Newspapers Are Killing Themselves

As we all know newspapers have been on the decline over the past 10 years.  Circulation is down.  Advertising is down. Numbers of newspapers in this country are down.  I heard this week that someone put out a list of newspaper “endangered species”.  The Boston Globe here in my town is on that list. 

Newspapers are doing nothing to help themselves.  Oh sure they all have online versions now.  Some are actually very good and popular.  Some act like the “official” city website. Are they making any real money from them?   But when it comes to the old fashion print side they are not fighting their demise. 

I read this week about more layoffs at a major newspaper in the advertising department.  These are the sales people.  These are the folks that bring in the revenue.  If you lay them off where does the revenue come from? 

I was at a marketing meeting recently for an up coming show.  In the room were media buyers, marketing, and PR.  The marketing plan submitted showed no money for newspaper ads.  I asked why?  The answer was that 1) Newspaper ad rates are too high. 2) Newspapers are not offering promotional space like they once did. 3) No one reads newspapers anymore.

I am not sure I agree with number 3 completely.  I walk around my neighborhood every morning with my dogs.  I see newspapers sitting on many driveways.  Yes, circulation is down but it is not out yet. 

I agree that newspaper ad rates are way too high.  I don’t think newspapers know the term “supply & demand”.  As more people read your paper you raise your rates. If less people read then why not lower the rate?  The cost per reader today just does not make sense to an advertiser.  Here I was sitting in a room of advertising and marketing peeps who said they can’t afford newspaper ads. 

ATTENTION NEWSPAPER AD MANAGERS:  lower your ad rates, get more promotionally aggressive, leave your office and visit us event marketers once in a while and you might get some of the budget. 

There still is a place for newspapers.  The problem is that newspapers are just not willing to change.  They better do so soon or they will end up as a Smithsonian exhibit.

Have a great weekend!

Attention Newspapers: Do You Want Loyal Customers?

I know one reason why newspaper circulation is down, the customer experience.  I wrote a few weeks back that newspapers have created some of their own problems.  I experienced one of them yesterday.

I was looking over my monthly credit card bill and saw the charge for my monthly subscription for The Boston Globe was about the same price as the newsstand price.  I called the customer service number.  The woman acknowledged that I was paying just under the full rack rate for being a good loyal customer.  Before I could get another word out, she informed me that they had a better rate for me.  My question was “why wouldn’t I already have it”? No answer from her.  I then asked her how would one know about this better rate?  Her answer was that “some” customers received a letter but I was not one of them. Gee, that makes me feel better. Why wouldn’t you give ALL your loyal full subscription customers the “best” rate possible?  Are you not losing more of them everyday?  Don’t your advertisers want to market to people who read the newspaper on a daily basis? Is this not part of reach and frequency?  Oh, by the way they offered nothing for over charging me for the past several months.

One major issue with newspapers today is the circulation departments in general.  I grew up around a newspaper office.  My dad worked for a newspaper for 18 years.  In those days the circulation department was a major in-house department.  They were part of the newspaper family.  They took pride in keeping their customers happy.  Today, newspapers tend to outsource the department.  The person I spoke to didn’t work here in Boston.  She had no clue about her customers.  She reads from a script.  If a customer complains, give them a better rate.  If they are a loyal, seven day a week subscriber, treat them like an account number. 

I will say it again & again, newspapers are creating their own destiny.  They either adapt to the 21st century reader and advertiser or end up in a museum.

 

Newspapers Need New Thinking

It was released this past weekend that newspaper circulation is down (again).  No one should be surprised. 

I am a big fan of print myself.  I get three newspapers at my house every morning.  Of course the internet and cable TV news are the main reason for print decline.  But is that the only reasons?  Newspapers have not done a lot to help themselves.   For example they keep raising ad rates and the daily price of the newspaper.  Usually in our world economy, prices are dependent on supply & demand.  When the “want” is up, prices go up.  So when print circulation and advertising goes down what do they do?  They raise the ad rates and the price of the paper.  That’s a great way to attract more readers and advertisers. 

All of us in the event and entertainment business seem to use print these days to “only” inform.  I look at the ads in the entertainment section each week and nothing has changed in the last 25 years.  A show goes on sale, we run an ad.  If it is Sunday, then we need to run an ad.  Newspaper ads for events are just information pieces.  Just like the movies, we run an ad to tell the customer when the show is coming, the times, and the place.  Boring!  It’s not just our fault.  Newspapers have done nothing to show us the way.  All they seem to care about is when are we running the ad and how much are we going to spend.  Why don’t they work with us?  We know our shows & events.  You know your newspaper.  Let’s work as a team and make it fun.  Think outside the box

Newspapers have embraced the new technology by going to the web.  This was a good idea but they need to make some decisions.  Are they going to be only print, only web, or both?  I believe there is a place for them to do both.  The key is to create a nitch that readers will use both print and the web.  When it comes to promoting our shows, I think they can do better then just placing a link to our website or a win free tickets button.

Here is a novel idea.  Why not make reading the paper ”in” again.  Go back to the research.  Find out what readers or potential readers want.  Find ”something” that will make them want to pick up the paper each morning.  Stop thinking old school and think 21st century.   Go to your loyal advertisers.  Ask them for some help.  They are marketers too.