction

Post 9-11: 

Post 9-11 Within the 9 topics, these three have the greatest potential: News about ordinary people, obits and community announcements Health, home, food, fashion & travel Politics, government, international They embody a mix of hard & soft news that readers seek #1 and #3 are what made newspapers post 9-11 special Interest in foreign news has always been present – as long as newspapers made it relevant

Post 9-11: 

Post 9-11 Hard-hitting, moving stories about ordinary people made newspapers come alive Unfortunately, those reports are disappearing, replaced by “institutional” stories There is renewed emphasis by consumers on family, home, “nesting” and health These types of stories are important to growing readership

About Obituaries: 

About Obituaries RI identified many common practices among newspapers with high satisfaction ratings Full report at: www.readership.org

Change Writing Style: 

Change Writing Style It isn’t enough to have the right story topics Many readers are turned off by the inverted pyramid writing style that is used in 70% of your paper’s stories

What Are Some Writing Styles That Work?: 

What Are Some Writing Styles That Work? Feature-style Beginning, middle, end Characters tell the story Engages, connects Commentary Author’s voice (Reviews, columns, first-person)

Create an ‘Easy to Read’ Newspaper: 

Create an ‘Easy to Read’ Newspaper “Easy to read” means: The newspaper is relaxing to read (This does not mean brain candy) “It’s easy to find what I’m looking for”

‘Easy to Read’, cont. : 

‘Easy to Read’, cont. More “go-and-do” information More stories about health, home, fashion, food More feature-style stories More in-paper content promotion

Slide22: 

Advertising Content Required Actions: Learn which ads drive your readership Get those ads Make readership a responsibility of the ad department Better ad content drives overall newspaper readership

Advertising Content: 

Advertising Content Ad content has the third-highest potential to grow readership It is even more significant for Readers under 35 Hispanics & African-Americans

Slide24: 

Example: A Strategy Targeting Young Women (25-34) Get more ads that appeal to them Special pricing Ads should be exemplary Best location Active promotion of the ads Make advertising, marketing, & news responsible for coordinating efforts

Slide25: 

Create an aggressive plan for in-paper content promotion In-paper Content Promotion Required Actions: Concentrate first on upcoming content; then same-day content Make one person accountable

9 Types of Readers: 

Heavy Skimmer Selective Sunday heavy Light Sunday heavy only Weekday only Sunday light Nonreader 9 Types of Readers

Average Daily In-Paper Promotion: 

Average Daily In-Paper Promotion Focus on these & in this order

Execution: 

Execution In winter 2002 check the Readership Institute website www.readership.org for a preliminary report on what works

The Four Cornerstones of Readership: 

The Four Cornerstones of Readership Content Service Brand Culture

The Service Cornerstone: 

The Service Cornerstone Newspapers that deliver what their customers consider service excellence have higher RBS, but the bar is very high

6 Service Factors that Drive RBS: 

6 Service Factors that Drive RBS Condition/completeness of delivered paper Quality of paper, ink, type size When, how paper is delivered Accuracy of bill Cost of home delivery Overall customer service

Slide35: 

Achieve Service Excellence

For Further Study: 

For Further Study Close link between service and content Older readers more susceptible to service issues than younger readers “Bare bones” vs. innovative model Importance of excellent service recovery Importance of publisher’s role and attitude

The Four Cornerstones of Readership: 

The Four Cornerstones of Readership Content Service Brand Culture

Slide38: 

Develop a strong newspaper brand Drives RBS as much as content Brand is a strong, positive image that is relevant to the reader The Brand Cornerstone Required Actions: Understand & define your brand Enhance and strengthen it

Slide39: 

Readership Brand Model

Some Key Brand Ideas: 

Some Key Brand Ideas Build a brand in the minds of your readers that: Is based on a few strong, positive and relevant characteristics Differentiates your newspaper from the competition In RI sample we found only six newspapers that have a strong brand Brand isn’t a paper’s tag line or flag It is what consumers think it is and not what the newspaper says it is

Brand Perceptions that Drive RBS: 

Brand Perceptions that Drive RBS

The Four Cornerstones of Readership: 

The Four Cornerstones of Readership Content Service Brand Culture

Slide43: 

To grow RBS: Tear down defensive culture and replace it with a constructive one The Culture Cornerstone Required Action: Begin to grow readership as a sustained initiative Promote those who will lead initiative & involve staff cross-departmentally

Who Are Newspapers Like?: 

Who Are Newspapers Like?

Who Are Newspapers Like?: 

Who Are Newspapers Like?

Constructive vs. Defensive: 

Constructive vs. Defensive

Culture by Newspaper Departments: 

Culture by Newspaper Departments

Defensive Cultures: 

Defensive Cultures Departments work separately in silos There’s little teamwork or cooperation within or between disciplines Employees are not proud of the overall quality of the newspaper and its services

Slide49: 

Constructive Cultures Departments and individuals are achievement-oriented “We work together (across silos) for the good of the paper” A more satisfied staff Higher RBS

Moving to a Constructive Culture: 

Moving to a Constructive Culture It’s a leadership issue Leaders must model, encourage and reward these styles Requires leaders to step outside the current culture See clearly what must change Assess whether the right people are in right place to do it Be prepared to commit to it long-term

Slide51: 

How to Implement

Slide52: 

Action Step #1 Measure and use readership to grow it and to serve your customers RBS is the key measure of how readers behave It is what advertisers need Major competitors use: Eyeballs/Ears/Minds/Wallets Teach advertisers that RBS/readership is a better measure than eyes or ears

Slide53: 

Action Step #2 Other media are still fragmenting, but that will change soon When it does, newspapers must meet competitors’ consolidated news and advertising strength Build the 4 cornerstones urgently and now

Action Step #3: 

Action Step #3 Use readership in every department It’s a cause all departments can rally around Puts the focus on externals (the customer) instead of internal issues Share the goals openly Encourage discussion Enlist as many staff as you can in the action plan Empower and make accountable Make it cross-functional

Action Step #4: 

Action Step #4 Promote people who are committed to readership Tie goals & rewards to readership Devise rewards that matter to employees Make a big deal about readership successes Make this at least a 3-5 year effort and tell everyone that it is not going away

Slide56: 

Action Step #5 Everyone in the newspaper must take personal responsibility for growing RBS All the way from the publisher and editor … to the person who answers the phones Put a committed champion with clout in charge of each of the 4 cornerstones; measure results

Action Step #6: 

Provide the leadership & the will That’s your challenge Action Step #6

Slide58: 

All RI research materials are available at:  www.readership.org