newsclips
NOVEMBER 2011
TORONTO STAR TO OFFER VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE PACKAGES TO ITS EMPLOYEES Torstar Corp. plans to offer voluntary severance packages to its 1,050 Toronto Star employees, according to a Canadian Press article. Once discussions are complete, Canada’s largest daily newspaper publisher plans to officially make the offer to editorial, circulation, advertisng and human resources at the newspaper. In the last few years, the company has made a series of changes at the Toronto Star to reduce expenses. Media companies face tough situtations with the economy as paid readership continues to turn to digital formats, where advertising is not as successful. During the recent recession, Toronto Star rivals such as the Globe and Mail, National Post and Toronto Sun cut their workforces and decided to simplify operations. Torstar’s President and CEO David Holland is open about plans to make long-term cost cuts which include scaling back staff and contracting work. Shortly before Holland’s term began in 2009, Torstar had cut roughly 300 employees from its workforce. In 2009, the Toronto Star had also hoped to contract newsroom production work and cut 121 jobs in editorial and pre-publishing operations. It eventually made a deal with its union to save some of those jobs. Currently Torstar employs about 6,600 people at its various businesses, which include the Star, other daily, community and free papers, the Harlequin book publisher and numerous digital properties. The company held the first of three town hall meetings with Star staff to answer questions and two additional meetings are scheduled. Torstar did not provide details of the pending buyout offer or how many employees it hopes to cut from its workforce.
WHAT’S INSIDE:
ABC BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERS
MOLSON COORS RECIPIENT RECOGNIZED
Special thanks to Carole Berry of Molson Coors Canada for arranging a luncheon in Fergus to pay tribute to Faye Craig, this year’s recipient of the Molson Coors Award in memory of Mary Knowles. Faye was unable to attend the OCNA Awards Gala in the Spring so the award for outstanding personal commitment to your community came to her. Shown above, left to right, are Dave Adsett, publisher of the Fergus Wellington Advertiser; Faye Craig, sales representative; Doris Traplin, Mary Knowles’ mother; Brenda Bogdanski, Mary’s sister; and Carole Berry, Molson Coors Public Affairs. Craig has shown true dedication and commitment to her community through her involvement in local organizations such as the Arthur and Area Horticultural, Agricultural and Historical Societies, Victim Services Wellington, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and a number of others. Don’t miss the Febuary 29, 2012 deadline to nominate someone from your newspaper for this coveted award.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations elected several new leaders to their board
If you were to go blind, could you still do design?
THE BLIND DESIGNER
THE IDEAL TURN-OVER RATE
See Page 4
See Page 16
See Page 17
What level of turnover is acceptable or normal?
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO1COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION November 2011 www.ocna.org
INDUSTRY NEWS
HITTING THE HILL BY ANNE LANNAN
OCNA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR I had the privilege to participate in Community Newspaper Day on Parliament Hill on November 1 with newspaper publishers from across Canada. Interestingly enough, our federal politicians have the same perceptions and opinions of community newspapers as their provincial counterparts. They York-Simcoe MP and Government House Leader Peter recognize the value that our content Van Loan, centre, met with CCNA Director Chris Ashfield, provides to the fabric of their Publisher of the Whitewood Herald, SK, left, and CCNA communities. They understand that President Paul MacNeill, Publisher of Island Press, PEI, during Community Newspaper Day on the Hill. community newspaper editors have a role to hold the government accountable. And they also recognize that certain government programs and services challenge our ability to do our jobs. Ontario publishers should be reminding their federal and provincial representatives of this when meeting with and talking to them in your communities. With readership levels of 75% of Canadians turning to community newspapers, the government should be taking advantage of our products with their advertising to reach their constituents.
NEWSCLIPS VOLUME 01, ISSUE 3 3050 Harvester Rd. #103 Burlington, ON L7N 3J1 p.905.639.8720 f.905-639.6962 e.info@ocna.org w. www.ocna.org OCNA BOARD PRESIDENT
Don MacLeod
FIRST VP
Mike Mount
SECOND VP
Maureen Keeler
SECRETARY/ TRESURER
Dave Harvey
PAST PRESIDENT
Abbas Homayed
DIRECTORS
Dave Adsett Gordon Cameron Jim Cumming Andrea DeMeer Ron Dunn Rick Shaver John Willems
The main issues we raised on the Hill included the lack of federal government advertising in community newspapers, service issues with Canada Post, difficulties with Freedom of Information requests, and changes to the Copyright Act. CCNA representatives, including Rick Shaver, chair of the Distribution Committee, also met with Canada Post officials for a second gathering in a few months to continue the dialogue about the need for service improvements. Community newspapers across Canada are experiencing customer discontent as it is taking one to three weeks for them to receive their newspapers via Canada Post. Community newspapers in most rural locations are Canada Post’s largest customers, yet many have been forced to create their own distribution systems in order to have their products delivered in a timely manner. Canada Post will be working with Newspapers Canada to develop a way to have service and delivery standards addressed more quickly and effectively.
IN THIS ISSUE... 04 .....................................ABC BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERS 08 ......................................UNDERSTANDING LOCAL MARKETS 11 ........................................THE 40-40-20 RULE OF MARKETING 12 ..................................................OCNA SUPPLIER SHOWCASE
OCNA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Anne Lannan
CONTROLLER
Todd Frees
MEMBER SERVICES
Karen Shardlow Kelly Gorven
NETWORK CLASSIFIEDS
Carol Lebert Susana Czyrnek
ACCOUNTING
Lucia Shepherd
AD*REACH
Ted Brewer Doug Sexton Carolyn Press Erica Leyzac
16 ...............................................................THE BLIND DESIGNER 17 ..................................................THE IDEAL TURN-OVER RATE 18 ............................TRUE GENIUS IN BUSINESS NEGOTIATION 20 ......ADOBE EXCHANGE: FREE HELP TO SPEED UP PRODUCTION
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
HELP US RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING YOUTH The 2011 Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards
Today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow, and they deserve to be recognized. It’s time once again to call for nominations for the Ontario Junior Citizen on the Year Awards.
MEMBER NEWS CONFEDERATE CORRESPONDENT RETIRES BY LYNNE TURNER, CONFEDERATE STAFF
These awards have been designed as a Public Service Program for Ontario’s Community Newspapers. It gives you the opportunity to show readers and advertisers that you are a leader in your own community – by recognizing extraordinary individuals. OCNA is proud to coordinate the Program on your behalf, but we need your help to promote it. How can you help? Prepare a series of articles and editorials to run until the end of November, publish advertisements in print and online, check your inbox frequently for a promotional e-mail that you can distribute to your list of contacts. Let’s work together to recognize as many special young people as possible. For more information, please contact Kelly Gorven at k.gorven@ocna.org or 905-6398720 ext. 239.
Longtime Confederate readers have noticed something missing in recent months – the Cedarville news column written faithfully by Josephine Feairs. Writing the weekly column for both the Mount Forest Confederate and Dundalk Herald spanned an incredible number of years for Josie and her husband Jim Feairs. Mr. Feairs began writing for the Dundalk Herald in 1943. He started writing the Cedarville news for the Mount Forest Confederate in 1948. Mr. Feairs passed away in 1994 and Mrs. Feairs continued as correspondent for both newspapers until this past April when, at the age of 94, she retired. Mrs. Feairs lived all her married life in Cedarville and took an active part in the life of the community and especially Morrison United Church. Each week she called in the social notes and church news, keeping Cedarville on the map. She also wrote extensive backgrounds about people with roots in Cedarville, who had passed away, as part of the weekly column.
Contact your local newspaper or the Ontario Community Newspapers Association at www.ocna.org or 905.639.8720 ext. 239
NEW FREELANCE AGREEMENT AVAILABLE In light of the imminent changes coming to the Copyright Act, OCNA has updated its Freelance Agreement template to ensure it continues to reflect the rights of publishers and freelancers. To download the new Freelance Agreement, go to www.ocna.org – log-in (member, ocmb2010), OCNA Programs and Services folder – Freelance Agreement 2011OCNA.pdf. November 2011
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In April 2000 Mrs. Feairs received an OCNA 50th Anniversary Special Award. The OCNA had decided to honour 50 of the top newspaper people in the province during its 50th anniversary and Mrs. Feairs, along with another longtime Confederate correspondent Laura Dally, were honoured amongst newspaper owners and publishers. In 2003 at her 85th birthday celebration, Mayor Don Lewis, representing the Township of Southgate, presented Mrs. Feairs with the Senior of the Year Award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the community by a person after the age of 65. Mrs. Feairs now resides at the Saugeen Valley Nursing Center in Mount Forest.
www.ocna.org
INDUSTRY NEWS
ABC BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERS Board of Director and Officer Elections
The board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations elected Sunni Boot, CEO of ZenithOptimedia Canada, as its new chairman. Boot joined the ABC board in 2008 and previously served as chairman of the ABC Canada Board Committee. She replaces outgoing chairman Merle Davidson of JCPenney Inc., who held the role for three years. Davidson will continue his involvement with ABC as a director representing U.S. advertisers.
At the divisional meetings, members re-elected 22 directors to serve new terms on the ABC board. They also elected three new representatives: Liberta Abbondante, senior vice president of consumer marketing at Hearst, representing U.S. magazines. Jeffrey Holecko, North American media manager at Kimberly-Clark, representing U.S. advertisers.
“I am thrilled, honoured, and humbled to be leading such an auspicious and respected body,” Boot said. “It’s an exciting time to serve on the ABC board, a unique tripartite organization that serves so many so well. As we continue to strengthen our leadership role in digital auditing and multimedia reporting, I look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead.” Boot is the organization’s first female board leader.
Kenneth Whyte, president of Rogers Media, publishing, representing Canadian periodicals. ABC also announced the following directors will serve as vice chairmen of the ABC board for a one-year term: David Leckey, American Media Inc.; Christina Meringolo, Merck Consumer Care; Suzanne Silber, Optimedia; Shelagh Stoneham, Rogers Communications Inc.
Replacing Boot as chairman of ABC Canada’s board committee is Shelagh Stoneham, vice president of brand and marketing communications at Rogers Communications Inc.
Rob Fisher of American City Business Journals will serve as the 2012 board secretary and Scott Heekin-Canedy of the New York Times will fulfill the role of treasurer.
“Sunni and Shelagh are strong leaders in the buying community,” said Mike Lavery, ABC President and Managing Director. “They have exactly the kind of tenacity and expertise ABC and our members need as we navigate the confluence of print and digital media.”
The ABC board of directors meeting was held Nov. 9 – 11 in San Francisco, Calif., in conjunction with ABC’s annual conference. For a complete summary of board actions, visit ABC’s Virtual Pressroom. For a recap of the ABC annual conference, including keynotes, panel sessions and photos, please visit the conference website.
Lavery added, “We certainly want to thank Merle Davidson for his outstanding leadership these past three years. His tenure saw ABC navigate and implement sweeping rule changes for U.S. newspapers, the launch of the Consolidated Media Report, and a new strategic plan that expands ABC’s role in digital media.”
ABC is a forum of North America's leading magazine and newspaper publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies. The organization provides credible, verified information essential to the media buying and selling process. ABC maintains the world’s foremost online database of audited circulation information and a growing array of readership, audience and website usage data. ABC’s digital arm, ABC Interactive, is one of the world’s leading independent auditors of websites and digital ad-based technology. To learn more, visit http://www.accessabc.com.
Key Newspaper Actions
The board received an update from a group of publishers and buyers tasked with examining the popular Consolidated Media Report and devising a strategy for broad use of the format for U.S. and Canadian newspapers. The group’s initial findings indicate a strong desire for flexible reporting of a newspaper’s entire brand, with standardization of core metrics to ease comparability for media buyers. Key goals also include establishing standards and metrics for new digital platforms and focusing on timelier reporting of digital outlets. The task force will make its formal recommendations to the ABC board in March 2012. In other newspaper actions, the board finalized the new ‘total consumer accounts’ metric that will make its first appearance on March 2012 statements. November 2011
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
OCNA BETTER NEWSPAPER AWARDS Thank you to all those who sent their entries for the 2011 Better Newspapers Competition. OCNA is currently confirming more than 1950 entries! Our judges will be looking at the hundreds of entries throughout December and January, choosing the best writing, photos and advertisements in the Ontario Community Newspaper industry. The top three winners of each category will be announced on our website in alphabetical order on February 14th, 2012. Final results will be announced at the Awards Gala to be held on Friday April 27th, 2012 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Downtown Toronto. Please mark your calendars now. Important BNC dates to remember: ▄▄ ▄▄
Results announced:
February 14th, 2012
Awards Gala:
Friday, April 27th, 2012
2012 OCNA Spring Convention To be held in partnership with the Newspapers Canada Ink & Beyond Conference April 25 – 29th, 2012 Fairmont Royal York Hotel To book your hotel room at the conference rate of $185, per night please call 1-800-663-7229. Visit http://www.newspaperscanada.ca/programs/inkbeyond-conference for more information
TAKE YOUR LIVE ONLINE TRAINING COURSE NOW If you are searching for training programs for your staff, look no further. OCNA’s Online Training Centre houses an extensive list of courses that will benefit a variety of positions within your news organization. Our Training Programs are designed to allow the student to progress at a pace with which they are comfortable or which their personal and professional schedules can permit. A challenging online examination will assess their knowledge of the course material once the course is complete. Courses cover topics such as sales training, business skills, management and leadership skills, personal development, and desktop computing and software training. We also offer a customized program for new advertising sales representatives working at community newspapers, developed by leading industry professionals. Register here to sign up and begin your training: http://ocna.protraining.com/
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
INDUSTRY AD CAMPAIGN Dear OCNA member newspaper:
have InDesign at your newspaper, please contact OCNA Member Services Coordinator Kelly Gorven at k.gorven@ocna.org and send her your newspaper flag. She can then send you PDFs of the ads customized for you.
The Ontario Community Newspapers Association is pleased to provide its members with a new industry advertising campaign – fully adaptable to include newspaper flags.
3. The seven ads reflect – news, entertainment, advertising, sports, seniors, community events. Respecting copyright, trademarks, and libelous material, you may change the text and images to better reflect something in your own community, without having them look like an ad for a specific local advertiser or event.
The campaign includes a series of 7 ads and an editorial and has been designed to remind readers and advertisers that Community Newspapers are the original Local Social Network. With the tagline ‘Did you see in the paper…’, the series reflects that articles and ads get people connecting with one Did you see another and calls them to action, and in the paper... this is what builds community.
4. Timing – feel free to begin publishing the series at any time; in any order; and at intervals that suit your page count (eg. one per week, every other week).
What to do: 1. Go to www.ocna.
org and log into the Member’s site (user: member, password: ocmb2010) Under the left hand navigation bar under ‘member’, go to the OCNA Programs & Services folder. Here you will find the folder ‘2011 Social Media Ads’ which contains a subfolder for each of the ads and contains the necessary fonts and graphics.
2.
Download the files. Ads have been created in CS2 – InDesign so they should be accessible to most newspapers. If you do not
that Pee Wee hockey signup is this Saturday?
I’ll pick you up at 10 a.m.
Community Newspapers Your Local Social Network
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
5. Translation – member newspapers publishing in other languages may translate the ads. 6. The bubble ‘Did you see in the paper…’ can be used as an online icon on your web site if you would like to have it link directly to your ad material or editorial. A special note of appreciation to the Marketing Task Force for their input in this campaign.
GOODBYE COURTNEY
OCNA recently said goodbye to one of its Ad*Reach Advertising Coordinators, Courtney Watson. Courtney was with OCNA and Ad*Reach for two and a half years. She will be missed. We wish you all Mount Forest Dance Academy performance showed ‘Everyone the best Courtney! Reads the Confederate’ in its spring production. November 2011
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
TRAINING
SHAKE THE JANUARY BLAHS Win a Pizza Lunch for Your Team
Lunch is on OCNA for the newspaper team who sells the highest dollar value of Network Classified Ads between November 21 and December 19, inclusive. Five weeks of ads - Weeks of Nov. 21, 28, Dec. 5, 12, 19 – for you to upsell your classified and display advertisers before Christmas. Don’t forget, you also earn a 35% finder’s fee on each ad sold. A Classified Category of Online Shopping will be added so you can have your advertisers extend their reach across their region of the province, all Ontario, or across Canada. How many of your local business should be promoting their web site outside your immediate community. It’s another service you can offer them to help them be more successful. Other opportunities include Help Wanted, Business Opportunities, Real Estate (vacation, commercial, luxury), Coming Events, Services, and more… We will have a Pizza Lunch delivered to your office at the beginning of January for the participating newspaper whose team sells the most Network Classifieds. Have fun. www.networkclassified.org
FIND OCNA ON FACEBOOK OCNA has recently joined the realm of social networks and is inviting all members to check visit our new page on Facebook. Find us at http://www.facebook.com/ pages/Ontario-Community-Newspapers-Association-OCNA/171125688577 and become a fan today.
Join us for our OCNA Webinar Series.
▄▄
November 24th - Using Facebook in a Small Town Learn the latest techniques for mobilizing and leveraging freely available social media to make readers come to you. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/ register/736334457 ▄▄
December 1st - Dot Your I’s and Cross your T’s: OCNA Grammar Webinar Recognizing common grammar and spelling errors and how to avoid them.
DATES & EVENTS:
Canopy’s Ancient Forest Friendly Award - The Highest Award for the Protection of Climate, Biodiversity, and Ancient Forests. Awards ceremony will take place on November 17th at the Twist Gallery 1100 Queen Street West, Toronto 6 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. RSVP to Andrew@canopyplanet.org
Nine Moneymaking Mobile Ideas in 45 Minutes
Presented by Borrell Associates and moderated by Borrell Associates EVP Peter Conti Check out a free video of one of the most popular sessions from the conference Local Mobile Advertising Conference last month, the BUZZ Session: Rapid-fire Case Studies. During this session, mobile vendors were put on the spot and asked to give their best case studies for things like mobile apps, QR codes, text messaging, mobile real estate apps and other mobile advertising products. Each vendor had only 5 minutes to present their best case study. If you want to get nine mobile advertising ideas in 45 minutes, visit http:// www.borrellassociates.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_ details&flypage=garden_flypage.tpl&product_id=974 to download the free video. November 2011
OCNA’S FALL WEBINAR SCHEDULE
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Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/ register/673009320
If there is a particular topic you’re interested in, or if you think you have something to offer OCNA members by way of hosting, let us know. Contact Karen Shardlow (k.shardlow@ocna.org, 905-6398720 ext. 232).
www.ocna.org
ADVERTISING
UNDERSTANDING LOCAL MARKETS BY DOUG SEXTON, AD*REACH
In as much as my AdReach job title is National Accounts Manager it is all about local…knowledge. Yes I sell national brand advertising but the ad is exposed to local content. The importance of understanding how to buy local is becoming more and more obvious.
expand local marketing budgets ▄▄
49% said they were looking to explore new local marketing channels ▄▄
When asked to identify obstacles to improving local marketing, 31% of respondents pointed to the challenge of understanding local markets, 23% said it was difficult to find local marketing experts and 23% mentioned difficulties in determining appropriate cost-benefit models for local spending. I found the last two points to be very interesting. Almost half of the respondents said they were exploring new local marketing channels and over 30% wanted to understand local markets. A quarter of them wanted a cost-benefit model for local spending. I realize they are speaking to the new forms of advertising such as mobile apps, etc. However they need not look far to find the most statistically sound local advertising…community newspapers and their websites. Community newspapers have been a foundation for local information dissemination for over a hundred years…and growing. However not all local papers have embraced ‘new local advertising’ and in my opinion those papers will be left behind to struggle.
The results of a recent Chief Marketing Officer Council survey in the USA crossed my desk this week. It mainly was addressing if there was a consensus that buying group advertising such as Groupon was worthy. However something else dominated the survey…buying local……. Here’s what it said… Of the 6% of survey respondents who use group-buying sites as part of their local marketing mix, only 2% identified such sites as the channels that drove the most value and return on investment. Instead, national marketers pointed to channels such as experiential events, direct mail and interactive digital signs as the leading ways to reach consumers at a local level.
Here are 5 ways to provide your community newspaper with ‘new local advertising’…
1. Have an interactive website with standard advertising templates…Leaderboard…Big Box etc. This may sound simple to most but I know there are many of our member papers that still do not have websites. If AdReach is to sell online advertising successfully we need a complete buy-in from all papers. Can’t afford it? You can’t afford not to have one. (Note: Adding a video component is key to great viewership)
The group buying findings were part of the CMO Council’s ‘Localize to Optimize Sales Channel Effectiveness’ study. Survey by: CMO Council Methodology: Survey of more than 300 brand marketers across the world, including senior marketers representing major global brands such as Burger King, Toyota and CocaCola, in Q2 and Q3 2011.
2. Develop a QR (Quick Response) Code that when scanned by a Smartphone sends the user to your website. Here’s what one survey just said…In the end, we can say that in 2010, approximately 5 million Canadians will use their mobile device to access the Internet. The question posed by an independent market research firm was, “What will your next mobile phone purchase be?” According to the research, 50% of all Canadian respondents said their next phone would be a Smartphone and perhaps what is most telling, the results showed the next Smartphone device respondents planned on purchasing was even dead-heat between iPhone at 15%, Blackberry at 14% and Other (we’ll call it Android) at 13%.
Key findings: ▄▄
6% of national brand marketers use group buying websites to reach local consumers ▄▄
Only 2% of those who use group buying sites say they are the most effective local marketing channel ▄▄
50% of respondents said local marketing is essential to business growth and profitability ▄▄
Only 12% of those surveyed consider themselves highly evolved and knowledgeable when it comes to local marketing ▄▄
23% of national brands surveyed intended to
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ADVERTISING
3. Develop a free mobile application that is easily downloaded to a Smartphone that will direct the user to your website. Make sure the mobile app has a free promotional offer. Metroland recently launched their mobile app program in partnership with Toyota…offering a chance to win a new Camry. – Brilliant idea…draws the user in by using a national advertiser….and gives away a car! If you are an independent paper …work with a local advertiser to assist in the promotion. (But let AdReach know as well) This is Value Added. 4. Start up a Local Business Accelerator program. This is program currently going on in the UK. Here’s how it works…Together, the local press is searching for the most promising young businesses and help them accelerate their success with top professional advice from local business mentors plus a substantial allocation of free advertising space in their local paper. “So if you’re a business that’s between one and three years old, with a great idea that wants to succeed, enter to be in with a chance of building a better future for both your business and the local community.” Visit www.accelerateme.co.uk for more info. This is a great opportunity for a local or national advertiser to sponsor this initiative. 5. Sell sponsorships on a local weekly feature. This is not ‘new’ but it might be new to national advertisers. Recently I came across a local paper that was one of the oldest in Canada. Every week they would run a column with what ran in the paper on this day back in ____. Sounds typical…but this could be a great opportunity to sell a sponsorship around this feature…. Heritage Canada for example. But don’t stop there…blow it up to include a local Heritage video segment on your website. Multidimensional is the key….build on what you know and what works. Again make it a Value Add for national advertisers that have supported your paper.
TIDBITS (LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION) Editor & Publisher Breaking Big News in a Small Town
The National Newspaper Association reports a growing preference among readers for community newspapers. Is the grass greener for community newspapers?
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Newsletter/Article/BreakingBig-News-In-A-Small-Town
Business of News Smartbrief Social Media Presence is a Matter of Journalistic Survival
AdReach is fortunate to have a great tool set and outstanding staff to assist our ad agencies in getting the best return on their advertising investment as possible. But we need to build all our brands on the hook of ‘going local’. This will not be the last word on the subject of new local advertising so stay tuned…
What social media has done is level the playing field and allow everyone to be approachable. That’s a fantastic opportunity, but if we don’t take advantage of that opportunity, whether as a journalist or a news organization or a business, we’re really not going to be around very much longer. You can’t ignore having a social media presence
DOUG SEXTON is a National Account Manager with AdReach. He was a Media Studies / Liberal Arts Professor at Conestoga College and a longtime advertising entrepreneur.
News on News New Survey Shows Newspapers are gaining confidence in their mobile strategies
November 2011
http://www.netnewscheck.com/article/2011/11/13/15255/miningsocial-media-engagement-to-the-max
http://www.newspaperscanada.ca/news/research/new-surveyshows-newspapers-are-gaining-confidence-their-mobile-strategies 9
www.ocna.org
ADVERTISING ALERTS: LOANS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES Ads that promise loans generally appear in classified sections of local and national newspapers, magazines and tabloids. Remember: simply advertising through recognized media outlets does not ensure the legitimacy of the company behind the ad. Some companies claim they can guarantee you a loan even if you have bad credit or no credit. They usually request an up front fee, which may range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Once you send your money to these companies, you never get your promised loan and you cannot get your money back. If you cannot get a loan through traditional lending institutions, it is unlikely that you’ll get one in response to a classified ad. Ask the loan company to take the amount of their fee off of the total amount of the loan that was promised to you. In most jurisdictions, it is illegal for a company to request an up front fee prior to obtaining a loan. For new questionable ads, please continue to check www.phonebusters.com If a newspaper receives a questionable ad, forward it to Phonebusters - Barry Elliott at belliott@phonebusters.com or John Shultz at jschultz@phonebusters.com. Phonebusters - The Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre, Toll Free 888-495-8501 If the ad has credit card information provided please contact Barry at his address. Phonebusters is trying to curb the fraudsters by;
1. 2. 3.
Terminating un-authorized use of credit cards Terminating e-mail addresses being used by the scammers Terminating the typical pre-paid cell phone numbers the scammers use
NAA CAMPAIGN WILL PROMOTE NEWSPAPERS AVAILABLE TO NAM MEMBERS smartsexyads – you will see a suggested schedule,” said Cheryl Sadowski, NAA vice president/communications. “While naturally we would love for folks to comply with the suggested schedule, this is a pro-bono effort and newspapers can run any of the ads as their interest and space allow.”
The Newspaper Association of America is making its ‘Smart is the new sexy’ advertising available to OCNA members. The campaign to promote the value of newspaper media, launched October 24, has received prominent coverage in The New York Times and on CNN.com, NPR and Twitter. It was developed by The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va. to celebrate the distinctive editorial, advertising and community attributes delivered by newspapers.
The three ads use a blend of illustrations and anecdotes to reinforce the value of newspaper media among existing and prospective consumers. The ads also contain QR codes and digital prompts that link audiences to the campaign Web page where they are encouraged to share their own connection with newspapers through social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook.
Donna Barrett, CEO of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. and an NAA board member, co-chaired the NAA committee that developed the campaign.
NAM encourages newspapers to make the most of the campaign. By running the ads and leveraging the social media options within your own markets, you will contribute to a positive dialogue about newspapers that influences both public perception and advertiser awareness of our medium.
“With their new digital formats and high pass-along readership, newspapers deliver tremendous reach,” said Barrett. “We wanted to reach a growing audience with our message and using newspaper media was the logical choice.” Print and digital versions of the ads can be downloaded here. Please take special note about the schedule for running the ads.
Questions regarding the campaign may be directed to Cheryl Sadowski, NAA Vice President of Communications, at cheryl. sadowski@naa.org or (571) 366-1135.
“When you visit the campaign website – www.naa.org/ November 2011
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ADVERTISING
THE 40-40-20 RULE OF MARKETING BY JOHN FOUST RALEIGH, NC
Ed Mayer was a giant in the direct mail and direct marketing world. Throughout his career, he worked tirelessly to promote the industry and educate others. Perhaps his most famous concept is the 40-40-20 rule, which states that an effective marketing campaign is 40 percent list, 40 percent offer, and 20 percent creative.
Century, but it doesn't work today, because the marketplace is crowded with all kinds of mousetraps, and consumers are bombarded with information about those mousetraps. In order to motivate consumers to choose your advertiser's brand of mousetrap over all the others, you have to give them what I call an ‘RTB’ – a compelling Reason-To-Buy. That's why the right offer is crucial.
In other words, 40 percent of success depends on targeting the right audience (mailing list), 40 percent depends on the offer you make to that audience (incentive to buy), and 20 percent depends on the creative execution (copy, design, colour, paper stock, format, etc.).
Image ads can help an advertiser build brand identity over an extended period of time. But if you – like direct marketers - are looking for immediate response, provide readers with incentive to act now. Not next month or next year. Now.
The direct marketing industry was built on research and number crunching. When someone of Mayer's stature has a marketing formula, we would be smart to pay attention. His concept can be easily applied to newspaper advertising:
Consider discount tactics. Or rebates. Or free delivery. Or open house specials.
Creative, 20 percent:
Audience, 40 percent:
After you've targeted the right audience and developed the right offer, the next step is to package the message so it will be noticed, read, and acted upon.
The best ad in the world won't work if it doesn't reach the right audience. Direct mailers figured this out a long time ago, and they applied sophisticated demographic targeting techniques. Online and social media marketers have taken the process several steps further. No doubt, you've noticed companies that track your interest in certain products, then send related pop-up ads and messages to you.
Many campaigns die because of inadequate efforts on this 20 percent. The audiences and the offers are on target, but the messages are clouded with puffed up claims of ‘best deal ever’ and ‘fantastic service.’ Or the layouts lack white space and have typography that is hard to read.
Today's print sales people should demonstrate that they can reach relevant numbers of an advertiser's potential customers. Making blanket statements about having 50,000 or 20,000 or 5,000 total readers is not enough. Provide plenty of details on demographics, zoned coverage, and numbers of readers within specific mile ranges of prospective advertisers.
As long as the advertiser's offer is a strong one, simply tell the truth in a simple, uncluttered way. That will put the percentages in your favor. (c) Copyright 2011 by John Foust. All rights reserved.
Offer, 40 percent:
John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house
Ralph Emerson wrote, ‘Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.’ That advice worked in the 19th
RECORD ATTENDANCE MAKES COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER LOBBY DAY A SUCCESS On November 1, members of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA) gathered in Ottawa to take part in a historic lobby day with record attendance. CCNA board members and regional staff met with over 80 Members of Parliament to discuss a full range of issues affecting the industry including government advertising, freedom of information, Canada Post, the Canada Periodical Fund, readership research, copyright and more. Following the lobby day meetings, CCNA hosted a reception for ministers and staff which was attended by leader of the opposition Nycole Turmel, Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews and other prominent government figures. "This event was our most successful lobby day ever and was an important step in fostering relationships between community newspapers and our new government," said CCNA president Paul MacNeill. "The association hopes to build on the success of this lobby day as we go forward with our government efforts." November 2011
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SUPPLIER SHOWCASE
OCNA’S SUPPLIER SHOWCASE MULTIAD UPGRADES CREATOR PROFESSIONAL 8.5
Enhanced updated desktop publishing software opens InDesign Interchange® files MultiAd announces the release of its latest version of its desktop publishing software Creator Professional 8.5, which contains numerous upgrades and enhancements. These new features allow Creator Professional 8.5.3 users to efficiently create marketing collateral through a combination of design, illustration and production tools without expensive add-ons.
and productivity features. It combines premium page-layout capabilities with drawing, illustration and image-manipulation tools so users can assemble documents quickly and professionally. MultiAd’s Creator Professional is one of the few programs on the market that is fully scriptable for Mac OS and Windows. It includes a dynamic set of time-saving tools allowing users to script frequently used actions and commands. A comprehensive list of updates and a demonstration download are available at MultiAd’s Creative Professional product information page.
A key new feature in Creator 8.5.3 gives users the ability to open Adobe®InDesign Interchange® files, allowing greater accessibility for document access. Additional user updates include the ability to create soft shadows that output in CMYK, utilize variable opacity for solid colours on an element’s frame, fill and shadow, set any element with a global text wrap for any text block and much more.
About MultiAd: Since 1945, MultiAd® has been a leading provider of advertising products and services with a progressive, client-centered approach. MultiAd offers a portfolio of solutions designed to increase productivity and revenue including: mobile application development, custom web application development, Creator Professional, Creative Outlet, Recas®, Kwikee®, ePublish (interactive online versions of print publications) and several selfservice advertising solutions. For more information on MultiAd, visit http://www.multiad.com
“We continue to evolve Creator Professional based on the feedback from our customers,” said Brian Dickerson, vice president of product development. “These key capabilities allow Creator Professional to be more competitive in the marketplace while continuing to be an affordable tool ideal for high-production environments.”
Note: MultiAd, Kwikee and Recas are registered trademarks of MultiAd, Inc. Adobe and InDesign are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated of the United States.
Creator Professional excels in producing advertising, marketing and promotional documents through a full set of design
METRO CREATIVE GRAPHICS INTRODUCES THINKSTOCK ADD-ON Metro Creative Graphics now offers select subscribers of newspapers with circulations of less than 100,000 the option to add a Thinkstock image subscription, including images from Getty Images and iStockphoto, to their existing service. The new add-on options, called Freedom 50 and Freedom 100, allow select Metro users to incorporate high-quality Thinkstock images anywhere in their publication, either along with or separate from Metro’s full range of advertising, creative and editorial resources. While the Freedom 50 offers up to 50 images per month, publications with even greater imagery needs have the option to add the Freedom 100 package, which allows the subscribing publication to download up to 100 images per month for one low, flat monthly fee for each package. OCNA acts as a gateway to over 300 community newspapers in all areas of the province. Promote your information to our members here. Send your updates to newsclips@ocna.org. November 2011
“With these specially arranged price and package options, small and medium-sized publications can build on Metro’s money-making resources through access to a wide range of high-quality photos from Thinkstock,” says Metro President Rob Zimmerman. “The Freedom packages not only enable media companies to expand their creativity on a daily basis, but allow them to enhance special projects quickly, easily and inexpensively, while allowing up to 50 users access, making the Freedom packages ideal for newspaper operations.” 12
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SUPPLIER SHOWCASE Metro is offering select Premium Bundle subscribers an introductory discount on the annual subscription rate for both Freedom packages. For more information about the MGT packages and whether subscribers qualify, customers can contact 800-223-1600 or service@metro-email.com. About Metro Creative Graphics Metro is a leading provider of advertising, creative and editorial resources for media companies that are specifically designed to generate revenue in print and/or online. With products ranging from ready-to-use images, spec ads, stock-quality photos and logos/ trademarks to copyright-free editorial features, state-of-the-art themed MicroSites, and groundbreaking online ad development tools, Metro Creative Graphics has been meeting the creative needs of the publishing industry for more than 100 years. For more information, contact Debra Shapiro Weiss, Executive Vice President, Metro Creative Graphics, Inc. at 800-223-1600 (in the U.S. and Canada), 212-947-5100 or E-mail: service@metro-email.com
METRO HELPS MEDIA COMPANIES CAPITALIZE ON SYNERGY BETWEEN PRINT AND ONLINE PLATFORMS WITH TEMPLATED SECTIONS Metro Creative Graphics, Inc. has launched Templated Special Sections as a print complement to Metro’s online special section Web sites package. These 24-page print sections come complete with cover designs and pre-designed pages filled with timely, informative editorial content surrounded by ready-tosell ad positions in full-, half- and quarter-page increments. In combination with Metro’s Timely Features MicroSites that are ready to post, publishers now have a turnkey complementary package to attract print and online readers and advertisers.
of 105.3 million people per month visited a newspaper Web site during the fourth quarter of 2010. In order to attract more readers and advertisers to a Web site, it must offer interesting and informative content. Special sections carry this kind of value and that is why Metro developed its Timely Features MicroSites — to help publishers seemlessly move complete special section content to their Web sites, without the need for programming or HTML skills. Providing multiple, ready-to-sell advertising positions, and numerous SEO benefits for a company’s Web site, Metro’s MicroSites deliver what is needed today.
According to a survey conducted by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), print is targeted and newspapers remain the primary medium readers turn to for advertising. A substantial 52% of respondents said they use the newspaper to assist in planning shopping trips, with an overwhelming 72% reading preprint inserts such as special sections.
Recognizing that promotion is the key to successful print and online endeavors, Metro expanded on the print and online sales tools which coordinate with each MicroSite by developing an affordable and dynamic print Templated Special Sections package. In combination, the robust special sections package from Metro for print and online publishers now includes: 24 Templated Special Sections, 36 special section MicroSites, 36 online sales media kits, the MiSiteTM online deployment tool, print and online spec ads to draw readers and advertisers, print sell sheets, full-page print directory ads, and Web ads in five sizes to promote each MicroSite to advertisers and readers. The social media feature of multiple photo galleries that can contain reader-generated content such as local photos, or advertiser-generated content such as coupons and offers, was recently added to each MicroSite as well.
Debra Shapiro Weiss, Metro’s Executive Vice President, says, “Now, more than ever, when budget cuts have left some publications with limited editorial and productions staffs, creating special sections is a challenge. With a high-end templated option like Metro’s Templated Special Sections, publishers have a readyto-go solution to help them quickly, and economically, develop special sections and increase revenue.” Every month, publishers can get two, 24-page, professionallydesigned layouts, covering popular subjects such as home, garden, pets, seniors, weddings and more. Topics are timed for release during the month and season most optimal for sales. Each section template is available in QuarkXPress® (version 4 and up) or InDesign® formats (version CS3 and up), so that everything, including size, content and color, is completely customizable. A QuarkXPress layout is also available (version 7 and up) with complete in-position spec ads for a ready-to-present vehicle to tempt key prospective advertisers. A downloadable PDF is available for presentation, as well as an online e-Edition for viewing and presenting.
“Metro’s Templated Special Sections and Timely Features MicroSites are an ideal solution for today’s media companies that are looking to synchronize their print and online efforts in the easiest way possible to yield the greatest impact and return,” explains Debra Shapiro Weiss. For more information, samples and demonstrations of Templated Special Sections and Timely Features MicroSites, visit metrocreativeconnection.com and click on the Editorial link and MicroSite link on the top of the home page, e-mail service@ metro-email.com, or call Metro’s Client Services team at 800-2231600.
Online editions are on the rise with NAA reporting that an average November 2011
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SUPPLIER SHOWCASE
IMPROVED CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION IS KEY FOCUS IN LATEST MEDIASPAN PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE RELEASE ProductionManagerPro® 5 introduces new customer portal and the ability to manage multi-media files in the latest release MediaSpan, a leading provider of digital content management, online marketing, advertising, and business productivity solutions for the world’s leading media companies announced today the latest release of their production management system, ProductionManagerPro® 5.
placements with or without changes to the copy. ▄▄
The elimination of an FTP server as the customer portal gives customers the ability to upload ad components or complete ads directly in the portal. ▄▄
Integration with MediaSpan’s AdManagerPro® web portal giving publishing customers the ability to manage not only their ad content but even pay their bills and view complete account information all within the browser.
“Keeping in mind the need to continually improve the communication process between customers, sales, and production we are excited to announce the inclusion of the customer portal in our latest release, said Kevin Stoinoff Product Manager.”
In addition to the customer portal, other features in this latest release include the ability to handle audio, video, and other digital media formats. ProductionManagerPro® 5 also has updated the server technology for compatibility with the latest operating systems for Mac and PC plus Adobe CS5.5 integration.
The customer portal will improve efficiencies between customers, sales, and the production staff, making proofing and receiving files from a customer a simple and quick process. Highlights of the customer portal include the ability for:
About ProductionManagerPro® ProductionManagerPro® is an ad-tracking and workflow system designed to work the way ad builders work. It keeps the focus of ad building on streamlining processes, tracking components and meeting deadlines.
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Customers to view proofs, edit the files and approve or submit changes without ever leaving the browser. ▄▄
Publishers to post an online catalogue of previously run ads with the ability for their customers to reorder
LEADING CIRCULATION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE PROVIDER MEDIASPAN’S LATEST PRODUCT RELEASE CREATES HUGE TIMES SAVINGS FOR NEWSPAPERS CirculationPro® upgrade contains new tools focused on timesavings for papers.
MediaSpan, a leading provider of digital content management, online marketing, advertising, and business productivity solutions for the world’s leading media companies announced today the latest release of their circulation management system, CirculationPro®. The upgrade provides companies with more tools, features, and reports to simplify day-to-day tasks and keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the world of circulation. The most popular timesaving feature of this release is the route transfer tool. This tool simplifies the process of changing carriers, especially sites with multiple products and multiple routes per carrier. It also cuts down on mistakes and data entry errors. Frederick News-Post in Maryland, a long time MediaSpan customer, has already saved over 30 hours per month with this feature. “With the latest release, MediaSpan has brought the carrier change process, which used to take literally hours for us to accomplish, down to less than 20 minutes.” Said Kerry Turner of The Frederick News-Post. “The time savings is obvious, and it has also helped us manage our down route information within the computer system more quickly and efficiently.“ Other notable new features in this release include: ▄▄
Managing Scan Based Returns
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French and Spanish language support at the user level
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Draw Imports, Payment Imports, Return Imports
November 2011
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SUPPLIER SHOWCASE ▄▄
Subscriber Loyalty
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Intelligent Mail Barcode
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Over 15 new reports
ONE CALL, 6 MILLION+ READERS
The Power to Reach just got better with
FREE COLOUR
For more information about the MediaSpan product line please visit www.mediaspangroup.com.
We have some POWERFUL news about getting the most from community newspaper advertising. Recent studies show that using colour in print advertising increases the effectiveness by up to 34%* Making your community newspaper advertising work harder for you is what Ad*Reach is all about. To demonstrate the effectiveness of colour in print advertising…
To learn more about MediaSpan and view the social media version of this news release, visit http://pitch.pe/177738.
Ad*Reach is providing all new advertisers with a full colour rate at no additional cost. * Ad*Reach is a One Stop Source of Community Newspaper Information helping advertisers reach over 6 million readers with…
About CirculationPro® CirculationPro® is a complete circulation system providing subscription and distribution management all in one package. It’s simple, easy to use browser client makes managing your publications, products or electronic subscriptions a breeze. CirculationPro® is available as either a self-hosted or SaaS solution.
Volume Discounts One Call, One Invoice Flighting of Material
Speed of Service Research Custom Mapping
Ad*Reach has decades of experience that help us understand the characteristics of over 300 community newspapers. Our insight will make you secure in our knowledge and your job easier. Contacting dozens of newspapers and waiting for quotes is not efficient use of your time. Just provide us with your target demographic and the Ad*Reach team will step in to let you move on to other tasks.
Best of all this is a FREE service.
About MediaSpan MediaSpan Group, Inc. (www.mediaspangroup.com) powers digital content management, online marketing, advertising and business productivity solutions for the world’s leading media companies including Sun Media, Advance Publications, MediaNews, Paxton, Heartland and Radio One. With more than 4,000 local newspaper, radio, and television properties relying on its solutions, MediaSpan is the world’s largest network of local media companies and media consumers.
See our Interactive Media Kit at www.adreach.ca
*Visit www.adreach.ca for more FREE Colour details or call us at 1 800 387 7982 ext 228
June 2011
Make Money with Network Classifieds OCNA’s Network Classified Advertising is an easy way for you to earn additional revenue. Upsell your retail and classified advertisers and earn a 35% commission. An All Ontario 25-word ad is $475. You earn $166.25 each time you upsell your client into the program. You already know that advertisers in community newspapers get results. Help your advertisers extend their reach into a region of the province, across Ontario, or right across the country. They Win – You Win. The possibilities are endless: »Online revenue – any retailer with a web site. Let the Networks drive traffic to their site for increased sales »Real estate – any agent with vacation properties, commercial properties, and luxury homes. Buyers from outside your newspaper distribution area need to know »Events – Fairs, Markets, Shows, Theatre, Concerts, Sports. Spread the word to draw more people »Help Wanted – Trades and other positions that individuals would relocate or commute to should be advertised here
Contact OCNA Network Classified Coordinator Susana Czyrnek for full details at s.czyrnek@ocna.org or 1-800-387-7982 ext 230. November 2011
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DESIGN
THE BLIND DESIGNER
BY ED HENNINGER HENNINGER CONSULTING Let’s say you’re a newspaper designer. If you were to go blind, could you still do design? Yes...depending.
If you’ve had years of experience designing pages, then it would not be very difficult for you to: Visualize a design as it is being described to you. Tell another how you would want a particular page to look. Those hundreds and hundreds of pages you’ve designed make it easy to design a page in your head. Here are some of the moves even a blind designer would naturally make:
Place the Visual First
Get a strong photo or graphic and give it a strong ride. The days when a two-column photo could lead an open page are long gone. Readers want more of a visual pull—and the best way to create that is to give your lead visual greater size. Once the lead visual is in position, the other elements on the page will almost naturally fall together.
Apply Headline Hierarchy
An open page—or one with a quarter-page or half-page ad— needs a strong headline at the top. Go larger than you think you need: if you want to place a 36 point headline at the top, make it 42...or even 48. If you start too small at the top of the page, your downpage headlines will be minuscule—and they’ll draw little attention as a result. Bigger is better.
Use Negative Space
Most people—but perhaps blind people, especially—understand
the wisdom of placing enough space between elements. If items are placed too tightly together on a page (or in a room), the odds of tripping over them increase.
Control Colour
Remember that colour speaks to us. It imparts feeling to a package. But the wrong colour—or too much colour—can create chaos.
Apply the Basics
Make sure the design you dictate is balanced and unified, with strong focus and attention to contrast and proportion between elements. With these moves in mind, even a blind person can design a strong news page. With your gift of sight, think of what you Even a blind designer knows well can do! enough to place the visual first
ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger Consulting, offering comprehensive newspaper design services and design evaluations at www.henningerconsulting.com.
Looking for Press identification cards? OCNA can provide you with laminated, business card-sized Press Cards. Cost is $10 each for the first three, and $5 for each one thereafter.
PRESS CARD
PRESS CARD
This certifies the individual identified has been awarded Press Credentials by the Publisher of this newspaper, and is to be used for identification purposes.
905-985-9755 201 North St. Port Perry ON L9L 1B7
905-871-3100
450 Garrison Unit 1 Dec. 1,Rd. 2010 Fort Erie ON L2A 1N2 Anne Lannan, Exec. Director Date
Editor
Fort Erie Times 905-871-3100 450 Garrison Rd. Unit 1
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ANILside JHALLI This newspaper on the reverse is, as of date of issue, a member in good/ standing Editor Reporter of the Ontario Community Newspapers Ottawa, The Now EMC Association (OCNA) www.ocna.org.
010
KRIS DUBÉ
010
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PRESS CARD PRESS CARD Gorven or call ThisContact certifies theKelly individual identifiedat hask.gorven@ocna.org been awarded This certifies the individual identified has been awarded Press Credentialsx239 by the Publisher of this newspaper, Press Credentials by the Publisher of this newspaper, 906-639-8720 for a Publisher’s Authorization Form and and is to be used for identification purposes. and is to be used for identification purposes. instructions on how to send photos. 613-688-1491 57 Auriga Dr. Suite 103
This newspaper on th of date of issue, a mem of the Ontario Comm Association (OCNA
2010
Kawartha Lakes/North Durham CAPS News
2010
MARK This newspaper on the reverse side RIBBLE is, as of date of issue, a member in good standing Reporter of the Ontario Community Newspapers Leamington Post Association (OCNA) www.ocna.org.
Publisher
Anne Lannan, Exec. D
This newspaper on th of date of issue, a mem of the Ontario Comm Association (OCNA
010
DON MACLEOD
2 0 11
2 0 11
This certifies the individual identified has been awarded Press Credentials by the Publisher of this newspaper, and is to be used for identification purposes.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
THE IDEAL TURN-OVER RATE A TWOGREYSUITS ARTICLE
These articles are part of the TwoGreySuits Employee Performance Management Series and is offered by our partner, the TwoGreySuits HR Power Centre as a service to our members. Ron Guest, Management/HR Consultant
Ideal Rates Are Unique to Your Company
The ultimate answer is that every firm should establish its own ideal rate. Workforce planning is about: ▄▄
Strategically planning the flow of talent through the organization ▄▄
We are often asked what level of turnover is acceptable or normal. However, who's leaving and why are the important questions to ask.
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Increasing the flow of top performers in
Ultimately, turnover rate for top performers should be as close to zero as you can get it, and turnover among the bottom 1015 percent of your organization should be maximized to the extent that replacement is feasible.
No issue comes up more often in relation to workforce planning than ideal turnover rate. Every time this comes up, our response is the same: ‘There isn’t just one’. We have known very successful organizations with 50 percent turnover. We have coached organizations to look at turnover as regrettable and non-regrettable. In both cases some expense is incurred in replacing the person leaving, training, productivity, etc., however non-regrettable turnover, in the long run may actually help you, if you are able to hire a higher performing replacement. Another similar name for regrettable turnover is ‘high-performance’ turnover, and ‘bottom performers’ would be non-regrettable turnover.
The only population that is left to look at is average performers, which is most likely the largest population in your organization. Some of your retention efforts should be focused on this population as well, because it is more advantageous for you to have an average performer on board than a poor performer. Average performers do no harm to your organization, so the biggest impact of high turnover among this population is the cost of replacement, and the cost of having a position vacant. Regardless of your findings, 99 percent of the time, the cost of retaining an average performer is less than the cost of replacement and vacancy combined, which means that average-performer turnover should be minimized.
Use Better Metrics
The term ‘turnover rate’ is a bad metric, and using it on its own is misleading. Its major flaw is that it does nothing to tell you whether the turnover is a positive or negative event. If you are losing 20 percent of the people you consider top performers, then the turnover is definitely negative, but if the majority of the people leaving are bottom performers, then a high turnover rate may be positive. Instead of focusing on this outdated metric, organizations should focus on High-Performance Turnover. This is the metric that really matters. Your high-performance turnover rate measures the percentage of turnover among the most valuable employee population you have. Studies have routinely demonstrated that top performers contribute an average of 10 times more than average performers. Some firms, like Microsoft, claim that contribution number to be much closer to 100. From my experience, smart companies aim to keep turnover among the top 25 percent of the employee population to below five percent.
Don’t Start Too Late
The last issue to be addressed is that most companies look at turnover when it’s too late. Smart companies identify those that they can’t afford to lose long before these people begin looking. The best way to do this is through pre-exit interviews, which involve talking to them periodically and asking what excites and frustrates them. Great managers then act before a problem occurs. Remember: Talk to them now, or talk to them as they go out the door in the real exit interview.
TWOGREYSUITS’ HR Power Centre and HR Hot Line is a one-of-a-kind product specifically designed to get you the answers you need fast, in hundreds of different HR situations.
For Poor/Marginal Performance Turnover, the metric, sometimes referred to as the replacement rate, is the percentage of turnover among employees who have demonstrated marginal or poor performance in the past. Poor performers can actually cost you money. Leading firms routinely cut a percentage off the bottom of the organization, some cutting only five percent and others, like GE, cutting as much as 10 percent. Generally speaking, the higher the turnover rate the better. November 2011
Decreasing the flow of top performers out
Signing up is simple and free. OCNA member newspapers can call us today at 1-888-661-9234 or sign up here: http://www.twogreysuits.com/ register.asp?assc=AG6EWD62IRDC8BR56GH1DSWO2D3YJ87Z Why wait? Don’t let important people management issues go unresolved when you can deal with them today. 17
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BUSINESS
TRUE GENIUS IN BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS BY PATRICK TINNEY MANAGING PARTNER CENTROID TRAINING & MARKETING
“
True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information. - Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was one of the finest strategists and negotiators in modern history.
Shared Business Economics
Knowing the economic futures and pressure points of our business compared to that of our negotiation opponent will reveal potential strengths or weakness.
New Business Issues or Opportunities
”
Understanding new business issues or opportunities for both negotiation partners will help us frame our objectives as well as business concessions we will want to table during bargaining. Understanding our opponent’s objectives will also give us a clearer sense of how far apart we are with our negotiation opponent on key revenue issues. Topics may include new product introductions, new location launches, expansion or business contraction planning and finally rate increases.
What Mr. Churchill clearly understood and made great strides to improve was knowledge about all influential political entities around him. He wanted to understand the strength and reliability of his Second World War allies such as France, Canada, USA, et al. More importantly he had to gather ‘reconnaissance’ (recon) on his enemies and potential invaders of the United Kingdom.
Points of Difference for Both
Having a clear understanding of our and their POD will give us confidence to state our rationale for our costs and pricing. POD also speaks to uniqueness, scarcity and demand for our product as well.
Recon in business negotiation has just as vital a role! Owing to time compression, budgetary pressures and anxiety, too often business negotiation opponents will pull chairs up to the bargaining table without enough recon on the other side. Not only does this affect your BATNA (Best Alternative Next Agreement) it can also have an effect on your team’s confidence in staking a position in the ‘Bargaining Continuum’ (A.K.A. ZOPA or Zone Of Potential Agreement).
Cost Offsets for Both
Arriving at any negotiation understanding in ranked order what you can afford to offer the other side without crippling your own business negotiation objectives is paramount. Cost offsets do not necessarily mean money. It could be access to technology. It could be relaxed timelines for delivery of product or warehousing of product. It could be relaxed timelines for payment schedules. It could also mean access to new services your company is about to offer that the rest of the market place has not seen yet but could help your negotiation partner improve their market position. Understanding cost offsets is creatively using what you may have already developed at little cost or absorbed as a cost that can now be passed along as a bargaining chip. Don’t always start with money.
The reason we try to uncover as much information in ‘recon’ is to improve the chances of neutralizing the other side who may believe they have unique information that will influence the outcome of the negotiation in their favor. By neutralizing the other side they will not ‘run the table with momentum’ and push us back on our heels forcing us to catch up on business intelligence. There is limitless information we can gather on our business negotiation opponents however recon genius can be found the following five topics:
Profile of Negotiators
Often in large business negotiations we do a lot of ground work and preparation with one business contact only to find out that a different person will be the lead negotiator for our opponents at the bargaining table. If you find out that your opponent is moving in a new associate to head their negotiations make sure you find out all you can about the new person’s ethics, reputation, likes, dislikes, values and
1. Shared business economics 2. New business issues or opportunities 3. Points of difference (POD) for both 4. Cost offsets for both 5. Profile of negotiators November 2011
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BUSINESS
NAA ADVERTISING PLANBOOK NOW AVAILABLE Now’s the time to order your copies of this popular revenue growth tool. The NAA Advertising Planbook is a no-brainer for newspapers. It simplifies for advertisers, reduces time spent for sales executives and converts ad buyers into schedule investors.
affiliations. All of this information will help you build a profile on this person and improve your ability to soften the impact of the new negotiator for their team.
Each copy is $9.95 and NAA guarantees results. If you are not 100 percent satisfied with the 2012 Planbook, they will refund your investment. For more information please visit www.naa. org/planbook Order with credit card by calling: 1-800-6514622
Finally, work at incorporating ‘true genius’ into your business negotiations with crafty recon. Remember Winston Churchill and how he shaped his surroundings by having the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
New Elements for 2012 ▄▄
Top Ten Reasons to Advertise The newest data from How America Shops and Spends 2011 ▄▄ A new section on social media in the competitive media area ▄▄ An expanded and updated glossary of newspaper print and digital terms ▄▄ A new selection on frequently asked advertiser questions. ▄▄ A special section on the recruiting and recruitment advertising from Shaker Advertising ▄▄
PATRICK TINNEY is the founder of Centroid Training and Marketing, a consulting firm specializing in helping organizations make and save money through consultative selling, sales prospecting and business negotiation training. Prior to Centroid, Patrick held various corporate sales and management positions at The Southam Newspaper Group, Hollinger Inc. and CanWest Media. Over his 30 year career Patrick has concluded multimillion dollar media sales and negotiation solutions for many of Canada’s largest advertisers. As an expert on the topic of business negotiations, techniques and trends, Patrick is frequently published in online and print business journals.
Popular holdovers, updated for the 2012 edition of the NNA Advertising Planbook include:
Patrick is a Certified Print Production Practitioner (CPPP). He is a double graduate of Sheridan College, a founding Director of the Flyer Distribution Standards Association of Canada and a member of the Canadian Society of Training and Development. Patrick is also an active Advisory Committee member for the Sheridan College, Advertising Program.
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Updates on advertising-to-sales ratios for a variety of stores from Schonfeld ▄▄ Updates from the Urban Land Institute on sales per square foot and average store sizes ▄▄ Updates on retail sales
For more on Patrick….Google Patrick Tinney….Centroid Training, Patrick Tinney ….LinkedIn Canada or visit centroidmarketing.com
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Updated media planning charts
We want to hear from you! Please share your news and/or opinions with us: newsclips@ocna.org November 2011
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TECHNOLOGY
LOOKING FOR FREE HELP TO SPEED UP YOUR PRODUCTION WORKFLOW? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN ADOBE EXCHANGE BY KEVIN SLIMP INSTITUTE OF NEWSPAPER TECHNOLOGY
Whenever I lead a training event related to some type of Adobe application, I always end with a lesson on how to download free scripts, plug-ins and other helpers from Adobe Exchange.
Finally, just above the License Type button, you’ll see options for ‘Staff Picks,’ ‘Most Recent,’ ‘Most Popular’ and ‘Highest Rated.’ Select either ‘Most Popular’ or ‘Highest Rated’ and you will be greeted with a list of free plug-ins, scripts, actions and filters for both Macs and PCs.
Adobe Exchange has been around for a long time. It seems like it used to be called Studio Exchange in the old (longer than three years) days. But whatever you call it, it’s a great resource for anyone who uses an Adobe product and, let’s face it, that’s just about everyone.
Below are a few of my favourite downloads from Adobe Exchange: ▄▄
Film Machine is a Photoshop action that produces six different flat and curled filmstrips using an image. It’s a quick and fun way to create a different look for a photo.
To get to Adobe Exchange, go to Adobe.com and click on the ‘Downloads’ menu at the top of the desktop. Once in the Downloads area, move to the bottom right corner, near the bottom of the right sidebar, and click on Exchanges.
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Calendar Wizard may be my favourite InDesign script on Adobe Exchange. With Calendar Wizard, the user simply draws a text from and double-clicks on the script in the Scripts palette. Several options are available to create just the calendar you want. Begin weeks on Sunday or Monday. Include government holidays or thoseassociated with various religions. Create a calendar with one to 12 months. So many options. ▄▄
Proper Fractions is an InDesign script that creates great fractions for most fonts without any tweaking. While Open Type fonts have the ability to create nice fractions on the fly, Proper Fractions creates these fractions using Open Type, Type One or TrueType fonts. ▄▄
Tab Utilities is a handy little InDesign script that speeds up the process of creating perfect tabs, when an ordinary tab won’t do.
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Touch-Up is a Photoshop Plug-in that will help you get a grasp on Adobe’s Configurator. Configurator is an application that works with Adobe Air, which is part of the CS4, CS5 and CS5.5 suites. Touch-Up is a Photoshop panel, one of those windows we used to call palettes. Touch-Up combines many of the tools we use in Photoshop into one simple panel, which means you won’t be spending all that time working your way through the menus on
Illustrator users will love the flags from other countries which can be installed as symbols. These can be downloaded from Adobe Exchange.
- Inside Adobe Exchange -
Once you enter the Exchange area, you will be greeted with a list of Adobe products. You’ll find all your favourites. Click on InDesign, Photoshop or one of the other application names and you’ll be taken to its corresponding page on the Adobe website. Once there, notice the list of options on the sidebar. Select ‘Scripts’ or ‘Plug-ins’ in the InDesign Exchange or ‘Actions’ or ‘Filters’ in the Photoshop Exchange. You’ll see other choices as well, but these are the ones that interest me the most. Once you’ve selected a category, look on the left side of the page and find a ‘License Type’ button. Click on it and select ‘Freeware.’ This will save you from looking at the commercial software which is also found in the Exchange areas. November 2011
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your desktop. This one only works with Photoshop CS4, CS5 and CS5.5, however. ▄▄
Heck, I even got so excited about all the downloads available on Exchange that I submitted my own in the midst of writing this column. Look for my name to find ‘Kevin’s Tools PS,’ a panel (the new name for palettes) with buttons for most of the tools newspaper designers use on a regular basis in Photoshop. For users of Photoshop CS5 and higher, this ‘Flash Panel’ can be installed and placed with the other panels on the right side (or any other area) of your screen. You’ll need to use Configurator, the application mentioned earlier, to install the panel. Once installed, Kevin’s Tools PS is a permanent addition to your Photoshop application.
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Kelli Bultena, publisher of the Tea (SD) Weekly, was my first guinea pig. After installing Kevin’s Tools on her system, she said the new panel works great. Thanks, Kelli.
Want to contribute to NewsClips? If you have news you would like to share about your paper - it could be a new project, recognition from the community, awards you’ve won or an upcoming anniversary - please send them to newsclips@ocna.org.
As you can see, I get a little excited about Adobe Exchange. After all, who doesn’t get excited about free stuff. And all of us use some Adobe products. For more information about Exchange, go to Adobe.com and click on the Downloads menu. If you’d like a copy of Kevin’s Tools PS before it is available on Exchange, contact me by e-mail and I’ll be glad to send you a copy.
KEVIN SLIMP serves as the director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology. He is a faculty member of the University of Tennessee College of Communication and Information and makes his home in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kevin’s insight on technology is highly sought after at various industry events across North America. www.kevinslimp.com November 2011
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Photos are also welcome!
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