Transcript The Power to Grow Readership
The Power To Grow Readership
The Impact Study A joint venture of NAA, ASNE, Readership Institute
© Readership Institute
Readership Trends
% 100 30 20 10 0 90 80 70 60 50 40
Newspaper Readership Among The Adult Population
D aily Sunday 1964 1967 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Source: Newspaper Association of America
© Readership Institute
The Moment Is Unique
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ABC changes open major opportunities:
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Report readership
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Establish a variable-priced strategy
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Count bulk sales
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Grow pass along
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Look at USA Today’s experience © Readership Institute
This Time Is Also Unique Because of 9-11
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For the moment, consumers have a deeper and closer connection to their newspaper because of 9-11
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History says the connection will not last
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Backsliding can be stopped if you give readers new reasons to stay with your paper
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RI (Readership Institute) provides insights & tools to develop that connection © Readership Institute
Measuring Readership
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RI measured readers’ usage of their newspaper on weekdays and weekends
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Readership is:
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Time spent
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Frequency
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Completeness
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RI rolled those dimensions into a single Reader Behavior Score (RBS) for each consumer © Readership Institute
Measuring Readership, cont.
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Newspapers can easily add RBS to their current reader survey measures
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Follow RI standards
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(See paper at www.readership.org
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Track the success of content, service and brand initiatives
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Compare your newspaper to industry norms, similar markets etc.
© Readership Institute
4 Cornerstones and Imperatives
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The Impact study yielded “Eight Imperatives” for growing readership
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Each imperative fits into one of the “4 Cornerstones” of readership growth © Readership Institute
4 Cornerstones of Readership
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Newspapers have tremendous opportunities to grow readership through improvements in the 4 cornerstones of: - Content - Brand - Service - Culture
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4 are linked to each other
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4 must be tackled together © Readership Institute
Readership Growth 4 Cornerstones
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Content
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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 Institute
The Four Cornerstones of Readership
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Content
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Service
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Brand
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Culture © Readership Institute
Content That Grows RBS
Topics with greatest potential to grow readership 1. News about ordinary people, community announcement, obituaries 2. Health, home, food, fashion & travel 3. 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 © Readership Institute
Topic
Content & Increased Satisfaction
Characteristics News about community & ordinary people Health, home, food, fashion & travel Politics, government & war
• Quantity • Point of view • Quantity • • • • • Feature-style stories • “Go & do” information Quantity Stand-alone opinion section Color photos Feature-style stories
© Readership Institute
Content & Increased Satisfaction
Topic Characteristics Natural disasters & accidents
• Fewer photographs • Fewer stories overall
Movies, TV & weather
• Shorter, less complex
Business & Personal Finance
• • Commentary, criticism, advice Quantity
© Readership Institute
Content & Increased Satisfaction
Topic Characteristics Science, technology & environment Police & crime Sports
• Quantity • International focus • Longer, more complex • Feature-style stories • More local focus, fewer national events • Fewer photographs • Fewer stories overall • Feature-style stories • Commentary, criticism and advice
© Readership Institute
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Post 9-11
Within the 9 topics, these three have the greatest potential: 1. News about ordinary people, obits and community announcements 2. Health, home, food, fashion & travel 3. Politics, government, international
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They embody a mix of hard & soft news that readers seek
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#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 © Readership Institute
Post 9-11
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Hard-hitting, moving stories about ordinary people made newspapers come alive
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Unfortunately, those reports are disappearing, replaced by “institutional” stories
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There is renewed emphasis by consumers on family, home, “nesting” and health
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These types of stories are important to growing readership © Readership Institute
About Obituaries
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RI identified many common practices among newspapers with high satisfaction ratings
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Full report at: www.readership.org
© Readership Institute
Change Writing Style
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It isn’t enough to have the right story topics
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Many readers are turned off by the inverted pyramid writing style that is used in 70% of your paper’s stories © Readership Institute
What Are Some Writing Styles That Work?
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Feature-style
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Beginning, middle, end
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Characters tell the story
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Engages, connects
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Commentary
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Author’s voice
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(Reviews, columns, first-person) © Readership Institute
Create an ‘Easy to Read’ Newspaper
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“Easy to read” means:
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The newspaper is relaxing to read (This does not mean brain candy)
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“It’s easy to find what I’m looking for” © Readership Institute
‘Easy to Read’, cont.
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More “go-and-do” information
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More stories about health, home, fashion, food
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More feature-style stories
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More in-paper content promotion © Readership Institute
Advertising Content
Better ad content drives overall newspaper readership Required Actions:
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Learn which ads drive your readership
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Get those ads
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Make readership a responsibility of the ad department © Readership Institute
Advertising Content
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Ad content has the third-highest potential to grow readership
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It is even more significant for
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Readers under 35
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Hispanics & African-Americans © Readership Institute
Example: A Strategy Targeting Young Women (25-34)
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Get more ads that appeal to them
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Special pricing
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Ads should be exemplary
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Best location
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Active promotion of the ads
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Make advertising, marketing, & news responsible for coordinating efforts © Readership Institute
In-paper Content Promotion
Create an aggressive plan for in paper content promotion Required Actions:
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Concentrate first on upcoming content; then same-day content
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Make one person accountable © Readership Institute
9 Types of Readers
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Heavy
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Skimmer
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Selective
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Sunday heavy
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Light
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Sunday heavy only
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Weekday only
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Sunday light
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Nonreader © Readership Institute
6 4 2 0 12 10
Average Daily In-Paper Promotion
Focus on these & in this order #2 #1 8 General Same-day Content Upcoming Content Website © Readership Institute
© Readership Institute
© Readership Institute
© Readership Institute
Execution
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In winter 2002 check the Readership Institute website www.readership.org
for a preliminary report on what works © Readership Institute
The Four Cornerstones of Readership
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Content
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Service
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Brand
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Culture © Readership Institute
The Service Cornerstone
Newspapers that deliver what their customers consider service excellence have higher RBS, but the bar is very high © Readership Institute
6 Service Factors that Drive RBS
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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 © Readership Institute
Achieve Service Excellence
5 4 3 Over-the-top service yields big rewards 2 1 1 2 Industry average 4.25
3 Service 4 5 © Readership Institute
For Further Study
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Close link between service and content
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Older readers more susceptible to service issues than younger readers
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“Bare bones” vs. innovative model Importance of excellent service recovery
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Importance of publisher’s role and attitude © Readership Institute
The Four Cornerstones of Readership
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Content
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Service
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Brand
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Culture © Readership Institute
The Brand Cornerstone
Develop a strong newspaper brand
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Drives RBS as much as content Brand is a strong, positive image that is relevant to the reader Required Actions:
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Understand & define your brand
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Enhance and strengthen it © Readership Institute
Readership Brand Model
Content: News & Adv.
Relevance Brand Perception Service Excellence © Readership Institute
Some Key Brand Ideas
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Build a brand in the minds of your readers that:
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Is based on a few strong, positive and relevant characteristics
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Differentiates your newspaper from the competition
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In RI sample we found only six newspapers that have a strong brand
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Brand isn’t a paper’s tag line or flag
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It is what consumers think it is and not what the newspaper says it is © Readership Institute
Brand Perceptions that Drive RBS
Intelligent, successful & experienced Honest/Helpful Informed/In the know Community leader & has personality Reflects my beliefs Cares about me Middle Class/Neighborly Fun/Creative Energetic Makes me think Belonging/Fulfillment
© Readership Institute
The Four Cornerstones of Readership
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Content
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Service
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Brand
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Culture © Readership Institute
The Culture Cornerstone
To grow RBS: Tear down defensive culture and replace it with a constructive one Required Action:
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Begin to grow readership as a sustained initiative Promote those who will lead initiative & involve staff cross departmentally © Readership Institute
Who Are Newspapers Like?
© Readership Institute
Who Are Newspapers Like?
© Readership Institute
Constructive vs. Defensive
Adaptive Group achievers Collaborative Outward-looking Not a sin to fail Change-resistant Individual gain Insular Internal focus Don’t fail
© Readership Institute
Culture by Newspaper Departments Department Over-all Culture Primary style Secondary style Advertising
Perfectionistic Conventional
Marketing Circulation News Editorial
Passive/ Defensive Passive/ Defensive Aggressive/ Defensive Aggressive/ Defensive Avoidance Perfectionistic Oppositional Perfectionistic Perfectionistic Oppositional
Top Execs
Constructive Humanistic Achievement
© Readership Institute
Defensive Cultures
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Departments work separately in silos
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There’s little teamwork or cooperation within or between disciplines
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Employees are not proud of the overall quality of the newspaper and its services © Readership Institute
Constructive Cultures
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Departments and individuals are achievement-oriented
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“We work together (across silos) for the good of the paper”
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A more satisfied staff
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Higher RBS © Readership Institute
Moving to a Constructive Culture
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It’s a leadership issue
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Leaders must model, encourage and reward these styles
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Requires leaders to step outside the current culture
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See clearly what must change
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Assess whether the right people are in right place to do it
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Be prepared to commit to it long-term © Readership Institute
How to Implement
© Readership Institute
Action Step #1
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Measure and use readership to grow it and to serve your customers
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RBS is the key measure of how readers behave
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It is what advertisers need
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Major competitors use:
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Eyeballs/Ears/Minds/Wallets Teach advertisers that RBS/readership is a better measure than eyes or ears © Readership Institute
Action Step #2
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Build the 4 cornerstones urgently and now
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Other media are still fragmenting, but that will change soon
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When it does, newspapers must meet competitors’ consolidated news and advertising strength © Readership Institute
Action Step #3
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Use readership in every department
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It’s a cause all departments can rally around
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Puts the focus on externals (the customer) instead of internal issues
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Share the goals openly
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Encourage discussion
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Enlist as many staff as you can in the action plan
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Empower and make accountable Make it cross-functional © Readership Institute
Action Step #4
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Promote people who are committed to readership
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Tie goals & rewards to readership
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Devise rewards that matter to employees
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Make a big deal about readership successes
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Make this at least a 3-5 year effort and tell everyone that it is not going away © Readership Institute
Action Step #5
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Everyone in the newspaper must take personal responsibility for growing RBS
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All the way from the publisher and editor … to the person who answers the phones
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Put a committed champion with clout in charge of each of the 4 cornerstones; measure results © Readership Institute
Action Step #6
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Provide the leadership & the will
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That’s your challenge © Readership Institute
The Power to Grow Readership
All RI research materials are available at:
www.readership.org
© Readership Institute