My decision to leave the newspaper industry but not turn my back on the local newspaper

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/12/22/My-decision-to-leave-the-newspaper-industry-but-not-turn-my-back-on-the-local-newspaper

The first newspaper story I ever had published appeared in the middle school paper in the fall of 1979. Within three years, I received my first check for writing and working at a newspaper and that has continued up until now. Over the years I’ve worked at media outlets, radio stations and newspapers virtually my entire working life.

My non media career consists of one month at McDonald;s during my freshmen year of college, and then a three and a half month stent at Lazarus, which is now known as Macy’s. It still seems strange to me that this streak is about to end at the first of the year.

The decision to leave the newspaper industry and media in general is not a decision I came to overnight. My passion for media, and especially newspapers has not faded. By no means do I feel that I’m abandoning the industry. While some might say the industry has abandoned me, I do not feel that way. I feel incredibly lucky for the opportunities I’ve had, the challenges I’ve faced and the people I’ve worked side by side throughout the entire process.

So many great people that I wish I could just name each of them off in this column. Two people that had a great impact on love affair with media were my school advisers in middle school and high school. Linda Barnes and Joan Duc encouraged me to write and to lead a staff, first as editor my eight grade year at East Side Middle School and then my junior and senior year at Highland High School in Anderson, Indiana. I just remember having so much fun putting things together back in those days. That element of fun remained with me throughout all the years, though mixed in with the realities of business.

Media was a fun profession; maybe it still is, though I would suggest it is tougher to find the smile and laughter now than ten years ago. Declining circulation and the changes of digital world have made it a bigger challenge.

I’ve written all kinds of stories, broadcast sporting events and other community functions as well as sold countless numbers of advertising campaigns. About the only thing I haven’t done was write an obituary, and I’m not about to write one now for newspapers. Newspapers remain important to the communities they serve.

In the past few weeks, National Public Radio posted a podcast on the changes of the newspaper landscape. “Starving The Watchdog:  Who Foots The Bill When Newspapers Disappear?” This podcast tackles the difficult question:  What happens when newspapers are not around? A study conducted by the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Notre Dame shows the impact; the cost of government is more where newspapers are not there to be the watchdog.

Maybe I’m just a romantic with my love of traditional media. Guilty. But the importance of institutions like the local newspaper is real and true. So my recent decision to leave media as my career was a tough choice. You hate leaving something you love, and this hasn’t been an easy decision.

I gave two weeks notice, planning to work through December 28 before moving to my next chapter. A business decision, I was allowed to leave prior to that final deadline giving me the holidays off to enjoy family and prepare for a career outside of media. My new chapter starts January 7, doing marketing for a local company that I'm very excited to join.

The decision to move on with my career doesn’t mean I’m turning my back on the local newspaper. If you read about the study I mentioned earlier, if you listened to the NPR piece and agree with their commentary, then you have an opportunity still make a difference. Subscribe to your local newspaper, or in my case stay subscribed to the local newspaper.

No words I can say or write make the case to subscribe to your local newspaper that the words of Blake Sebring. Blake is a very good local writer in Fort Wayne; a reporter that I unfortunately had the misfortune of downsizing in September. Rather than be angry at the industry that made him unemployed days earlier, Blake made a passionate plea to help it.

Building your championship caliber workplace team starts with spring training everyday

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/11/29/Building-your-championship-caliber-workplace-team-starts-with-spring-training-everyday

The first snow has fallen, and I'm well on my way on a count-down to spring training and the return to baseball season. That's pretty typical for me, being a fan of baseball as well as a hater of cold Indiana winters.

It's especially true this winter, after watching my favorite team the Boston Red Sox win the World Series this past October. And if you're of like mind, you can check out the Spring Training Countdown site to see how soon before the sports reporters announce that pitchers and catchers have reported.

Spring training is where championship teams are developed. You have to have talent, for sure. But spring training is where the fundamentals are taught and emphasized, skills are honed and team chemistry is developed.

Being a manager is not all that glamorous at times. Or a lot of time, pending on your situation. But the best part for me is working with and developing people. I guess that is why I love spring training. Once the season has started, you'll rarely see a veteran being instructed on how to round the bases. But during the spring, they will spend an hour on it, perfecting on the exact approach you should have as you hit the bases.

Developing people in the workplace is my spring training, and I try to make it a part of my daily routine. From working with a brand new sales rep to working with a very experienced business office person who is learning new tasks, the opportunities for developing your team is the most reward part of being a manager.

Alex Cora, the manager for the Red Sox developed a high performing championship team. I'm just trying to win the month with a good performance, but lessons can learned from the rookie manager's approach.

"He just has a way of making you believe." That was a comment from Nathan Eovaldi, pitcher for the Red Sox. I cannot think of a better compliment that someone could  pass along to a manager. That was Eovaldi's comments in the hours after the Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers for the championship.

In all the reading I did after the World Series ended, one article stood out to me. ESPN's Tim Keown's story focused on the culture of the winning team, and specifically Alex Cora. Cora made $800,000 to be the manager of that team which seems like a lot of money. But a team with a payroll of over $228,000,000 that is chump change. Yet, Cora built the team up and kept them up setting team records for wins in 2018. And I'm convinced it all comes back to culture.

Keown writes:  "This was the culture Cora set out to build when he became Boston's manager a year ago, which made the scene both humbling and a little sad. He wanted a team that felt like a family, one constructed out of tolerance and diversity and inclusion. Given the transitory nature of the game, he wanted to create an ecosystem capable of absorbing new members." 

Obviously the story is talking about how to build culture for a successful baseball team. But doesn't that sound pretty accurate for business, a sales team? Looking at building a multi-generational workforce, with Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials and more? Then I think the advice from the rookie manager is a good thing to consider.

That passage doesn't talk about accountability. It is a very touchy-feely commentary but that doesn't mean I am not for accountability too. Far from it. I think employees, the good ones anyway, expect to held accountable for their productivity and actions. When they achieve or exceed, or when they fall short and need guidance, if you've treated them with tolerance and respect then they will be more open to hearing the words being expressed. This is especially important when those words are disciplinary by nature.

Shifting demographics still bring optimism to traditional media

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/11/23/Shifting-demographics-still-bring-optimism-to-traditional-media

A co-worker of mine asked me the other day if I'd heard about the tsunami that was about to hit. Normally our conversation is about popular music or sports, so his weather statement caught me a bit off guard.

Then he forwarded me a recent post from InsiderRadio.com that brought things into perspective. His reference was to the "Silver Tsunami" that is gripping the nation. The trend is that as the US is getting older, the once coveted 25-54 demographic is losing the Baby-Boom generation. As of January 2019, all Baby-Boomers have exited, moving on to the 55+ age range.

The article suggests that advertising agencies and marketers need to rethink who their target should be going forward. Instead of targeting the 25 - 54 age range as in the past, it is time to think older and follow the money. And as Baby-Boomers age, they are aging with all the money! OK, maybe not all of the money but enough that they can't be ignored.

Tom Peters was one of the first business gurus back around the start of the millennium to talk about the need to focus on where the money was regarding marketing dollars, and that you cannot ignore the aging Boomer population. That trend is only intensifying as Boomers get older. Baby Boomers control 50% of the wealth in this country today, and 28% of retail spending based on findings from Deloitte Insights.

The grip on the cash that Baby Boomers have is not something that they are planning to relinquish anytime soon. Their current net worth of 50% of the wealth only drops 5% over the next 12 years. This is good news potentially for traditional media  who continue to struggle in this ever-increasing digital age.

Baby Boomers have embraced digital, and I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't do digital campaigns for this segment. But I think Baby Boomers more so than the generations that have followed are holding on to traditional media. The best example is the newspaper audience.

Newspapers continue to struggle with maintaining circulation numbers. That issue is pretty universal. But the losses are a result of the industry's inability to attract the next generation of readers. This is a long term problem, no doubt. But in the here and now, I believe this is an opportunity.

Newspapers are strongest in the older demographics, especially Baby Boomers. What was once a vehicle to reach the masses is now becoming a vehicle to reach a specific target. And the good news is the target that newspapers reach happens to be the most lucrative segment in the marketplace, and it will be for another generation.

Market research budgets are a thing of the past for most media companies, but there is still at your ready resources that you can use to show newspaper readership. Which you should then match up those readership numbers with the wealth index for this country, and remind advertisers and agencies of the power of the Silver Tsunami.

In Indiana, data from the Hoosier State Press Association's 2017 Readership Study provides you with excellent data on the value of newspaper's older audience. The study, conducted by American Opinion Research found that 74% of adults in the Hoosier state over the age of 55 read a printed newspaper on a regular basis. That strong readership number coupled with a simple explanation about the Silver Tsunami is a powerful combination when talking with media buyers.

This reminds me of Ronald Reagan's debate with Walter Mondale during the 1984 presidential election. Reagan, at the time the oldest president in history emphatically told the audience, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience." He turned a potential negative into a huge positive, catching the audience and his opponent off guard.

Newspapers have the same opportunity. The perceived negative of the aging audience, at least for now, is still a positive opportunity. Newspapers continue to serve the wealthiest and most influential group in this country better than any other media outlet around.

Media has an opportunity to tap into the desire for a sense of community

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/11/04/Media-has-an-opportunity-to-tap-into-the-desire-for-a-sense-of-community

I was recently lucky enough to get to go on vacation, which included a stop in New York City. Seeing the hustle and bustle of the big city was great, and filled with many memories. Near the top of that list was a chance to see up close the Statue of Liberty.

It was inspiring to see it with my own eyes, and think about the immigrant paths of my family and that of my wife’s along with the hope this statue brought to them and so many other families over the years. But I also looked on with a sense of pride, as I had just recently learned about the important role newspapers played in building of the Statue of Liberty.

The statue itself is a gift from the French, but the pedestal on which she stands needed funding. In steps Joseph Pulitzer, who made it a crusade of sorts to get that money raised. In the pages of his newspaper the New York World, he raised over $100,000 which was more than enough to finish the job. How appropriate that the base of liberty was built by newspapers.

That ability to rally a community and help it to be a better version of itself is one of the many things I love about this industry. And despite the troubles in the industry, newspapers are still building better communities today.

I did not know Matt Tully. To my knowledge, I never had the pleasure of meeting him, yet I couldn’t help but shed a tear as I read about his recent passing. Tully was a columnist for the Indianapolis Star, and Tully helped build communities.

Matt Tully died of cancer in late October. The story of his passing reminded me of what is good in media, and I hope the industry is reminded of the opportunity we are given each day. No doubt as I read about Matt that he took those opportunities and did some great thing. My favorite story started back in 2009, when Tully decided to focus on inner-city schools and tell their stories. He took a typical story assignment, added his passion and ignited a community. The pinnacle was the Christmas concert put on by the choir which, thanks to Tully and the many readers of his column, was attended by over 2,000 people. Most of those people had no direct involvement with the school. They were there because of the call of Tully and the Indianapolis Star. People wanted to be a part of something special, and I believe many yearn for a sense of community. Media and newspapers specifically have a chance to be that conduit to make things like this happen in small towns and large cities.

Building community is not an easy endeavor. While a newspaper wants to build up a community, it also has to report on the bad things too. So finding that balance is never easy. But here, I believe, is every newspapers opportunity.

Nearly every newspaper does a progress edition. It gets called different things at different publications; progress edition, focus edition, community annual report. Instead of doing the same stale section that only looks at the heath care, business and industry, retail and education which rarely changes much from year to year. Look at those topics, or other topics if relevant in your market, and find ways to rally the community.

Rallying the community around a project or a specific need may not generate 2,000 people, but all you might need is the right people to step up. The cities and towns we serve need our help, and taking the annual progress edition and making it important again will have impact. Our advertisers, local business want this too and I believe that not only will rallying the community be good for the community, it will be good for business.

I’m not saying you’ll get 2,000 people at a Christmas concert; but I’m not saying you won’t. Pulitzer’s fundraising for the Statue of Liberty didn’t rely on the bigwigs with deep pockets. It was his average, every day reader that made the difference. In fact, over 125,000 people donated to the pedestal for Lady Liberty, meaning the average donation was only 80 cents.

The newspaper’s ability to tell a story and help change the world is evident every day in the pages published. Focusing on building community through the annual progress edition is an excellent place to build a community and ignite a readership base.

Can traditional media survive without social media?

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/10/25/Can-traditional-media-survive-without-social-media

The headline, like it was designed to do, caught my attention. "Can your publication survive without Facebook?"

So this is what we've come down to, can a local newspaper, radio or TV station even survive without the audience generated by the social media giant? Maybe I'm in a fantasy world, but to me there is no doubt the answer is yes. Hell yes, maybe even.

The article chronicles a Danish publisher, TV Midtvest who went dark on Facebook for two weeks to see what the impact was to their website for their eight regional TV stations in Denmark. Their head of digital, Nadia Nikolajeva spoke about their experiment at the INMA Media Innovation Week in Amsterdam in late September.

They went cold turkey, no Facebook posts for 14 days, having only a post that invited people to go to their website instead. What happened is a little alarming. Site visitors dropped 27% during the two weeks, and that's a lot. But page views only dropped 10%. People still found their way to the website, without the prompting from Facebook.

Facebook for most websites provides a lot of "one and done" traffic, meaning they come for the story that showed up on their feed and never click on another story while visiting your site. Every page view is important, but to me this shows one of the problems with social media. Is social media traffic coming to your website really meaningful traffic? I haven't seen, but wonder if there is research that shows how often visitors to a website click on local banner ads compared with visitors who came to the site by other means? The bounce rate is so high for social media generated traffic, I would bet very few interact with anything else on the site, let alone banner advertising which pays the bills.

I look at results from my own site, and I believe you can survive without Facebook. Given all the recent news about the US Supreme Court Justice hearings in Washington, DC, one of our state's US Senator's announced he would not vote for confirmation. This story broke on a Friday midday, and we immediately put a story up online about this decision. We also posted about it on Facebook, and the reaction exploded.

The Facebook post about the story blew up. We had a lot of reactions, comments and shares of this story which produce a very high reach on the platform. This post was one of our better performing posts on the site in some time. Hundreds of comments on Facebook, yet barely a whisper in terms of traffic on my site. People react on Facebook, but they did not read the details on the story online. We did a great job of creating content and page views for Facebook, but what did we do for our own site? Very little, it turned out.

The same was true with a several Facebook Live projects we've tried. Our most successful Facebook Live broadcast was with a local singer that made it to the finals of NBC's The Voice. Our views on Facebook were very strong. Doing Facebook Live, you could make the case, helped make our brand stronger and more top of mind. But there was immediate impact on our revenue or bottom line. We were generating page views and revenue for Facebook.

Publishers  need to stay focused on driving traffic to their site. It is going to be difficult enough making enough money on digital based products with dwindling cpm charges, let alone if publishers end up generating traffic for social media instead of themselves. Using Facebook and other social media outlets as a source for traffic instead of being the source for them may end up one of the industry's biggest challenges in the near future.

My example of the story on the Supreme Court shows that the habits of readers has changed. The headline sufficed, and they did not bother to actually read the content. What started at USA Today by giving us snippets of content has been reduced to simple headlines as all consumers want. That is scary for the news business, and for the republic in which we live.

So the answer is to innovate; something most media outlets talk about more than doing. In the case of TV Midtvest, they did take action. As the article wrote, "TV Midtvest realised they can innovate and develop in-house tools that will allow journalists to communicate with their audience while retaining control over users data. They even took a step further and developed new services like a streaming app, that saw 20,000 downloads since its launch in spring."

Developing an app might not be within the grasp of all online publishers.  But there are things that can be done to help drive traffic. To me, one of the most obvious is to use Facebook to promote your brand, and ways for consumers to interact.

If you do not have a email database, then start one. Use Facebook to promote its existence and help convert those Facebook likes into deliverable email addressed. Then you can sell your email newsletters to advertisers, making money from the email. Those emails sent daily, weekly or whatever works best for your news cycle, will help drive traffic back to your website. And not to Facebook.

I'm not anti-Facebook or anti-social media. There's a decent chance you made it to this post from a social media post. But I'm using social media to promote my website, not as a substitute for my website. I think a lot of websites, particularly those from media outlets, have forgotten that point. We need to use Facebook to promote our site, but figure out ways to drive web traffic to our sites and not Facebook.

Newspaper advertising remains relevant but most adapt for advertiser's needs

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/10/02/Newspaper-advertising-remains-relevant-but-most-adapt-for-advertisers-needs

Going to a really good conference for me is like getting an infusion of energy. Whenever I get a chance to attend a industry conference, my goal is to walk away from the meeting with at least one idea or kernel of knowledge that will pay for the time away from the office.

The annual conference for the Hoosier State Press Association provided me several good ideas and some great knowledge that will more than pay for the trip. Hopefully you were there and experienced the same results as me. For those that weren't able to make it, here are a couple of my take-aways that might help you too as you strive to end the year on a positive note.

Ryan Dohrn from Brainswell Media was one of the main speakers, working with advertising managers and sales reps. One of his quotes from the conference has been repeated numerous times by me since returning to the office. "If we sell traditional media in traditional ways, we will get traditional results." How you change things up depends on your market and your resources, but the reality is we have to change how we are doing business. Media outlets cannot do the same promotions this coming year that they were doing 5 years ago. Just as the businesses in small town - Main Street America have to change, media must also adapt and change.

Newspapers still remain a great option for creating brand awareness for advertisers. A business builder or frequency program where an advertiser runs a series of smaller ads on a consistent basis provides you with a much needed base of ads in the newspaper,  and provides your advertiser with better awareness with consumers in the marketplace. Advertisers can growth their brand and their business by associating with the local newspaper. Growing a business's reputation by affiliating with the trusted source for local information, which in many cases is one of the oldest  businesses in town, is very real and we as publishers often forget that value.

Building top of mind awareness through the newspaper is not new, but I believe it is something that many have lost track of as a valuable marketing asset to our customers. Consumers need to see a message 10 times before they act. Through newspaper frequency programs, the advertiser is building that awareness and developing an intent to buy from its customers. That awareness drives people to their store and to make purchases. It also helps with online search engines  like Google. When you are searching online, you are typically not searching generic phrases. Consumers are searching what is familiar with them, so a stronger brand equals a stronger presence online. Traditional media can help digital media's performance.

Newspaper advertising still performs. Hopefully that is a statement that you know and absolutely believe, and didn't need to go to a conference to have that reaffirmed. Sabline Carbaugh is the owner and COO for Golden Web Marketing, and her article titled "5 Reasons Print Advertising Works" offers some quick hit nuggets for your next sales meeting. My personal favorite is a Penn State University study that showed that readers retain newspaper advertising better than other marketing options. This is a point that gets illustrated every year for me, the Monday after the Super Bowl. Companies spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads. Yet hours afterwards, only one or two of those messages are remembered and associated with the brand they are promoting.

There is plenty of negative in the world. It is important that the newspaper industry continues to find and promote the good things that are still being said about it. For me, the words of Dohrn and those that came and shared their ideas at the annual HSPA conference provided me with fuel to attack fourth quarter.

A quick note of thanks to my friends in media

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/09/21/A-quick-note-of-thanks-to-all-my-friends-in-media

September, 2018 -- I have been truly blessed. Luckily, I am smart enough to realize that, and that has been very evident to me in recent weeks. The older I get, the more I appreciate family. Having lost both my parents and my oldest brother, the family that remains remain very dear to me. Never would I have ever expected to get as much joy as a hug from my son at the end of a bad day at work.

While work remains work, I'm lucky enough to have fewer bad days than good. And that isn't easy when you work in media. This industry continues to lurk, jerk and contort in ways never before imagined as traditional media tries to adapt to the new digital world. 

Working in media, and newspapers most of my career is indeed a blessing. I have managed to feed, clothe and put a roof over my family's head for several decades. Because of that fortune, I always try to give back. I have made presentations for many organizations, I write a monthly column for a state press association and work when possible with students who are the next wave of media moguls through work with local universities.

So when I was presented with the Distinguished Service Award from the Hoosier State Press Association, I was beyond flattered; nearly speechless! It is the highest honor handed out by HSPA to an individual that has helped the association and the newspaper industry throughout the state of Indiana.

What makes the media business so amazing is the people that are dedicated to it. I still have friends from my radio days, and of course a ton of friends from my newspaper days. The common denominator of all of them is passion and creativity with a desire to serve the markets in which they are working. For me, I was fortunate enough to be with many of them at the HSPA awards presentation in Indianapolis earlier this month. I had a chance to thank them personally. For those that I didn't see, let this serve as a personal thank you for sharing your creativity, your passion and most of all, your friendship.

Time for newspapers to start thinking like Veeck, as in Bill Veeck and become marketing disruptors

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/08/26/Time-for-newspapers-to-start-thinking-like-Veeck-as-in-Bill-Veeck-and-become-marketing-disruptors

Bill Veeck was a market disruptor. They didn’t actually call him that at the time. They called him crazy. Looking back now some 32 years after his death, you might hear him referred to as a genius.

Veeck as in wreck is how people described him, and it also happens to be the title for his autobiography. A baseball hall of fame inductee, Veeck owned three different baseball teams including the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. Though he won a World Series in Cleveland, he was a small market, small budget owner before they were referred to as such. This forced Veeck to innovate just to survive.

What made Veeck a genius is he actually thought about the fan experience at the game. Every baseball game you attend that has a special promotion attached to it, from fireworks to bobble heads, exists because of him. Veeck had to create fans of his product just to survive, and that is the lesson we need to learn in the media industry.

Fans of the game of baseball in Chicago have options for their entertainment dollars, including other places to see major league baseball. In Veeck’s era, there were the Cubs on the north side playing at Wrigley Field, and the White Sox with a much smaller following in a dump of a ballpark in a suspect neighborhood on the south side. To gain attention from fans and sponsors, the White Sox had to think differently. Thus they came up with things like exploding scoreboards when a home run is hit, having a crazy radio announcer Harry Caray sing a song with the crowd during the seventh inning stretch and have promotions like “Disco Demolition Night.” Innovative at the time, two of those three examples are now mainstays at ball parks today. “Disco Demolition Night” actually caused the White Sox to have to forfeit a game.

Newspapers should think more like Bill Veeck, incorporating promotions with an underdog mentality to attract fans and revenue. I worked for a couple years for John Dille, who owned The Elkhart Truth. In addition to owning that newspaper, Dille owned several radio stations, and he challenged me regularly to think like a radio station and develop promotions. From special events to contest, the goal was to attract attention to the product and associate good feelings towards it all the while earning revenue.

As an industry, we need to challenge ourselves to make the move from disrupted to the disruptor. One way to do that is to think like a radio station like Dille challenged me. Or Bill Veeck.

In my career, I’ve dreamt up promotions where I hid $1,000 somewhere in the market and provided clues so readers would find it, had a half dozen people live in a travel trailer in the middle of a mall for a week in a Survivor style promotion, among other things. Those were relatively high budget promotions, though I will say neither cost very much compared to the publicity earned. I’ve done many low budget promotions too, which any market at any size can pull off. There is no magic formula. You just have to try!

John Senger, the ad director at Greenfield, Indiana’s newspaper did a scavenger hunt for their readers. Called the “Ultimate Scavenger Hunt” this promotion was a great example of audience engagement, innovative thinking and revenue generation. This was a daylong event promoting the newspaper, its sponsors and the community they serve while generating revenue too.  

Small group of participants in The Ultimate Scavenger Hunt, presented by The Daily Reporter in Greenfield, Indiana.

Innovation often comes from necessity. As the media world changes, we have to think differently to keep the audience’s attention, and to keep our sponsor’s money. Pushing the limits of thinking, and finding promotions and contests that will work in your market will help you do both. If Bill Veeck owned a newspaper today, I have no doubt they would be doing wacky promotions, engaging with their audience, making money and still providing quality content for its subscribers.

Bill Veeck’s son is carrying on the family tradition of amazing promotions and profitability, now for an independent minor league A few weeks ago, they decided to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the movie Animal House with the world’s largest food fight. More than 8,000 people showed up for the game, and the video as of this writing has been viewed over 150,000 times.

OK, so maybe the world’s largest food fight isn’t your cup of tea. I get it. The point is, like Bill Veeck or the St. Paul Saints, to survive in the long term, newspapers are going to have to get creative and become a disruptor.

Hitting the target with targeted advertising

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/08/06/Hitting-the-target-with-targeted-advertising

I had never heard of Peppa Pig when I received the announcement in my inbox that Peppa was coming to town. Lucky me, I had just scored the opportunity to get pre-sale tickets to the big upcoming performance in early December.

The problem was I had no clue who or what Peppa was. The normally targeted email marketing messages that I receive in my email had missed the mark. I have since found out that Peppa Pig is a British animated TV show designed for pre-schoolers.

I'm a frequent buyer of tickets from Ticketmaster, so I think they have a pretty good profile on me as a consumer, and my buying habits. They are sophisticated enough that I think they pay attention to that information, especially based on other offers that I have received from them over the years.

Aside from the laugh I had trying to determine if Peppa was some kiddie show or possibly a strange punk rock group, it was a good reminder to make sure our marketing message is the right one for the right audience.

Newspaper sales reps don't always think about the audiences within the big readership numbers for their products. What is forgotten is opportunities to reach different segments of readership with the newspaper; male, female, young, old, affluent, business owners and more.

Pending on the size of your newspaper, you have different sections that offer a targeting opportunity. If not full sections, in many cases special pages with different content is available. Sales reps don't always do a good job of trying to match up the various sections of a newspaper with their customers. At most newspapers I've worked at, the reps try to jam all their ads into main news or around obituaries. Certainly there are benefits to those two positions, but there are many others that can be just as valuable to customers.

High school football is starting up now, and reader interest is definitely there. Sales reps do a great job selling the preview section, but are they also tapping into the power of that audience to sell a combination ad for Thursday and Saturday, the days of the game preview and recap?

Many newspapers still run a syndicated weekly NASCAR page during the racing season, which goes from February until November. This is another content page that allows newspapers to offer targeted content to readers. In the case of NASCAR, while the sport has dropped a little in popularity, fans tend to be fiercely loyal to drivers and the brands they represent which opens up ad dollar opportunities.

Local business news, the weekly food page, religion page and special pages for seniors are regular content in many newspapers. Yet ad departments are not always seizing the opportunity to take this targeted content and turning it into dollars. 

It doesn't even have to be special pages to become a premium position and targeted content. I've been working recently with a customer who has to have their content either next to the weather or lottery numbers. In that customer's mind, those are high traffic areas for the customer they are trying to reach. We are accommodating their request, and gaining revenue as a result. Beyond the weather and lottery numbers, both good spots, there are others that can be utilized. Every market has special content, including things like the police blotter, the local school lunch menu, court information especially bankruptcies and divorces.  

Take inventory of your content that runs daily, weekly or monthly. Determine what might be of interest to a specific segment of your readers or advertisers and see what you can generate as a result. Every newspaper has limited resources, so you need to maximize what you have, and that is especially true with content.  If your readers see value in the content, then it is very likely that your advertisers will as well. 

Screen health concerns could help traditional media, especially newspapers

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/07/03/Screen-health-concerns-could-help-traditional-media-especially-newspapers

"I'm a digital explorer in analog roam, and everybody's on the phone."  -- Jimmy Buffett from his 2006 song "Everybody's On The Phone"

On more than one occasion, I've been accused of spending too much time staring at my phone screen. Guilty as charged. While I'm not ready to call it an addiction, the phone has turned into an important tool in how I manage my life.

Between my phone and my tablet, I regularly visit four or five newspaper websites, and that is beyond the sites for where I work. Those sites are a part of my regular routine, much in the same way that my morning newspaper still is today.

Jimmy Buffett was a futurist when he wrote that lyric, but that has become reality, as we it played out in society today. In 2017, comScore's report on Cross Platform Future in Focus estimated that the average adult spent just shy of three hours a day on their smartphone every day.  I'll do the math for you; that's about 23 days a year.

The old adage about too much of a good thing is a bad thing comes to mind regarding the amount of screen time in people's life, and that is starting to be discussed when it comes to digital consumption. A few weeks back, I read a couple articles on screen health. While a new term to me, screen health is quickly becoming a concern for some people.  Too much time staring at a screen is having negative impacts on people's lives.

In early June, Apple announced in early June that their new operating system for their iPhones and iPads would incorporate a screen health app. It is designed to help people spend less time on their phones. Google has already incorporated this into their system.

People deciding that they are spending too much time on their phones is not enough to cure the ills of traditional media. But to me, this does provide some optimism for the future of traditional media including newspapers.

Others share that optimism, including Angus Campbell. He published on LinkedIN an article titled "Why print will never die". Campbell offered three solid reminders of the importance of traditional print as a marketing tool that, coupled with the increasing concern of too much time in front of a screen offer opportunities for audience and revenue in the future.

In his article, Campbell pointed out that print is more satisfying for the recipient. It engages more senses for the reader, which subconsciously makes for a better experience for the reader. Print can be trusted to deliver. The long history of the newspaper industry is still on our side, and people have a higher degree of trust for the content within those printed pages, editorial and advertising, which helps deliver results. As fake news continues to make headlines, print outlets - especially local newspapers - remain the trusted source.

His last point was his best point in the article, I believe. Print is a tremendous compliment to digital. The fad of using QR codes in newspapers has come and gone largely, but emerging technology like augmented reality and virtual reality is creating new opportunities for readers to engage with print going forward. And even without the interaction between print and a digital platform, the fact remains that a marketing campaign that includes digital and prints - especially print's target audience with a lot of disposable income - works better than a digital only approach.

The struggle is real. Fighting customers that want to place their dollars strictly on digital marketing opportunities is a daily fight. Tell them about screen health, and how a properly managed campaign with traditional and non-traditional media will bring a healthier result to their profits.

First impressions are critical in new business development for media companies

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/04/30/First-impressions-are-critical-in-new-business-development-for-media-companies

I’ve recently spent some time on vacation, getting away from the normal routine and enjoying some warmth and sunshine in Florida. I’m like everyone else in that vacation time is precious andI want to make the most of it.

Deciding where to eat on vacation is a big decision. Once the destination has been determined, we start in on doing our research. We search online, look for new or different foods we want to try, and ask friends who have vacationed there previously for recommendations. This has been a formula for success for me with many previous vacations.

And you know what, your advertisers are doing the same thing to select where to spend their marketing money.

Advertisers are searching online to see who are the local marketing experts. Business owners are looking for new options to try that might help build their customer base. And they are asking friends what has worked for their business. So what are you doing to make sure you are providing business owners and marketing managers meaningful information for their searching process? The likely answer is you are not covering all of those areas currently, which gives you a chance to implement a quick improvement plan.

On your website, make sure you have updated information about all of the advertising segments you offer. Make sure your information is up to date, and that the contact emails are current. Too many times, this page on your website is set up and then forgotten. If you quote circulation or web traffic numbers, make sure those are current. Your website is often times the first impression to a business owner, and that website should set you up as a marketing expert locally. Local research and market expertise should be on display, to show a business owner they need to work with you instead of your competitor or an advertising agency.

If you’ve started offering new services, make sure you mention them. The business owner is looking at your website thinking of you strictly for your core competencies. They will think you are strictly a newspaper, so if you are also offering direct mail, commercial printing, digital display programs across the internet, you must tell them. The more problems you can solve for an advertiser, the more likely you get that initial inquiry call first. But to get that phone ringing or email sent, your site has to provide the information at a high level.

For vacation planning, getting recommendations from friends that have been there before is the most important segment for me when making a decision. You can use apps like Yelp to get reviews and recommendations, but I prefer getting feedback from friends that I know and trust. Your local market is no different.

At every sales manager position I’ve held, I’ve asked for testimonial letters. And at every position I’ve held, getting those testimonials has proved difficult. The business owners aren’t usually the hold up; it is the sales reps. But getting testimonials is very important to help sway people making buying decisions and you need to make it a priority with your sales team.

Making a marketing buy can be expensive and funds are typically limited. Providing assurances that investing those dollars with you is a good decision, providing a solid return on investment. Getting that assurance from a local business can help sway that buyer and help remove buyer’s remorse.

Providing a preponderance of evidence with a dozen or so testimonial letters from a variety of business types should be a part of your marketing portfolio. If you have five people in your sales department, you only need three letters from each rep, so this isn’t a burden on the sales team. Don’t let the thought of writing a testimonial letter become a burden on the advertiser either. The number one reason your customers won’t do it is the lack of time. So offer to write it for them. You know the highlights you want to feature, and the ways the advertiser used your products to achieve their success.

Media companies are experts in marketing, but rarely do a great job of marketing themselves. These tips can help change that narrative for you in your local market.

The pursuit of purpose

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/04/15/The-pursuit-of-purpose

Recently, I wrote about the pursuit of happiness. It was a quick glimpse into my personal journey through life lately, looking to find that magic bullet of bliss that comes from being truly happy. I wrote that post largely for therapeutic reasons. But then I quickly realized that what I felt resonated with many others, based on the feedback I received. Even while I was writing that, my brain was starting to tackle yet another tough life journey; trying to find one’s purpose in life. 

As wonderful as finding true happiness would be, and it would be wonderful, I believe finding your true purpose in life would be infinitely more powerful. To find the ultimate reason you’ve been placed on this earth, discoveringthe moment that you were meant to shine in, is beyond comprehension to me. Perhaps it is by design that you can’t wrap your head around that knowledge, and we are kept from it. The depth of emotion I believe that would come with such knowledge is beyond our ability to handle.

I can hear the readers of this now. I can hear you saying that I’m wrong. You absolutely know and understand why you were put on this earth and thus have a complete understanding of your special purpose in life. “I’m here for my kids.” “The work I do at my church.” “The charity I volunteer for.” Those are all greatand very worthwhile. I even believe those actions are a part of the fabric that makes up why were are here. Those actions are a part of who we are and the lives we lead,  but a special purpose goes deeper.

This is an interesting challenge; a puzzle. For me, it is like trying to break down the very largest structures of the world to sub-atomic particles. The challenge is to look at your life and try to determine that singular event, moment or engagement with someonethat made a difference; that made THEE difference. Your entire life was centered around that single moment. That is your special purpose, and that is why you were placed here on earth for that singular thing. Wouldn’t it be amazing to understand that, and recognize it when it happens?

I recently stumbled across a new TV series on PBS called “We’ll Meet Again”. Ann Curry is the host of this show that reconnects people who had brief encounters with individuals, from a few hours to a few days many years ago, that had a tremendous impact on a person. The show tells a story very well based on a historic event, bringing it down to that personal connection that I think we all yearn for.

The first episode I saw recounted lost connections from the Civil Rights Movement, telling the story of two individuals that crossed paths during the Freedom Summer, 1965. New York City native Fatima Cortez-Todd was so moved by the events she witnessed on her TV that she went south to help out 53 years ago. The episode tells of a relationship developed over a few weeks that summer; a relationship that was put away and forgotten for over 50 years. Yet the impact that then 17 year old Thelma Caulfied made on Fatima was deep and stirring, and stayed with Cortez-Todd through all the years.

The series is full of excellent storytelling, and a history lesson to boot. But what hit home so much for me as I watched that first episode was that at the time, Fatima and Thelma neither one realized the impact and life changing lessons that were being taught by each other. Their special purpose in life was playing out in front of their eyes, yet they had no clue. In fact, even after they contacting Thelma for the show, I’m confident she still didn’t know. It wasn’t until the reunion, when Fatima was able to tell her, and thank her for that that the true impact of their relationship was realized.

In the episode highlighting Fatima and Thelma, it was a series of shared experiences over an entire summer than made such a difference. Reality is, it can be one moment lasting only briefly. That was the case in the episode of “We’ll Meet Again” which featured Patrick Anderson.

Anderson was at the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel on September 11, 2001. Like so many people that day, Patrick fled ground zero on that horrific day, running to safety. He ended up at a school nearby but safely away, slumped over on the floor trying to make sense of the day’s event and what he had just witnessed. It just so happens that day was school picture day and Emily Maroney was there assisting the photographer when she came across Patrick sitting on the floor. In the midst of all that pain and hate on display, she turned to him and said “You look like you could use a hug.” A simple act, a simple hug to offer some comfort and let them know that there was still love in the world, and it helped Patrick start to make sense of it all.

The young executive and photographer’s assistant ended up spending a couple hours together, with Emily providing him a place to go temporarily to clean up and contact family. A totally random encounter of a few hours over 16 years ago that brought about lasting change in Patrick’s life. We all look back on that day and think of the senseless losses, but Patrick now looks back and sees compassion. He feels love. So much in fact that he had to find her and thank her for those few moments nearly a generation ago.

This story, and the other stories told on this show are perfect Hollywood scripts. Yet, they really happened. Hard to imagine that they were real world experiences, but they were. Unfortunately for us living day in and day out in the real world, it is rare that we get that chance for the reunion and big reveal like on a TV show such as this. Too many times we live our life blind; blind of the impact we make on people’s lives and the impact being made on our own.

That is why that show, and for me this post, is a reminder of the great things that can happen at any time, and with the smallest of things. A hug can change the world; it did for Patrick Anderson. Finding your special purpose and the process of trying to narrow life down to one special thing, that one special moment is difficult. But in the case of the individuals highlighted on that show, you can see the essence of what I’m hunting.

Hopefully you have been blessed with friends or family members that you have gone through life’s thick and thin with. I know I have, with several people I could name that have been there for me or made a big impact on my life. My hope is that someone – somewhere – someday making a list of people that have made an impact on their life might also mention me.

One of those friends that I would put on my list is a minister; not your typical minister but I think that is in part what I love about the guy. He is flawed like all of us, but using those flaws to help lead people to God. We are all imperfect, which is what makes us wonderful. Over the years, we have had some amazing conversations where we both express our concerns, doubts and uncertainty about our abilities as parents, as husbands and in the careers we are in. While I could never do his job, I am very envious of him and the work he does with such ease.

I am very certain that he has made definitive and last impact on this earth. Every time he does an outreach, working with area homeless or troubled youth, his fingerprints are on the present and future, and his purpose comes to life. How wonderful is that, to realize your work is making the world a better place today and into the future. And yet, he and I have had several conversations about what his purpose is in life. In his case, I do believe he was put on this earth to deliver a message to an individual who is at a moment decision in their life.His words of encouragement, wisdom and guidance spoken thoughtfully to that one person at just the perfect time of their life is why he’s here, I’m convinced. Andthe impact of that message is world changing.

There is good and bad with that opportunity. Good of course in the fact that you are doing God’s work, and changing lives and thus the world. But also bad in that you don’t know, and may never know who that individual was that you were intended to guide or the true ramifications of those changes.

There is also pressure with such a responsibility. You have to try and always be on your ‘A game’ too, since you are never sure when that special moment is going to happen. With every sermon, every ministry outreach, that special person who needs to hear your message might be waiting.  While this might be unfulfilling for some, my friend makes the most of it.

A few years ago, my career took a wonderful and totally unplanned detour. I became the publisher of the newspaper in Elkhart, Indiana. I found myself plopped down in a community where I knew absolutely no one, and a family situation that didn’t have my family joining me right away. It didn’t take long for me to get introduced to someone that I now consider one of my closest friends, and someone that I feel like I’ve know for my whole life.

He and I connect on many levels. We have a number of common interest, including a love of the baseball and the Boston Red Sox. We are both strong family oriented men, who believe in serving our community whenever possible. Yet as much as we have in common, we are very different people. Our paths to adulthood could not possibly be different. His background still fascinates me, and I love it when he tells stories about the life experiences he’s had.

Even better are the stories of the lives he’s had impact on over the years.

While my minister friend preaches to large crowds, this friend works one on one. With the smaller audience, you have a chance to sometimes measure the results of the impact he’s had on people. I’ve witnessed it first hand countless times. You cannot help but see it if you spend time in public with him. It would be odd if a young adult didn’t come up to our table at dinner to thank him for the impact he had made in their life. While every single story I heard told contained an amazing turning point where my friend helped someone make a life choice that steered them to good things, the even more amazing part to me was that he remember all their names. As a director for a not-for-profit that worked directly with at risk youths, he has dealt with thousands of kids in his career. And like that favorite teacher you had from high school who remembered your name when you came back to visit 20 years later, he remembers.

He remembered their name, often times sibling’s names and the situations that he helped them overcome to live better and more productive lives. He was able to help guide people during pivotal moments in their life. Years later, you could witness the impact as they came to thank you for just being there. For me, it is that lasting impact, that purpose that I seek. Being that conduit to life changing actions is overwhelmingly powerful when you think about it, and the impact that happens for a individual. But the best part of that power, that purpose is that his impact reverberates to generations to come. That’s a real purpose in life; so powerful that you can see the positive ramifications that extend well beyond your own life.

I’ve said it more than once, that when I grow up I want to be like him. Fun loving, doing great things yet humble, and all the while making decisions that personifypassion and purpose in life. If you ask him how he’s doing, he’ll tell you he has “more blessings than challenges.” Even in my darkest moments, his words remind me that I too have more blessings than challenges. One of those big blessings is a big guy with only a little hair and Boston accent.

It is so easy to forget how blessed we are in life, no matter our life’s circumstances. Our vision is cloudy because of the perceived stresses of life, of work, of family and of our own often unrealistic view of what life should be. In the 1990’s movie “City Slickers” starring Billy Crystal and Jack Palance, Crystal’s character and his buddies head to a dude-ranch to work out their mid-life crisis. Crystal,donning his New York Mets hat, gets deeply philosophical with a cowboy ranch hand named Curly, played by Palance. Curly, while speaking to Mitch, could have been speaking to me when he said, “You city folks worry about a lot of shit.” And we do. And I do.

Searching for a deeper meaning, the secret of life is what the movie “City Slickers” is all about. While the movie didn’t solve things for anyone, it does provide perspective. As Curly pointed out to Mitch, the secret of life is found in that “one thing.” That one thing is different for each of us, and as Curly pointed out. “That’s what you have to figure out.” And so we continue searching.

The pursuit of purpose in life isn’t as simple as that one thing as the Jack Palance character suggests. It likely is a series of things, maybe several small things. Small daily miracles, and not so miraculous interactions with people that bring joy, peace and happiness to yourself and others might be it. It is the impact we make in life, however great or small that brings about our purpose. It could be as grand as a masterpiece work of art, or as insignificant and fleeting as footprints in the sand. The true measurement of your purpose cannot be measured on this earth, I believe.

I can see the impact and purpose of others much easier than I can my own. I guess it is like trying to see your own back; try as you might but you cannot contort your body enough to get a full view. It is only through the reflection of a mirror can you get a glimpse. Purpose is that way too, best measured in the way it reflects on others.

Me personally, have I made an impact? A positive impact? I’m still searching, or more to the point still trying to live up to something worthy of such a measurement. I cannot give you a specific moment where the lights come up and the music begins to play like a Hollywood script, and I can say yes here it is! My purpose has arrived! It remains elusive.

But I think it is out there. I hope and pray it is out there, that one person or moment or whatever that I was meant to be here for. And I hope I live up to that moment or series of moments, doing what I was brought here to do when the time arrives.

As for me personally, never in a million years did I expect to be an advocate for special needs, minority adoptions. But I have. Is that my purpose? I don’t know, a cause for sure. At the end of the day, I’d like to thinkI’ve had a positive impact. I think I have had a positive impact on my son, Eric.

Have I made an impact on the lives of others the way that Thelma or Emily did on that TV show? Can I look myself in the mirror and say that I’ve made the world around me better the way that my friends Evan and Kevin have? Not sure, which is a little unfulfilling. But my search continues.

Life doesn’t sum itself up in a 60 minute show like they do on TV, and I’ll never likely know. But I believe if you live a good life, treat people right that you do fulfill that special purpose. Perhaps it isn’t named specifically by those impacted, but it hopefully shows in their heart. A monument in someone’s heart that gives to others is better than any monument made of granite and stone seen by millions.