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SAPAToday Advancing the free paper industry by providing resources for success and venues for sharing ideas.
THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE FREE PAPER INDUSTRY
Board of Directors The leadership of SAPA is in good hands. The board of directors, director, and assistant are listed with contact information. Page 3
Use the Right Advertising Tool John Foust teaches us how we can help our advertisers use the right tool for the job for better results. Page 3
USPS Update Donna Hanbery of the Saturation Mailers Coalition reports on the recent Mailers Technical Advisory Council meeting and what it means for you. Page 9
OCTOBER 2015
Graphics Series Ellen Hanrahan, our resident graphics guru, demonstrates the magic, the power, and the mystery of Open Type. Page 4
Open House Bob Berting, Mr. Community Paper, shows us how we can use an Open House to put our best foot forward in our community. Page 3
Work Positively Dr. Joey Faucette wonders where 2015 went and how we can make the best of the last three months of this year. Page 5
Is It Worth It To Advertise?
by Anita Campbell In Marketing Tips
Your small business’s advertising budget represents an area of discretionary spending that can be one of the hardest to analyze for return on investment. Indiscriminate ad placement is not an effective strategy. Failing to land your message on the right audience is like throwing money into the wind. Ad sellers will offer hosts of reasons why their print advertising venues are right for you. But where is money
well spent? And is it worth it to advertise in your local paper?
The answer is: it depends on what you are selling and how you define your ‘local’ newspaper. SUNDAY USED TO BE PRIME AD TIME Sunday mornings used to be brisk affairs for newspaper advertising. The newspaper’s ad inserts yielded important clues about your upcoming week’s buys. Price-point shopping was led
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by big box sellers that did their most aggressive weekly discounting for the captive Sunday morning newspaper crowd. Consumers knew that even if they were not in the market for a door or porch railing, they still knew where to get one and how much it cost, because Lowe’s, Home Depot and Menard’s each kept them enlightened. And because the ads were inserted together, the mass marketing effort became tied to the couponing ritual. continued on page 7
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President Caroline Quattlebaum Southeast Sun Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969
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Vice President Will Thomas Exchange, Inc. Fayetteville, TN 931-433-9737
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Treasurer Todd Godbey Livin’ Out Loud Magazine Wilmington, NC 910-338-1205
Secretary Mike Marlow Rutherford Weekly Forest City, NC 828-248-1408
Board Member Greg Ledford Shelby Shopper & Info Shelby, NC 704-484-1047
Board Member Kathy Crumpton Piedmont Shopper Danville VA 434-822-1800
Past President Tony Onellion Bargains Plus Slidell, LA 985-649-9515
Past President Russell Quattlebaum Southeast Sun Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969
Executive Director Douglas Fry SAPA Headquarters Columbia, TN 931-223-5708
Administrative Assistant Vickie Belden SAPA Headquarters Columbia, TN 931-223-5708
Leadership If you are interested in serving on the SAPA board please give our president, Caroline Quattlebaum, a call at 334-393-2969. Service in our industry is fulfilling, enjoyable and gives you sense of accomplishment. Besides that you give back to the industry that enjoy. SAPA works hard to keep you informed and up-to-date on the latest advances and trends in publishing. We’d love to talk with you about how you can give back.
Use The Right Advertising Tool by John Foust, Raleigh, NC You may have heard the story about the man who asked the clerk at the hardware store for a wrench. “What kind of wrench?” the clerk asked. “Just show me what you’ve got,” the man replied. Not quite knowing what
to do, the clerk pulled a socket wrench from the shelf. “I think I’ll try it,” the man said. About an hour later, the man came back to the store and said, “This wrench didn’t work. Do you have a different kind?” The clerk put a crescent wrench on the counter, and the
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man said he would try that one. After another hour passed, the man returned to the store and said, “This one didn’t work, either. Do you have a bigger one?” The clerk went to the last shelf and found the biggest pipe wrench in inventory. “How about this one?” he asked. The man broke into a continued on page 3
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big smile. “I know that one will work. I’m just going to use it as a hammer.”
car dealer that runs ads claiming to be “the friendly dealership” is presentRidiculous, isn’t it? But how many ing itself as a nice place to do busitimes have we seen advertisers do ness. There’s no specific call for action. something similar? They insist on The appeal is indirect: “If you like us using the wrong tool and then get enough, maybe you’ll decide to buy a frustrated when it doesn’t meet their car from us.” expectations – even when their expec- While image advertising can pay big tations are way off base. dividends, it’s a longer cycle. PowerGenerally speaking, there are two types ful brands like Apple, FedEx and Coof advertising – image and response. ca-Cola didn’t win their market share Image advertising – or institutional overnight. Their overall growth has advertising, as some people know it – been gradual – not necessarily snailis designed to give consumers a posi- paced, but step-by-step in an upward tive feeling about the advertiser. The direction.
Open House by Bob Berting, Berting Communications TIPS FOR CONDUCTING AN OPEN HOUSE AND MARKETING SEMINAR TO PROMOTE YOUR PAPER Two of the most powerful ways to promote your publication is to conduct a marketing seminar and open house for the merchants in your market. This can include your inactives, regulars, and prospects. MARKETING SEMINAR The burning question you should ask in your first promotional effort is, “Do you feel you need more advertising knowledge? The answer is the upcoming complimentary marketing semi-
nar “Creative Strategy to give you more impact for your advertising budget” which will be held at
On the other hand, response advertising is designed to create urgency. “Buy now,” an ad might say, “because we’re having a sale”... or “because this offer expires on Saturday.” There is a faster payoff and results are easier to measure. When an advertiser has a sale, you’ll find out immediately if it’s a success. Either it works or it doesn’t. Repetition often forms a strong bond between image and response advertising. A business that runs a strong image campaign – one that resonates with its target audience – will eventually make sales. And an advertiser who runs a lot of response ads – ads that get results – will establish a strong image in consumers’ minds. Some of the best campaigns deliberately combine image and response. They project a carefully crafted image and ask for specific action – all at the same time. (“We’re the friendly car dealer. That’s why we’re offering you these weekend specials.”) If you take this approach, make sure it’s a consistent strategy, not a one-and-done experiment.
the (name of hotel) from 9:00 to 12:00 noon on It’s all about using the right tool. (date). A continental breakfast will be at 8:30 am. The in- (c) Copyright 2015 by John Foust. All structor will be (name), our sales man- rights reserved. ager. John Foust has conducted training PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN: programs for thousands of newspaper The nuts and bolts of very creative ad- advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos vertising and psychology How to build great campaigns and de- to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for informaveloping top of mind awareness tion: john@johnfoust.com Digital advertising—tips for better excontinued on page 6
Integrated Management Software designed by publishers for publishers Display & Classified Ad Sales & Billing Circulation z Direct Mail z Payroll z Accounting
M ERRIMAC S OFTWARE A SSOCIATES INC . TAMWORTH, NH 603 323 8811
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"The Nation's Fun, Family Newspaper!" www.kidsvillenews.com/cumberland P.O. Box 53790 Fayetteville, NC 28305 Cell: 910-391-3859 ph: 910.222.6200 fax: 910.222.6199 bbowman@kidsvillenews.com
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AS A GRAPHIC DESIGNER, WE NEED TO THINK FAST! DEADLINES LOOM AND WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO SEARCH FOR THAT PERFECT ARTWORK, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY UNIQUE AND POWERFUL OPTIONS WITH…
Open Type
High school class reunions can be fun, but inputting text for the reunion booklet—not so much. So I am taking a break to get this article done before I get fired! A lot has changed since I wrote about OpenType in 2006… there are many more options! Type fonts were one of the biggest headaches that we had to deal with—most Mac users had Postscript fonts. These fonts were able to print correctly from our Postscript image setters, so it made the choice real easy. The other font choice was TrueType, mostly on the PC side, and there were certain incompatibilities between the two. I’m using Adobe Garamond Pro to demo these features because my usual, Myriad Pro, is not the best choice for presenting some of the OpenType features.
What is open type?
OpenType® is the result of uniting two powerful and widely used font formats, PostScript and TrueType, into a single font format. Developed by Adobe Systems Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, “OpenType brings these two technologies together and extends them with new typographic and line layout capabilities. OpenType will be the new standard for high quality type in print and on the web. The capabilities which OpenType will provide to font developers, application developers and end-users are truly exciting,” as stated in the literature. It really does offer more options. This is the really cool part. We no longer are limited to the 256-charcters as before. With these OpenType fonts, we can access characters that either were never available or were relegated to “special” fonts that had to be obtained separately. But enough chit-chat. I’ll demonstrate some of these cool features using Adobe Garamond Pro.
Open Type Features
OpenType fonts vary greatly in the number of type styles and kinds of features they offer. You can now find OpenType features in the Character Styles panel. The options are less than they were in 2006, but the Glyphs Panel has greatly increased your choices for newer type selections. Contextual Alternates are not available in Adobe Garamond Pro, but you’ll still get the idea of more choices. Discretionary Ligatures Font designers may include optional ligatures that should not be turned on in all circumstances. Selecting this option allows these additional optional ligatures to be used, if present. Look at the ct combination in the word selecting. This could give eyestrain if used in text too much or too small, and it can be turned off. This is a case where “less is more,” and better off suited for larger text applications.
It’s a wrap…
Even though OpenType fonts are cross-platform compatible, they can be offered in two formats: OpenType PostScript (.otf) or OpenType TrueType (.ttf). OpenType PostScript fonts are typically best suited for publishing and prepress use; OpenType TrueType fonts are ideal in situations where high screen quality is critical. You can still get them in Fraction the flavor best suited for your computer. Major font Numbers separated by a slash, such as 1/2, are con- foundries are expanding their font libraries with verted to a fraction such, as 1/2, when fractions are OpenType fonts. So look for more in the future. available. This means that if this feature is turned on, just typing 1/4 will automatically create the fraction 1/4. Same for 1/8, 1/3. Ordinal It’s a bad habit, I know, but at least it’s cheap! Ordinal numbers such as 1st and 2nd are formatted You know I love vector artwork, but I also go with superscript letters (1st and 2nd), when ordi- gaga for swash characters and ligatures! So, I nals are available. Letters such as the superscript get these notices from Mighty Deals and of a and o in the Spanish words segunda (2a) and course I have to look (OK, there are notices that segundo (2o) are also typeset properly. I can and do ignore, but it’s like they know me!) Swash Anyway, here are some of my new font choices. When they’re available (in the Glyph Panel), reg- There were four fonts in a bundle ($9) and they ular and contextual swashes (which may include are (from top to bottom): Castrina Typescript, alternate caps and end-of-word alternatives) are Vanessa Handscript, Syaqilla Handmade and provided. The regular W looks like this. In this Lussira Brush Script. font you get other options, as in the letter e or e. Titling Alternatives WHEN AVAILABLE, characters used for uppercase titles are activated. In some fonts, selecting this option for text formatted in both uppercase and lowercase letters can yield undesired effects. Sometimes this change is so minimal, that you really can’t discern the difference. But, it’s in this typeface, so I used it. Contextual Alternatives When available, contextual ligatures and connecting alternates are activated. This is turned on by default. Not available in this font. All Small Caps For fonts that include real small caps, selecting this option turns characters into small caps. This keeps the letters and numbers proportional. Ornaments 1 2 3 OpenType font ornaments vary with the typeface. These are the only ornaments available in Adobe Garamond Pro. Unfortunately I ran out of space. I typed out the Brioso Pro, on the other hand, offers a greater above words and this was the “original” version, in variety— • • • • • • • • other words… no optional glyph choices. I did use Handscript for the heading of this article • • • • • • • • • • • • Vanessa and I changed the “n” and the “e,” to give you an Depending on the OpenType font, the variety of idea, but I can’t show you how the various glyphs options is amazing. It’s not necessary to mix fonts can be used to create headings for the holidays. Oh, wait, I can do that next month so you can to create ligatures, or fractions or even add swash characters—but, do get to know the options avail- see how type can be the headline—with maybe able in the font. There is even a “recently used” area just a little artwork. Some of you graphic designers may be attendso if you use that glyph a lot it’s an easy access. ing the Graphic/Design information sessions at Check the Glyphs Panel the IFPA conference in San Antonio, Texas… so There are more options, including Superscript / keep learning! But, now it’s time for me to get back Superior & Subscript/Inferior, Numerator & to my high school class reunion booklet— and the Denominator, Tabular Lining, Proportional Old- excitement never ends! style, Proportional Lining, Tabular Oldstyle, and I welcome your input and suggestions. A former art Default Figure Style. teacher, I entered the free paper publishing business So if some of your typefaces seem to act a little in the early 80s. I write for IFPA, Community Papers of weird, check to see if they are OpenType fonts and Michigan, and am still learning. then see what options are activated. Ellen Hanrahan ©2015 E-mail: hanrahan.ln@att.net
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Look what I found!
Wonderful
Wonderful
Wonderful
•
Wonderful
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Work Positive
3 STRATEGIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL 4TH QUARTER The question du jour from our coaching clients is, “Where did 2015 go?”
Ask yourself, “Where do we want to be?”
The mental pull of the familiar is magnetically attracted to your current Yes, the final quarter starts next week. practices. The way you’ve done it in the first three quarters is your default The question behind the question is, regardless of how you evaluate results. “How do we have a successful 4th Your inclination is to keep doing what quarter?” you’ve done even if it didn’t work so Here are 3 Strategies for a Successful well. 4th Quarter so you increase sales with Fill up with the jet fuel of imagination greater productivity and get out of the to redefine reality. Focus on where you office earlier: want to be. REFLECT ON REALITY Ask, “How can we build on what’s A primary leadership function, ac- working well?” cording to Max Dupree, is to define reYour answer stairsteps success as your ality. Ask, “Where are we in 2015 with mind interprets current achievements relationship to our goals?” as having left the shore of uncontrolDo more than look at bottom-line lable market conditions. You are mennumbers. Ask yourself and your team: tally freer to do more and better. “What’s positively worked well? REINVIGORATE REALITY “How can we do more of what worked With your business reality defined— well? “Where are we?”—and redefined— “Where do we want to be?”—the final “Who did it really well?” question to ask is, “How do we get These questions focus on the best from where we are to where we want achievements of the previous three to be?” quarters. Here is your growth edge for a successNext, ask: ful fourth quarter. It requires you to “What can we improve? discover some new action that defies the pull of the familiar shore and casts “How can we do it better? you out onto the seas of opportunity, “Who will do it?” sails trimmed toward your destination. These questions focus on growth stratIdentify and target positive course egies. changes. Endure the incumbent muThe answers to each set of questions tiny. define your current reality, the essenDedicate time, energy, and attention to tial starting point for a strong finish to at least one big idea sail adjustment for 2015. the dock of increased sales with greatREDEFINE REALITY er productivity. Implement today three With your 2015 reality defined, move SMART action steps with defined mile markers at October 31, November 30, to redefining it. Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708
and December 31.
Where did 2015 go? Where all years go…one day at a time. How can you have a successful 4th quarter? Reflect on, redefine, and reinvigorate your reality to increase sales with greater productivity and get out of the office earlier. Be positive with your customer service and grow your business’ profitability.Dr. Joey Faucette is the #1 best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World (Entrepreneur Press), Positive Success Coach, & speaker who helps business professionals increase sales with greater productivity so they get out of the office earlier to do what they love with those they love. Discover more at www.GetPositive.Today.
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Open House posure Effective ad design—use of color Yearly programming - marketing plan - budgeting - media mix study Workshop small group ad campaign exercise Pass out reference materials will be in individual folders for each participant. Register for this informative seminar by calling (phone number of paper) or online at (website address). Registration deadline is (date). WHY LET OUR SALES MANAGER PRESENT THIS SEMINAR? Sales manager background experience. This career experience makes our sales manager the logical choice to help you with your advertising effort.
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homes. They include yardsticks, jar openers, sponges, and magnetic signs that go on refrigerators. Your logo continued from page 3 should be on all the refrigerators in Local dignitaries were invited includ- your market area. ing one state senator and the mayor of Bob Berting, newspaper marketing conthe host city. Invitations went to 400 sultant, has published his new e-book for people and 245 attended. The paper sales professionals in the newspaper inhad a colorful display booth and their dustry entitled “Advanced Selling Skills key personnel were present to give in- For The Advertising Sales Pro”. This is a formation and answer questions. Most publication for beginning salespeople who of the expense was traded off. It was can learn advanced selling techniques and wildly successful with great increases experienced salespeople who can sharpen in advertising from the participants. their selling skills. Salespeople can learn PROMOTIONAL POINTER A progressive newspaper needs a memorable memory hook, a slogan that stirs the imagination and can be put on all mastheads, sales materials, sides of delivery trucks, etc. Advertising specialties are great reminders and the greatest items are ones that can be used in the kitchen of your customer’s
OPEN HOUSE EVENT A weekly newspaper decided to have an open house event for their inactives, regulars, and prospects. They decided on a provocative theme, “Once a week does it.” Plastic buttons with the theme copy were made and worn by all members of the paper weeks before the open house.
Bob can be contacted at bob@bobberting.com or 800-536-5408. He is located at 6330 Woburn Drive, Indianapolis, In 46250.
Thank You For Saying, “I saw it in THE EXCHANGE,” November 29, 2006
Page 1
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Exchange, Inc.
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Exchange
P.O. Box 490 Fayetteville, TN
(931) 433-9737 www.exchangepublications.com
Serving Lincoln County in Tennessee and North Madison County in Alabama.
Copyright 2006, Exchange, Inc.
Published every Wednesday by Exchange, Inc.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Volume 27 Number 48
We Are Pre-Owned Factory Program Headquarters For The TN Valley & Will Save You Thousands!
The open house happening had the following arrangements: All personnel wore their button---the setting was a popular hotel with a pool where the festivities took place— there was live music by a popular trio, champagne punch fountain, and hot hors d’oeuvres.
more about this publication by using the link www.adsalespro.com and see the table of contents as well as reading the complimentary first chapter. Payment of $19.95 to download the 34 page e-book.
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frequently thought of as a results medium. Advertise in the one place people look for our community information.
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Conference Schedules SAPA LEADERSHIP SUMMIT The SAPA board of directors has chosen to host a Leadership Summit on March 4 & 5, 2016 in Altanta, Georgia.
We are currently looking for reasonable hotels in the Buckhead area of AtN E W where S P A P E R P R we I N T I N can G C O M Pget A N Y together and lanta learn from the best brains in our industry.
We will start the Leadership Summit with a get together on Friday evening, March 4, 2016. Dennis Wade, renowned publisher, trainer and presenter, will lead the discussion on Saturday morning. Lisa Griffin, Tech Guru, will take us through the afternoon. We’ll send you more information as we get it.
Doug Schwenk NEWSPAPER PRINTING COMPANY
Advertising
continued from page 1
NEWSPAPER PRINTING COMPANY
Small businesses that sell to consumers (versus to other businesses) have had by far the most options in newspaper advertising. A theater district restaurant could fill seats with an entertainment section coupon in a small ad. A travel agency might trace bookings to a well-placed travel-section ad. Even classified advertising was an effective way to bring attention to your small
• Regardless of what I’m selling, what the customer is buying first is me. • Your competitor is not you. Don’t try to be like them. • Don’t spend time to save money. Spend money to buy time.
• Sales is not about selling; it’s about enabling the customer to benefit from what we’re providing.
5 2 1 0 S O U T H LO I S AV E N U E / TA M PA , F LO R I DA 3 3 6 1 1 (813) 902-1196 / CELL (561) 239-2495 P ro d u c t i o n : ( 8 1 3 ) 8 3 9 - 0 0 3 5 / FA X : ( 8 1 3 ) 8 3 9 - 7 2 9 5 E M A I L : d o u g s @ N P C p r i n t i n g. c o m w w w. N P C p r i n t i n g. c o m
The point is that businesses of all sizes could count on predictable consumer habits. Even if a small business’s budget didn’t allow for a multi-page advertising insert, added value could be gained just by showing up at the party.
• Thinking about a prospect is not prospecting. Prospecting starts when you make the call.
• Attitude will trump knowledge on any sales call.
A c c o u n t E xe c u t i ve
Looking to save a couple bucks on margarine and frozen fish dinners? Consumers were clipping coupons anyway, so they might as well save on the Sears promo for the stainless steel NEWSPAPER PRINTING COMPANY gas grill.
• Sales is a contact sport. It takes contact to make sales.
home improvement or other service business. CONSUMER AND PRINT MEDIA CHANGES But readership is down for print media, and ad sales are down even more sharply, driven by shifts in reader habits and an overload of information that hardly allows us to absorb an ad, much less clip it. In Sunday’s Chicago Tribune, the SmartSource advertising insert and the P&G brandSAVER are still hawking food and toiletries alongside big box flyers. So the print-marketing paradigm is still being applied. What’s fading, though, is the value for small businesses that could once attach themselves to the newspaper advertising juggernaut. What used to be a sure thing, no longer is. Small businesses, especially those ca-
Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708
tering to consumers, have compensated by shifting their ad spend to alternatives, including daily deal coupons, location-aware services like Foursquare, and hyperlocal news outlets (i.e., your small suburban newspaper or local-news website). For small businesses, positive returns are often present with hyperlocal newspapers because the papers publish community news and events. By association, your ad finds its way onto a local reader’s radar screen. Smaller community newspapers may be eight to forty pages, often in a tabloid size. Some of those pages will be dedicated to local advertising, where the ad rates run on the cheap side. That’s because the publication will be smaller and doesn’t have the cost structure of the major-metro newspaper. Small community newspapers are actually growing, even while their larger counterparts are struggling. Recently, Street Fight, which focuses continued on page 10
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POSTAL PIECES by Donna Hanbery, Saturation Mailers Coalition, Executive Director
The Standard Mail quarterly report showed, for most postal products, a deterioration of Standard Mail performance over the same period of time In August, the USPS held one of its last year. But for High Density/satuquarterly Mailers Technical Advisory ration flats and parcels, the USPS met Council (MTAC) meetings with the its two-day performance standard of mailing industry and posted a number 91%. of reports of interest to mailers and free papers that use the Postal Service Industry complaints, and particularly for distribution. This column is a sum- concerns coming from mailers and mary of some of the news of interest, businesses in more rural areas, about MTAC announcements, and postings declining service has fueled Congressional criticism of the Postal Services’ in the last month. performance and contributed to the SERVICE PERFORMANCE REPORT current freeze on the additional closOne of the regulatory requirements ings of processing facilities. The freeze covering the Postal Service under cur- put a hold on this year’s planned rerent law is the requirement to file pe- ductions in facilities that were part of riodic service performance reports. the 2015 network reduction plans of These reports show whether or not the USPS. the Postal Service is meeting its serHOUSEHOLD DIARY STUDY vice performance targets for individual classes in mail products. The filing of Once again the Postal Service pubthe quarterly service reports can be lished its annual household diary found on the Postal Service website study showing consumer use and reas well as its required filing with the sponse to the mail. Based on a detailed Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). survey of 5,200 households and mail use, the study is designed to examine For another quarter, the Postal Service mail volumes, types of mail used, and has failed to meet its service perforbusiness and consumer response to mance standards in many categories of the mail. mail including first class, much of standard, and for periodicals and newspa- The USPS delivers 45% of the world’s pers. This report contained, for the mail. In line with past trends, the volfirst time, a service performance report ume of pieces delivered by the USPS on the standard mail product known declined in 2014 with a 1.8% reducas EDDM Retail. Previously the EDDM tion from 2013. The Postal Service deRetail product was included with the livered a total of 155.4 billion pieces aggregate figures for other types of of mail. Standard Mail. For the third quarter of As it has in the past, the Postal Serthe year, the EDDM Retail service per- vice and household diary study points formance report showed that it made out that the Postal Service depends on its service performance standards for users of the mail, and postage payers, destination entry, two-day standard, to support its network and universal delivering 79.02% of the time. service obligation. Although the numSoutheastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708
ber of pieces has declined each year, the Postal Service continues to expand the number of delivery points in must serve. As in past years, the number of pieces of First Class correspondence and transactional mail declined. This is in keeping with the electronic diversion of personal communications in transaction mail. In 2004 only 25% of all consumers would pay bills electronically. That number has now increased to 63%. Advertising mail continues to represent a growing share of the mail - 62% of all household mail was advertising. From the standpoint of American business, the commitment to direct mail as an advertising medium has remained relatively constant. In spite of the explosion of Internet and electronic media, direct mail continues to hold its own as an important piece of any advertisers’ mail mix with advertisers spending, year over year, a fairly constant share of 10% – 12% of their advertising budget on advertising mail. Although direct mail spend on advertising grew modestly by 5.4%, Internet spending continues to be the greatest area of growth, with an increase of over 15%. The Household Diaries study shows that advertising mail continues to attract the interest and response of consumers. Fifty-seven percent of responders stated that they read advertising mail. A smaller number scanned or paid some attention to the mail. Only 9% of responders stated that they did not read advertising mail. Read rates seem to decline slightly as households continued on page 9
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report greater quantities of advertising on a conscious level. Study particimail received. pants often gave a similar response in A “BRAINY” LOOK AT THE VALUE questionnaires to the perceived value and interest of digital and physical ad OF THE MAIL content. But when physiological and In recent weeks the Office of Inspector neurological response were measured General (OIG) has released a neuro- with an MRI to determine areas of the marketing study done under contract brain that were engaged in respondwith Temple University that evaluated ing, it appeared that physical ads genhow, consumers respond alternatively erated a stronger emotional response to hardcopy mail versus digital adver- and a longer retention time. tising. The study evaluated the participants’ responses to questionnaires, but It is anticipated that this study, and also measured and tracked eye move- further studies that will consider age ment, core biometrics (through sen- and demographic impacts of different sors placed on fingertips, heart rate, types of media, will be used for the perspiration, motion and breathing) Postal Service and industry to explore with brain scans revealing how differ- optimal use and combinations of digient areas of the brain responded dur- tal and physical media. ing a specific task or experience. 2015 PROMOTION REVIEW AND 2016 PREVIEWS The participants were exposed to, or interacted with, 40 different physi- Vice President of New Products and cal or digital advertisements. Later, Innovation for the USPS, Gary Reblin, the participants were tested on their discussed 2015 promotions and pomemory of ad content, and their stated tential 2016 promotions at the August preferences and perceived the value of MTAC meeting. the advertised products. 2016 promotions are currently under The highlights of the study suggest a more positive, stronger, and lasting response, including a greater desire to respond or “buy” to advertisements delivered in a physical mail piece. Some of these responses or desires were not perceived or acknowledged
an emerging technology program for augmented reality, NFC, and advances in interactive pieces, and a separate emerging technology promotion that would be available for tactical innovations in mail pieces. The Postal Service is also planning to offer standard mailers a mobile engagement/buy-it-now promotion. Reblin also discussed a promotion concept that might consider an incentive for mail service providers that rewarded frequency and volume or bringing new business to the Postal Service. In concept, this appears similar to the previous incentives offered for growth of saturation and High Density mail programs. SMC has long advocated incentives or promotions that would help encourage mailers to expand their geographic footprint, or add frequency, via the Postal Service rewarding new business with a discount or incentive.
Time will tell if the 2016 promotion calendar, or other incentives, propose any rewards for saturation program review. The Postal Service anticipates mailers that promote and bring adverfiling its proposed promotions for ap- tisers to the mail through their shared proval in early fall. The 2016 promo- mail programs. tions are likely to be similar to, and build upon, promotions like those in place in 2015 and continue to support the integration of mail with technology. It is anticipated that the 2016 promotion calendar will include promotions for First Class mail that are similar to what was offered in 2015. The Postal Service plans to offer two emerging technology proposals that would be available for Standard Mail. With
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on hyperlocal content and commerce, conducted research with select local small businesses. The upshot? Small businesses are moving more of their advertising efforts to “hyperlocal opportunities” to find customers and generate business, because it meets their needs.
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were their primary options.
8% to 18% annually. So if the publica3. Some local merchants are already tion has a local website, that may also spending 100% of their budgets on be a viable spot for advertising. hyperlocal — with the intent to con- The Answer tinue this focus. So what’s the answer to the question,
4. Yet, “free” and “no upfront costs” are, not surprisingly, very big draws for local merchants, which is why they HYPERLOCAL-ADVERTISING continue to try daily deals services Street Fighting noted that they learned even as they experience inconsistent the following: results. 1. Local merchants want new custom- 5. And that hyperlocal sites are perers. This is a chief concern even over ceived as a natural evolution of their direct ROI in a campaign. print marketing budgets. 2. However, they do like the transpar- In addition, according to an EMarketer ency that digital options offer versus report, U.S. local online ad spending is the print platforms that previously also expected to grow, anywhere from
“is it worth it to advertise in your local newspaper?” For many small businesses that sell to consumers, yes it is — provided you think of your local newspaper as not being the majormetro newspaper but the local community or suburban newspaper, where the audience is targeted, the ad rates lower, and the staff motivated to place your marketing message with more of a personal touch. And you may also want to consider more online hyperlocal advertising alternatives, too.
Will the Internet kill your free community paper? Did instant coffee kill coffee? New technologies change many things. But not everything. You may tweet, blog, surf, shop, or search online but you continue to read your free community paper. You just proved it. Readership of free community papers is now higher than paid daily papers, and continues to grow. Rather than being replaced by “instant” media, your local free community paper has become an important part of our neighborhood. The reason, which sometimes is not heard because of all the noise about the Internet, is pretty obvious: your free community paper does what the Internet doesn’t. We promote connections at a local level. Free papers join readers and advertisers in ways digital media don’t. In fact, the local content and power of your free paper makes advertising even more effective. We are the number one medium for driving purchases. That’s important in every product category. Including coffee.
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