VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M 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 How’s Your Peripheral Vision? John Foust gives two great examples of how we often try to “cut corners” with our customers. Page 3 Conference Schedule We just had an amazing conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Now, prepare to join us in New Orleans, LA September 2012. Page 8 OCTOBER 2011 Graphics Series Ellen Hanrahan shows how Vertical Type can add some fun and excitement to an ad, without a lot of work. Page 5 Setting Priorities Correctly Richard Clark guides the classified ad department and its supervisors on how to set correct priorities. Page 9 USPS Update If you don’t know what an Exigent Rate Remand Case means then read this article to understand this complex subject. Page 6 Southeastern Publishers Advertising Association How To Get Ready For Holiday Advertising by Bob Berting, Berting Communications How should your advertising salespeople approach their customers to discuss holiday advertising and to maximize their role as a marketing consultant? More specifically, how do they create a major role for their publication in the customer’s media mix campaign? Too many times management and their advertising salespeople are caught up in one time promotions in the fall such as Harvest of Values, Building and Home Improvement sections. Football sponsor pages, and a host of other one time promotions. They are all wonderful promotions but in many cases, they interfere with preparing the customer for the big holiday season. Suddenly it’s early November and time to get the creative juices going for holiday advertising campaigns—but it’s too late. EVALUATING RELATIONSHIPS With so much emphasis on regular advertisers, we sometimes forget our inactives—the people who once advertised with you, but dropped out. What better way to get them advertising again than to show them how you Many retailers spend 25% of their can creatively design an effective holiyearly budgets on holiday advertising. day advertising campaign for them. Hopefully many will have an advertis- Another group are your prospects who ing plan which will lock in a majority aren’t sold on your publication so your of their budget with your publication. holiday ad campaign plan can be the Let’s take a look at a plan which will reason for their start with you. help you to prepare for this important season. continued on page 2 Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 1 VISIT US THE FARMER THEORY The key issue for your regulars, prospects, and inactives is that you plant the seed of thought before the start of the season. That means right now— in early October. Talk about holiday advertising with every contact you make. The irrigation and cultivation are the spec layouts you bring to them and the final close to convince them your publication is the key medium for their holiday program. This farmer approach is a consistent, ongoing relationship while the opposite is the hunter approach which is a one time, quick kill event or one time ad. Which will be the predominant group you develop—farmers or hunters? CREATIVE STRATEGY PLAN First of all, what are the customer’s goals for the holiday season? How can you help fulfill those goals? These goals can be transformed into benefits for the consumer and they also can be converted into the headings for the ads in the holiday campaign. The overall plan is based on the fact you have spent the early part of October preparing all your customers and get- AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M ting commitments for the program. Although you can try to start people on the program yet in October, it may be prudent to push for a November start. November could have 3 moderate size ads, each with a separate idea, followed with a large dominant ad which can summarize the content of the 3 previous ads. December can have a pre-print insert as the kick off, followed by 3 moderate size ads. The use of color is really important and should be part of the package, at a reduced rate. Be sure and tell your advertisers about this reduced color rate. vertising Sales and Image Power” can be ordered on his website www.bobberting. com or by sending your e-mail address and phone number with 21.95 check to Bob Berting who will send it to you as a download. Bob also conducts tele-seminars and webinars for advertising salespeople, print media management, merchant groups, and trade associations. FINAL THOUGHT Any plan has to be sold with enthusiasm. It’s up to you to now move forward on your holiday advertising effort. Remember to sell with emotion and justify with logic. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. Walt Disney Contact Bob at 800-536-5408 and bob@ bobberting.com. He is located at 6330 Woburn Drive, Indianapolis, In 46250. The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strenth, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. Vince Lombardi Bob Berting is a professional speaker, newspaper sales trainer, and publisher marketing consultant who has conducted over 1500 seminars for newspaper sales staffs, their customers, print media associations and trade associations in the US The price of greatness is and Canada. Berting’s new E-Booklet “Dynamic Ad- Organizational Software responsibility. Winston Churchill David C. Zeh Print Sales Consultant Tools you need to be more efficient. HNF#;(+'.&4+8'TT1:MJJ Monroe, GA 30655 toll free: 800.354.0235 local: 770.267.2596 fax: 770.267.9463 Lead Developer & Founder 407-656-2777 [email protected] www.MaxProPublishing.com Software Developed by: Little Fish Big Ocean, Inc. Partners in Printing Since 1900 mobile: 770.722.0076 email: [email protected] www.waltonpress.com Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 2 VISIT SAPA Leadership President Russell Quattlebaum Southeast Sun Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969 US Vice President Tony Onellion Bargains Plus Slidell, LA 985-649-9515 Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word. Brian Tracy AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M Treasurer Alan Lingerfelt The Piedmont Shopper Danville, VA 434-822-1800 Secretary Caroline Quattlebaum Southeast Sun Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969 Board Member Will Thomas Exchange, Inc. Fayetteville, TN 931-433-9737 Board Member Bill Derby Johnson City News & Neighbor Johnson City, TN 423-979-1300 Past President Greg Ledford Shelby Shopper & Info Shelby, NC 704-484-1047 Past President Gary Benton Peddler ADvantage Paris, TN 731-644-9595 Executive Director Douglas Fry SAPA Headquarters Columbia, TN 931-490-0400 Administrative Assistant Vickie Belden SAPA Headquarters Columbia, TN 931-490-0400 Touch All The Bases “A minute or so into her spiel, she asked if I wanted to hear the ad copy they had prepared for my listing. That really took me by surprise, because By John Foust, Raleigh, NC I had never talked to anyone at that Burt is a real estate agent who told company before. To be honest, I had me about a call he received from a never heard of them. telemarketer. “It was a company that was selling advertising in some kind “As far as I remember, the copy went of print and online directory,” he said. something like this: ‘In today’s everchanging real estate market, you want a Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 representative who will keep your best interests at heart. Burt understands the intricacies of buying and selling. From his first day in the real estate business, he has been focused on customer service. And over the years, he has developed a strong network of contacts in the banking, construction, and relocation industries. Whether you’re interested in buying or selling, Burt is the right person to help with your real estate needs. Customer service is his number one goal.’ “Ridiculous, isn’t it?” he said with a laugh. “Now, I’m not blaming the lady continued on page 4 (931) 490-0488 fax 3 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M who called me, because she was just doing her job. But it was obvious that her company uses generic ego copy to try to close sales in short phone calls. They probably have one template for real estate, one for dentists, one for attorneys, and so on. an old baseball story. Jake Beckley, who played for the Cincinnati Reds in the early 1900s, was running from second to third when he noticed that the home plate umpire’s back was turned. Not one to miss an opportunity, Beckley skipped third base altogether – missing “How in the world can anybody create the bag by fifteen feet – and sprinted effective advertising without learning to home plate. He was emphatically something about the advertiser?” Burt called out, and when he complained, asked. “It was obvious that they were the ump replied, “You got here too quick.” skipping a step in the process.” That telemarketing call reminds me of Like Jake Beckley, Burt’s telemarketer Tight Economy? Revenue Down? You need More Than Just Content! The Nation’s Fun Family Newspaper Award Winning Editorial Educational Worksheets CVC Audits Website Online Edition Truman, the dragon Burt wants his marketing to stand out, not blend in. And I think it’s safe to say that the advertisers in your hometown want the same thing. (c) Copyright 2011 by John Foust. All rights reserved. Find out why the Kidsville News! educational resource and children's newspaper is the fastest growing publication in the nation.* “Kidsville News! is a unique publication that is not only well read in the classroom, but CVC research shows the editions are brought home and shared with parents and siblings. Each month nearly 60% of Kidsville News! editions are still in the hands of child & adult readers when the new issue is distributed. This high retention rate allows sponsors a unique opportunity for their message to have an impact in communities.” — TIm Bingaman, CVC Spec advertising can play a valuable role in the sales process, as long as it is based on relevant information about the advertiser. “I have bought spec ads before,” Burt explained. “One thing that set those ads apart was that the people who created them learned something about my business before they presented ideas. They studied my previous advertising, and they asked questions to learn what sets me apart from my competitors. That put them in position to create ads that weren’t generic, boilerplate ramblings like I heard from that telemarketer.” It all starts with knowledge. That’s one step that is too important to skip. New revenue sources, higher profits, solutions & opportunities “ReadKiddoRead is about getting the very best books into kids’ hands, the ones that will create life-long readers. Kidsville News! understands how important this is — they have a solid, entertaining paper that gets kids and parents reading together. What a great place to showcase a taste of what’s going on at ReadKiddoRead.” — James Patterson, Author tried to skip a step – and was called out at the plate. 2009 Kidsville News! Circulation 1.1 million nationwide! John Foust has trained thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: [email protected] 2007: 806,125 2005: 80,000 FOR INFORMATION ABOUT BRINGING KIDSVILLE NEWS TO YOUR COMMUNITY CALL Bill Bowman, President [email protected] 910.222.6200 or 910.391.3859 Kidsville News! is NOT a franchise, insert or special section. www.KidsvilleNews.com In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self discipline with all of them came first. President, Harry S. Truman Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 4 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M TOP TO BOTTOM… A GREAT WAY OF MAKING A LIST, BUT NOT SO GOOD FOR READINGAT LEAST IN THIS CULTURE. AND ONCE I SEE AN EXAMPLE, I START TO SEE IT EVERYWHERE. SO TRY TO AVOID… I’ll see something, in this case, the use of vertical type on a flyer or a building, and then pretty soon, I am seeing examples almost everywhere. I don’t know, maybe it just runs in streaks but that’s just the way it seems. Anyway, it started when I saw the name Mineshaft on one side of their building (this is a very popular restaurant in the Hartford area). I guess I had never really paid much attention to it before because their logo and all other print media never uses the vertical format. I started to look for sources that talked about vertical type or “stacked” type, but it wasn’t easy—and I pretty much came up with nothing! Especially when almost all the software programs offer this feature (remember, just because you can do it, doesn’t make it the right thing to do). V V M M Readability is negligible as you e E i I have to look at each individual can’t just read the r R n N letter—you word as a group. All letters are t T e E centered to avoid even more i I s S confusion and even making c C h H the letters all caps doesn’t help much. The problem is that a A a A very our alphabet contains a variety l L f F of character sizes—skinny, wide t T and everything in between! And use of a serif typeface? That adds even more distractions and problems. However, sometimes a small word, like the word “Sale” could be made to work. We deal with a lot of “Sales” in our ads, and never enough space so sometimes it may be a solution—not best, but a solution. You must make S S the it easier to read and turn it into a fixeda A width face. Capital letters are easier to l L read because the x-height is somewhat e E similar, so we will start there. SALE in all caps has letters that are almost the same. I increased the type size so it is easier to read and created a box around each letter to create the illusion of a fixed-width area. The background is now uniform and creates a defined space for each letter uniting the group. A strong, simple typeface works the best for readability. Go as bold as you can and as large as you can. I also think white type on a darker background (in the 3rd example the screens are 70% and 100%) also adds a bit more unity by creating a more cohesive element and enabling the group to be read as a “whole.” This is where the idea of “negative space” is critical. SSS AAA L L L E E E The aforementioned process would probably not work with longer words, ( S A L E can still be read as a group) because readability should be easy, not contrived, not cute, not an impediment… you want the message to be remembered. So when in doubt–don’t! Another option… OK… let’s use the Mineshaft as an example. The customer wants the name of their business to be as big as possible and they want to place it in a one column ad. Fortunately, they only want a few words. What to do? Sorry, not my best but this ad is for demo and I do have to use vertical type! See how difficult it is to read the name and it seems to be a jumble of boxes and text. The name is set in Helvetica Neue Black, 28 point on 21 point leading with -5 letter spacing. The following may offer a better solution! Rotate! To keep unity, I placed “Restaurant and Bar” under the name and moved the general text over just a bit. The name is easier to read but still may not be the best. Same typeface, but it’s 34 point. Leading does not matter because the other line is smaller with -20 letter spacing, in reverse. M I N E S H A F T The best place for fun, food, family and friends. See our great menu offerings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Located in downtown Hartford Address & Phone on two lines Restaurant and Bar MINESHAFT R E S TA U R A N T A N D BA R Vertical Type This is just a little weird… last month I wrote an article about glyphs and their usage. The strange thing… after I wrote that article, Before and After—one of my favorite web sites— had an article on “Fun with Glyphs.” Talk about great minds, well the stuff by John McWade is always better, but still who knew! If you want to learn more about the glyphs and a demo, go to the October issue of the Independent Publisher at www.ifpa.com and select TIP Online. If you have problems or would just rather have your own copy, you can always e-mail me at the address below. The best place for fun, food, family and friends. See our great menu offerings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Located in downtown Hartford Address & Phone on two lines Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 The direction to rotate is up to you, but generally, it will look better if the baseline is facing the edge of your interface, in other words where headline and text interact. I also did a little changing of the general text area and narrowed the entire ad to create more dimension. “MINESHAFT” is now easier to read… granted a little head tilt is necessary, but it will be easier to remember the name. But wait, there’s more… Take a close look at the word itself… it can be “stacked” with the syllables, in this case “mine” and “shaft” (we got lucky!) Keeping a similar look from the last ad, we keep the same point size for the name, but modify the “Restaurant and Bar” portion… a little smaller, less letterspacing and still placed on two lines. The general text has remained the same in all three ads, just positioned a little differently. The size of the ads is the same, except where noted, but as you can see, there’s a bit of difference in the looks. So which ad is the most effecRESTAURANT AND BAR tive? MINE SHAFT Back to Helvetica Neue Black, 28 point on 21 point leading with -5 letter spacing. The Bottom Line The best place for fun, food, family and friends. See our great menu offerings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Located in downtown Hartford Address & Phone on two lines Vertical type is a beast to work with. The best scenario is not ever to use it! That being said, you may be forced to at some point in your career. So go bold and see if you can add some unity by developing a visual fixed-width element. One of my favorite phrases is ”impedes readability,” when confronted with issues that actually impede readability! Feel free to use this phrase if the issue of vertical type arises! I welcome your input and suggestions. I entered the publishing business after nine years as a high school art teacher and taught software programs at technical school. I also write for The Independent Publisher, and I’m still learning. E-mail: [email protected] Ellen Hanrahan ©2011 (931) 490-0488 fax 5 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M USPS Update: Taking It To The Top sumers to their own sites. More lead time would allow mailers to present the bar code to existing or potential advertising customers and use the program as a way to stimulate creative advertising or opportunities for unique customer promotions. by Donna Hanbery The saturation volume incentives of the past two years were helpful, but they did not help enough. Albert explained that growing new programs or adding frequency required 24-36 months to “ramp up.” A one-year promotion ends just as advertiser contracts are coming to an end. This makes the mailer vulnerable to competition from newspapers and private delivery carriers at the worst possible time. Reblin and Mastervich both commented that they heard more lead time and a longer promotion period for adding circulation and frequency might be important. In August 2011, the Co-Chair of the Saturation Mailers Coalition Albert Braunfisch of MailSouth, and Executive Director Donna Hanbery, attended meetings with Postal Service officials to discuss ways the Postal Service could grow and maintain the business of saturation program mailers like free papers, shared mailers, and coupon magazine and envelope products. Gary Reblin, Vice President of Domestic Products for the United States Postal Service, and David Mastervich, Product Manager of Saturation Mail, took time to discuss current products and promotions, the competitive landscape, and what is – and is not – working with incentives. The meeting also presented an opportunity for Donna Hanbery to share the results of an SMC-member survey where mailers were asked to discuss what the Postal Service was doing right, wrong, and the percentage of revenues that mailers were spending on postal distribution with the USPS. flats have a cost mark-up of approximately 250% one of the highest markups in the system. Co-Chair Albert Braunfisch repeatedly made the point that mailers could do more business with the Postal Service, and could add circulation or increase frequency in under-served markets, if postal rates were lower. Gary and David were both interested in the market response to Postal Service incentives. Gary Reblin commented that the Postal Service was looking for more leverage to increase frequency and wanted to spark growth. Reblin was encouraged about the recent bar code promotion. “We want to show there are ways to make the mail more valuable.” Reblin pointed out that the bar code promotion made it possible for the mail to be used to complete a transaction. With a quick response code, a shopper could interact with the mail and use a smart phone to do impulse shopping while looking at a mail piece. The SMC representatives and postal officials both agreed that some of the incentive programs were too complex and required many hours of time to determine if a mailer qualified and to compute threshold numbers and rebates. One of the Postal Service officials that has been working on the saturation/high density incentive program commented that his office spent many hours performing calculations that only produced a $70 rebate for one mailer. This equation of staff time for new business does not make sense for the Postal Service. SMC’s representatives made these Albert and Donna were mindful that comments about Postal Service prothe Postal Service has been post- motions: ing losses and will be seeking a rate Our members universally like and are adjustment in the fall. Forefront on using the bar code promotion. Any their minds was making the point time a mailer has an opportunity to The SMC representatives commented that the rates for saturation program save 3%, it will jump at it. Most mail- that the adoption of simplified admail are already too high. Saturation ers are using the bar code to send concontinued on page 7 Your new art & ad destination. CreativeOutlet.com Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 6 V I S I T U S A T W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M USPS Update: Taking It To The Top dressing for city routes had produced some savings for mailers that helped hold the line on prices. Much of the meeting was spent discussing the competitive environment that mailers and the Postal Service are facing. It appeared that the Postal Service believed that declines in circulation for traditional newspapers and print media would send more retailers and advertisers to the mail and bring business to SMC programs. Albert Braunfisch made it clear that the Postal Service and mailers could not assume they will be able to capture traditional print business or FSIs leaving daily newspapers. Albert explained that advertisers were working with various agencies to seek alternatives to traditional daily newspapers. Although the mail had an opportunity to compete for this business, there were other networks and agencies that were bundling retail and grocery circulars to seek the lowest cost option. Albert stressed that the Postal Service and mailers faced a number of competitive problems when vying for FSI business against private carriers. The number one problem was the additional postal rate charges required for weight. Private carriers can continued from page 6 offer advertisers a fixed price based upon frequency. Many retailers are doing heavier pieces, or even multiple pieces, in the 4th quarter. They want a fixed price for their advertising all year. A mailer needs to charge more for heavier pieces because of the pound rate charges. The mail cannot currently compete with daily newspapers or private delivery when it came to heavier-piece promotions. Although mailers need to match competitive conditions and give retailers more favorable rates for frequency, mailers get no price break with the Postal Service. We also discussed the desire of many retailers to have a sale that breaks on Saturday or Sunday. The Postal Service is already at a competitive disadvantage with the absence of Sunday delivery. Discussions of moving to 5-day, and the potential loss of Saturday for advertisers, is another action the Postal Service is pursuing that will help private carrier delivery, PCD, companies compete against the mail. It was clear to SMC representatives that the Postal Service was not aware of the growth of PCD companies and the opportunities for advertisers to choose another print distribution me- Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 dia besides mail or daily newspapers. Gary Reblin and David Mastervich both commented that the Postal Service might be able to work with the industry on weight. They commented that the Postal Service currently collects approximately $200M a year in revenue on pieces weighing 3.3 - 3.5 oz. It would be difficult for the Postal Service to raise the breakpoint, or lower the pound rate, without finding another way to get this revenue. Donna commented that our members are already paying too much for mail distribution. Pointing to the survey results she delivered to the Postal Service, SMC members already pay the USPS anywhere from 25-50% of every dollar collected from advertising customers in postage. The Postal Service might make more money, and increase its volumes and revenues, with a pricing policy that does a better job of rewarding its loyal, regular customers. Other topics covered at the meeting included the Postal Service announcement of a structural change that would allow it to charge two separate rates for the detached address label (DAL). The Postal Service commented that there was an automation processing cost associated in handing DALs and that it appeared some mailers were able to use the DAL like a separate postcard piece. They commented: “We don’t want to hurt mailers that need to use the DAL (931) 490-0488 fax continued on page 10 7 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M Conference Schedules SAPA Annual Conference: New Orleans, LA, September 2012: SAPA and IFPA joined together to have one of the best joint conferences ever in Nashville in 2010. We are joining forces again in 2012. This time we’ll get to visit one of the most dynamic and interesting cities in the South—New Olreans, Louisiana. The theme of the conference is “Rolling On The River.” You can expect great speakers, local cuisine, and enjoyable activities to make this a conference to remember. Watch this space for more information as plans progress. Call Douglas Fry at 1-800-334-0649 for more info. IFPA Annual Conference, Reno, NV September 30 - October 1, 2011: Valuable seminars, open forums, a vendor showcase, awards banquet, design contests, luxurious settings, and plenty of entertainment. Seminar topics include: sales, new revenue ideas, how to make money online, classified ad program development, ad layout & design, and how to compete with broadcast media. Call Gary Rudy at 609-408-8000 for more information. ,QWHJUDWHG0DQDJHPHQW6RIWZDUH GHVLJQHGE\SXEOLVKHUVIRUSXEOLVKHUV 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 W W W. M E R R S O F T . C O M in·san·i·ty [in-san’-i-te] “Doing the same thing over and over again and Albert Einstein expecting different results.” So why do you keep spending too much for your ad building? Complete Graphic Design Services with fast turnaround, superb creativity, low cost t301"ET t$PVQPO#PPLT t4QFDJBM4FDUJPOT t/FX1SPEVDU1SPUPUZQFT t4QFD"ET t.BSLFUJOH.BUFSJBM /0.*/*.6.4t/0$0/53"$54t/0%&104*54 "--803,%0/&*/5)&64 tXXXDLQTPMVUJPOTDPN L M J Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 8 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M Setting Priorities Correctly by Richard Clark Clearly the toughest challenge faced by most Classified Supervisors is setting priorities correctly. Most classified supervisors get little or no training in time management. They take the reins of the new position and are bombarded with “zillions” of things that must be done right away. Most of these issues involve human resources, computer systems, accounting, production, or other processes that have little or nothing to do with getting someone to purchase an ad. New supervisors are anxious to make a good impression, so they try to get all of those things done. Somehow, the business of creating ways to grow revenue gets lost in the act of managing all the processes. The problem is that classified supervisors get most of their day-to-day feedback based on how well all the processes are managed, rather than how much advertising is sold. Managers get into the poor habit of focusing primarily on the processes. All too often, the concept of using ingenuity to maximize revenues either takes a back seat or is lost completely. Ok, classified supervisors and managers, here’s the deal: “Your number one priority is to grow revenue!” Ev- It just doesn’t make sense to take away from sales time for clerical and production tasks. Keep your sales staff selling. If you have someone in your department that just can’t seem to grasp the concept that their job is sales, give that person all the non-sales duties so the salespeople can spend time selling erything and anything else that isn’t more ads. directly focused on growing revenue Just to be clear, as a Classified Supervihurts your sales performance. sor, you must accomplish your primaThe other departments you work with ry goal of maximizing revenue generaare primarily interested on accom- tion every day, or else you have failed. plishing their individual primary ob- This is true no matter what else you jectives. They will siphon off as much may have accomplished that day. of your valuable sales time as you alThis means that Ad-visors always eflow them to take. Their objectives are ficiently make the most out of every met, which makes them look good. inbound call. Ad-visors make their reYour sales don’t grow, and may even newal callbacks every day; even things dip, and upper management wonders are really busy. Clear plans, objectives if you have the right stuff. You simply and schedules for maximizing outcannot let these objectives from other bound calling for special pages, prodepartments keep you from achievmotions and directories must be iming your department’s primary goal of plemented. growing sales revenues. In addition to outbound calling for Does this mean that classified doesn’t special items, the department must have to do those “other” tasks? For spend time staying in touch with existmost, of course you still have to do ing advertisers that haven’t run recentthem. Be willing to work with those ly. It doesn’t do much good to add new other departments, just not under customers if there is a steady stream of them. The question is the priority. If them falling away. The same is true of something is missed because you are advertisers that you find in other meshort on time, it has to be one of these dia that should be advertising in your “other” activities, and never any of classified products. your department’s sales activity. There are many priorities in the classiThere is a steady supply of people that fied department, but any that get ahead will do clerical and production duties of selling more advertising are simply for less money than most salespeople out of order. I once saw a sign above make. Good salespeople are the hardcontinued on page 10 est employees for any business to find. JB Multimedia, Inc. P.O. Box 704 N. Bellmore, NY 11710 888.592.3212 phone/fax www.jbmultimedia.net It's time for a new business venture… Needing new Revenue for 2011? theBOOKcreators.biz M a k i n g p u b l i c a t i o n s i n t e r a c t i v e. Justin Gerena, President, Director of Sales p: 888.592.3212 x710 e: [email protected] Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 CONNIE GIBBS [email protected] 563-451-7854 JOEL KLAASSEN [email protected] 620-947-1923 (931) 490-0488 fax 9 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M Setting Priorities Correctly continued from page 9 a business manager’s desk that read, “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” This is pretty sound advice. Another department’s top priority doesn’t change your department’s top priority. If you will make this your philosophy, you can be sure you’ll be rewarded for meeting your primary goal. shucks” and “do it or die” delivery of classified advertising advice has brought success to well over 300 classified departments across America. His “Classified Development” program includes rate structuring, sales training and management coaching. To learn more about improving your classified numbers call 423-929-2243, or e-mail classifieddevelRichard Clark’s unique blend of “aw [email protected]. USPS Update: Taking It To The Top continued from page 7 for addressing, but we’d like a way of getting more money from a DAL if the mailer is able to sell it like a separate This sentiment was echoed by several SMC members that publish mailed piece.” free papers or offer shared mail proThe SMC survey revealed that the DAL grams. was still important to many mailers both for addressing and for revenue. Albert urged the Postal Service to One free paper publisher wrote that look at the DAL in a holistic manner. his company had drastically reduced It gives shared mailers and free papers circulation in recent years due to high another product to offer customers. It postage costs and the economy. He can be a gateway product that helps mailers persuade advertisers to test said: the mail. If the advertiser is pleased We have competitors that are distribwith the response, it is likely to graduting in mail tubes attached under the uate into a shared mail program or do mailbox. Their costs are half of our an insert or ROP ad with a free paper. postage. Without the DAL we could not compete and remain in the mail. Last but not least, we discussed ideas It is a proven vehicle for customers be- for the Postal Service and mailers to cause it works. It covers a substantial reach under-served market areas. portion of our postage. Any change in MailSouth has expertise in mail marthe DAL surcharge would be the straw kets that serve more rural areas where a monthly shared mail program is ofthat forces us out of the mail. Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 fered. Albert explained that there are areas of the country where there are no shared mail programs or newspapers offering a total market coverage option. Many advertisers would like to reach consumers in these areas, or to have a more frequent (weekly) advertising vehicle. Certainly the Postal Service has capacity in many areas where its carriers must still serve a route with few pieces. We encouraged the Postal Service to develop an approach to pricing that would stimulate and encourage mail volume in these under-utilized markets. As the meeting came to a close, Donna and Albert stressed the efforts of SMC and its members to improve the postal partnership. Albert challenged the Postal Service officials to think about ways to grow incremental revenue and appreciate the challenges that mailers face with stiff competition from newspapers and private delivery in the areas of pricing and their ability to control delivery dates. Albert stressed that our members were serving as the Postal Service’s sales force and need ways to bring retailers, large and small, to our programs and the mail. Albert commented that our members spent a lot of time nurturing small business and creating mail advertising that would work for them. He said, “We found Chinese restaurants to be a fast-growing category. Even if your language is Mandarin, you understand math.” If the Postal Service can help get the price right, and give us the delivery windows we need, we can grow our businesses and bring more advertisers and consumers together in the mail. Donna E. Hanbery, Executive Director Saturation Mailers Coalition 33 South Sixth Street, Suite 4160 Minneapolis, MN 55402 (612) 340-9350 Direct Line (612) 340-9446 Fax [email protected] (931) 490-0488 fax 10 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M HERE IS WHAT PAPERCHAIN STANDS FOR P Report TWO POWERFUL STATEMENTS ABOUT 1 SRDS Greg Birkett wanted to share a personal success story regarding SRDS. “We just received (2) 1/4 page ads at $528.00 for a pharmaceutical company and the order came from Pennsylvania. An agency we have never dealt with before so I emailed them to ask how they found us...they used SRDS. I know that we have not had funding to do much lately, but I truly feel our SRDS partnership has been a positive thing for PaperChain, and a reason we all need to ask our boards to continue funding this important member benefit.” 2 Jack Guza responded to Greg’s email with this story. “Speaking of SRDS…I received a Request For Information last Friday, August 26 from a Media Planner at The Integer Group. She noted that she found our association via SRDS Newspaper Advertising Source!” FYI - Jack Jack Guza - Executive Director – Community Papers of Michigan is for pride. Free paper publishers have pride in their products, their staff and the community they serve. A is for audits. Audits are the first step in gaining the much needed recognition of media buyers. P is for perception. The perception of community papers is not the reality of the papers. E is for enthusiasm. The free paper industry is extremely enthusiastic about PaperChain. You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens is for results. Advertiser across to you, and in that, you will be the country have been using commumastering change rather than nity papers for years because they get allowing it to master you. results. R Brian Tracy The most important thing about a quote is to hear what it says. Anon C H is for customers. We serve both customers as readers and clients. is for help. Community paper people are always willing to help each other. A is for action. We are always willing to take action to help our customers, offering suggestions, encouraging customers in how to increase their bottom line. I is for integrity. The integrity of the community papers is proven time and again with the audits. N is for never giving up. Community papers are persistent in striving for excellence. Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 11 VISIT US AT W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M Will the Internet kill your free community paper? Did instant potatoes kill potatoes? 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 doesn’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 potatoes. Free Papers Working For You Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 12
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