Local Media…The Digital Land Grab.

January 5, 2010 By admin

WE ARE SPARTANS !

So goes the battle cry from the movie….. ’300′. Spartans are a proud people protecting their land and way of life from the incoming Persians. Do I smell a historical analogy coming on ?

The Spartans: Local TV, Radio and Newspaper properties. They’ve had a very nice run for the past 50 to 100 years or so. Profit margins hovering around 50%, huge barriers to entry, powerful lobbying arms, virtual ownership of all local advertising revenues, etc. They would like to protect this way of life. It is has been good. Real good.

The Persians: Recently created outsiders like Google, online ad networks like Centro, pure-play sites like Facebook and ReachLocal. They have their eye on the next massive pot of Internet gold; the local marketplace. They want to infiltrate, take share, and potentially take-over the lion’s share of local ad expenditures. They are willing to initially cooperate, share the growing riches, and work with the local properties………until they have their hooks in real deep. Then watch out.

King Leonidas, the bearded Spartan general, desperately tries to warn his Greek countrymen that the crafty and be-jeweled Persian King Xerxes, doesn’t just want to ‘partner’ with them, but ultimately wants to make them their slaves.

In the short term the offer seems genuine and generous. Yet, Leonidas knows that it would likely be the beginning of the end for their local state, culture and freedom.

And so the 300 fight……to no avail. They are crushed by the insurmountable forces from afar. Alas, the mighty Spartans did not get full support and buy-in from their own country’s leaders. They were held back by the politician’s legacy thinking, fear, and lack of vision.

If you’ve seen the movie, or know about this piece of ancient history, it may provide some insight as to what local media is facing right now. What needs to be done? Broadcast and Newspaper need to develop and execute an aggressive war-plan NOW, in order to defeat (or at least keep in check) the forces looking to invade their local media turf.

Today’s lesson: Those who ignore history, are doomed to repeat it.

Filed Under: Hyper Revenue Watch Tagged With: Broadcast, centro, internet, Local Media, Newspaper, philly.com, reach local, tv web sites

TV vs. Newspaper; Local Online Video Battle

November 16, 2009 By admin

A movie about a local TV news team anchored by Ron Burgundy, becomes a hit. Did the writers really have to stretch their imagination in order to come up with bits for this Will Farrell flick? Not likely. For fodder, they just turned on the local newscast of Anytown USA.

Local TV news; Change or wither. Andrew Hayward, former president of CBS News, shared his thoughts about local TV news, and he pulled no punches. You don’t have to be a mind reader to pick up his vibe……. it better change, or it’s doomed. Here’s what I gleaned up from his speech via an article in a Louisville newspaper. Read the entire article by Rick Redding here.

Local stations focus too much on crime/murder, since it’s easier to do and video friendly.
Viewership is shrinking, blood ‘n’ guts stories aren’t relevant to audience.
Breaking News Alerts …..sensationalizes events that aren’t really news.
Local, linear newscasts: no longer needed in a world of unlimited, on-demand news choices.
Nobody under 40 is watching the local anchor. They don’t even know his name.

Some steps to fix it:

Hire journalists with a different look, who have roots in the community.
Hire more of those with an expertise in a specific topic or category.
Don’t hire a model with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. Instead, hire a less-qualified local with a less-polished look, and allowed the new hire the freedom to find humor in news stories.
Get more VJ’s on the street. (video journalists). Capture more local video with substance.
See Online as real-time 24/7 newscast, NOT a dumping ground for stale packages from last night’s 11pm cast.

Local Advertisers Moving to Web

November 2, 2009 By admin

Create Your Own

Local business wants to buy Internet advertising.

It’s obvious from the outstanding turn out we get for our “Web Advertising 101″ seminars. In every city we travel to, from Chicago to Scranton, small and mid size businesses are moving more of their marketing budgets over to the Internet. Once they get some some basic education, encouragement and proof that it will work, they starting making the move to web.

Who will teach the local advertiser? Optimally, it should be the traditional reps from the local media company. They have the relationships, the trust, and the ear of the local advertiser. The challenge though, is that the traditional reps need a better understanding of how to effectively sell the benefits of the web, in a clear, simple way that the small business can grasp. That is not easy, especially when many traditional reps rely on the local “web expert” to help them through the sales call.

TIP: it’s not a good thing when a newspaper or TV rep responds to a client who wants web, and says…..”let me get my web guru in here to talk to you. I’m not too sure about this web thing”. This makes the traditional rep look out of touch and disconnected from the new world of advertising.

The race in on. Ad dollars are moving online, with TV, Radio and Newspapers ramping up their local sales efforts with varying degrees of success. The current soft economy only accelerates this process. The smart local properties understand they’re primarily competing with Google, ReachLocal, ServiceMagic and other online media companies that have their eyes set on local ad dollars.

Few will profit, most will fail. In each market, only a very few Broadcast & Newspaper companies will turn an online profit. With outside ‘pure-plays’ taking about 50% of every dollar out of the market, the remaining ad dollars will be sucked up by the most aggressive, serious players.

Filed Under: Hyper Revenue Watch, Newspaper Tagged With: Newspaper

NAA: Newspaper Website Strategy

February 26, 2009 By admin

Speaking with Enrico Burden of NH.com

In cooperation with Blog Talk Radio, I spoke with some heavy hitters in the Newspaper industry at a recent NAA Conference

We discussed their current web efforts.

Dan Shorter; President of Minneapolis Star Tribune, Interactive. Formerly the GM of the Palm Beach post, Dan recently got lured to Minneapolis. He’s one of the most respected Newspaper people in the online space, and Mr. Shorter shares his thoughts on the fast changing Newspaper environment, and how he’s gonna fit another award on his mantle! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Howard Owens; Former Director of Digital Publishing, Gatehouse Media. (current publisher of TheBatavian.com.) Howard recollects the NAA session featuring Dean Singleton, CEO of Media News who said things like: ”our readers don’t want the same newspaper we’ve been putting out over the past 30 years.’ Howard also discusses the 12 things journalists can do to save journalism. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Allison Sholly; Former VP/GM, Chicago Tribune Interactive. Allison describes sales structure and compensation, as well as the Trib’s success in the online video space. And because we had so much fun doing this Radio-like webcast, Allison and I discuss whether we should do a DJ morning show together. Here is the podcast recording of my conversation with Allison Sholly.

Also spoke with folks like:

Chris Tolles; CEO of TOPIX
Bob Kellagher; COO Calkins Interactive
Walker Fenton; NewsGator
Jay Small; Scripps GM of Interactive
Shannon Dunnigan; Director Online Revenue, Gatehouse Media

Click here to hear all interviews I did, using BlogTalkRadio.com

Filed Under: Revenue Models Tagged With: datasphere-technologies-bonus, gatehouse media, Newspaper, online revenue, sales, tribune

Newspaper Web Conference: E-EDGE

January 17, 2008 By admin

It’s no secret. I’m bullish on the future of Newspapers. Not only in it’s current print form, but it’s future as hyper-local, multi-media news/info organizations.

Reverse publishing strategy, development of PROFITABLE online video/audio applications, and the re-training/re-deployment of sales & editorial staffs are just some of the areas that I am very enthusiastic about. So, I’ve ramped up my efforts in moderating more conferences that focus on these emerging, revenue generating trends.

Whether you’re a Newspaper exec, or you’re competing against them, you’ ll want to attend this important Web-focused conference. It’s called “e-Edge”. It’s part of the upcoming America East Newspaper Conference, starting March 10, in Hershey, Pa.

I’ll be moderating a panel called “Peek under the Hood”. It’s a look at what Radio & TV are doing to attract business to their websites, and how Newspaper is successfully fighting back with innovative video and audio initiatives.

The panel features:

Mike Sechrist; former GM of WKRN-TV in Nashville. This web-savvy TV veteran is THE pioneer in the world of TV and Internet. Notable achievements: the local blogger aggregation of Nashville is Talking, and installing the controversial, yet smart VJ/Mobile Journalist model into the newsroom. Mike will highlight some ways that Newspaper can pull advertising dollars away from local TV and Cable.
Ron James, Content Manager, SignOnSanDiego.com. Ron oversees the San Diego Union Tribune’s groundbreaking online radio efforts; www.SignonRadio.com, and www.AmplifySD.com. Radio is asleep at the wheel in this area, and Newspapers are moving quickly into this space. Ron will share his experience in the start-up efforts, and evolving strategy behind Newspaper’s revenue driven move, into online Radio and Podcasting.
Ken Dardis, VP, Marketing, Spacial Audio. A veteran radio broadcaster that has lead the charge in helping Radio evolve it’s mature business model to the Web. Ken will share his thoughts on where Radio is going in regards to the Internet, and where they’re making HUGE mistakes.

Filed Under: Newspaper, Revenue Models Tagged With: Broadcast, conference, internet, Newspaper, online-revenue-conference, web

Local Dilemma: Integrate or Separate?

December 19, 2007 By admin

[brightcove vid=1250573768&exp=1243698085&w=486&h=412]

Video above: The New York Times print & web folks…side by side…in the newsroom; the integrated newsroom. It’s a look at how the newspaper industry is evolving into multi-media news organizations; where NYT employees are mandated to see web as equally important as print…..and in some cases, MORE important than print.

Wish they took a look at the sales effort too. Does the print ad director sit next to the web sales manager? What is the bonus/commission structure like? How many reps sell web only? How many sell both print and web? How do they avoid sales cannibalization and in-fighting? How do they push more than just convergence up-sell packages? This is the stuff that can get really hairy at local media companies; building new revenue and sales models.

Experts suggest that media companies MUST turn their web efforts into separate businesses, complete with stand alone sales forces, offices, etc……and for the most part I agree. Yet with that strategy comes a few near term landmines. The biggest hurdle I believe, will be to find strong online sellers/managers to staff these online-only efforts, especially within the confines of a bootstrap budget. This will not be easy.

A big can of worms.These newly hired web-only sellers could then be calling on the very same agencies and major advertisers that the traditional reps already have relationships with. Unless the financial motivation/bonus structures are adjusted, this will just cause an awful lot of in-fighting amongst reps. In addition, the media buyer would prefer just ONE point of contact with your company. These overworked agency types would HATE to carve out more meetings to learn about your company’s web packages, especially from eager green horns who hammer them all day with cold calls and email.

I’ve seen this firsthand: traditional reps selling against web reps; literally bad-mouthing the online offerings of the parent company. This happened because the commission structure and job description needed a refresh. The traditional manager offered up a measly 2% commission for each web sale. Behind closed doors, traditional reps would lament; “2% was not worth their time”. They also knew they would NOT catch heat, for NOT hitting their web budget.

Solution: Adopt a hybrid approach for the near term.Train and financially motivate traditional sales staff, while you build a separate web sales force to go after businesses that has been, for the most part, ignored. Maybe most importantly, make sure that the upper level managers get trained in all things web. How can they manage a web sales force, if they barely have a grasp of the online marketing space themselves?

Here’s a quick test to determine if you are managing and maximizing your web sales efforts properly. In regards to traditional sales staff, ask yourself these questions:

Does each seller have a mandatory web budget to hit? How did you arrive at that number?
Is the commission structure similar or better to what your NEW BIZ commission is?
Are there penalties in place if the rep DOES NOT hit their web budget?
Do you have senior reps that reluctantly sell web? Do they know their clients online strategy?
What is the total local online spend in your market? What is your share?
Does top management have strong grasp of web marketing? If not, how will they effectively manage the effort?

Filed Under: Revenue Models Tagged With: borrell, Newspaper, Revenue Models, sales, Staff Training, web

Broadcast and Newspaper; what business are you in?

November 12, 2007 By admin

What business are you in ? Seriously, this is not a trick question. If you answered TV, Radio or Newspaper, you could be in for a rude awakening. For example: for readers of this blog that are in the “Newspaper” business, you may be surprised to learn that you are now in the NEWS business, not the NEWSPAPER business. Some of that job relates to the printed paper. Other parts of your job description are increasingly focused on the web.

Need some tough love about what business you are really in ?

Kodak thought they were in the film business. In reality, they were in the business of capturing images. Railroads thought they were in the railroad business. It didn’t occur to them that they were actually in the transportation business.

Even great, powerful businesses (like film, Railroads, Broadcasters and Newspapers, etc.) can be up-ended or marginalized by new technology. Often, it is very difficult to see the disruption coming, because most successful operations are still making big bucks with their current revenue/business models.

Filed Under: Revenue Models Tagged With: Broadcast, Newspaper, TV

Mel Taylor Media