2015 March TCNAToday

V I S I T U S A T W W W . T E X A S N E W S P A P E R S . I N F O

Texas Community Newspaper Association (931) 698-4096 (888) 450-8329 fax 1

The TCNA Board...Working for You

TCNATodayTCNA offers connections—connections to information, trends, training and direct revenue opportunities.

Board of DirectorsThe leadership of TCNA is in good hands. The board of directors, director, and assistant are listed with contact information.

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Graphics Series Ellen Hanrahan, our resident graphics guru, shows us that “font” isn’t a four letter word. Typography can be beautiful.

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Work PositivelyIf you ever feel overwhelmed Dr. Joey Faucette has some great ways to deal with those feelings and work positively.

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Print RenaissanceBob Berting , Mr. Community Paper, shows us some very compelling reasons that “Print Isn’t Dead.” A must read for everyone.

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The Future of AdvertisingAdvertising has always been about connecting brands with people. This article by Keith Reinhard has a very positive view of what advertising is really all about.

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By Douglas Fry

A little over a month ago the TCNA board met in Marble Falls, Texas to conduct a strategic planning session. Anyone that has survived a session such as this knows they can be gruel-ing affairs. But I was optimistic about this one because of a couple of factors that were in our favor.

First of all, everyone including you our members recognizes that our industry faces challenges. Our association faces those same hurdles. What we have go-

ing for us is YOU! Our industry has some of the smartest people around working and overcoming those same complications. You have innovative, forward-thinking ideas that work in your market and can be applied to just about every other market as well. So, we have your immense capacity to overcome working for us.

Secondly, TCNA members are some of the most generous people. You are willing to share your ideas with others in the industry. Maybe not with your

SERVING THE COMMUNITY MEDIA OF TEXAS MARCH 2015

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competitors, but definitely with your fellow TCNA publishers. Some of the most productive time I’ve spent has been listening to others in our asso-ciation and learning from their expe-rience. This has happened during ses-sions at conferences, during a phone call when I needed help, or after a con-ference session during relaxing time at a restaurant or lounge. I am confident you are willing to share in a like man-ner.

Take Control of ContinuityJohn Foust teaches us how continuity in our ads is even more important than in the movies.

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Thirdly, we have a board of directors that is dedicated to keeping TCNA a great value to its members. You would be amazed how much time and effort they expend working to make our in-dustry, and our association specifically, the best it can be. Serving on the board of directors of TCNA isn’t a cakewalk. So much goes on behind the scenes of a conference, an email blast, keeping the databases up to date, and com-municating with members it astounds me.

There is so much that the board of directors accomplishes each day. But they can’t do it by themselves. They continue to need and appreciate your help. When you run the TexCAP ads in your publications you help main-tain the financial health of our asso-ciation. A similar contribution occurs when you run the 2x2s in your papers.

Please take a look at the next page and familiarize yourself with the board members. They are some of the bright-est minds in our industry. I am hon-ored to serve with them.

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Take Control of Continuityby John Foust

Movie production crews include con-tinuity staff members who make sure things are consistent within each scene. Even with their trained eyes, mistakes happen. If you look closely, you may notice a clock in the back-ground that changes time dramatically during the same two minute scene. Or you’ll see changes in the liquid level in a glass.

Not long ago, I noticed a goof in a James Bond movie I was watching on TV. After Bond’s blue mask was torn off in the underwater fight scene, he re-placed it with a black mask he swiped from one of the bad guys. I distinctly saw him put on the black mask, but for the remainder of the sequence he was wearing the blue one again. Oops.

Continuity is important in advertis-ing, too. All iPhone advertising has

the same look and feel. All Coca-Cola advertising communicates the same image. And all Walmart messages project the same brand attributes. Even on a local level, with consumers bombarded by thousands of market-ing impressions every day, it is crucial for advertisers to have a sharp eye for consistency. Here are a few continuity

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If you would like to help by serving on the board or one of the committees we would love to hear from you. Just give me a call and I’ll make sure you are put right to work.

Last of all, the board is working fever-ishly to make the joint conference with IFPA in San Antonio Conference one that will help make your publications more successful. They are doing that by working off the theme “Back To Ba-sics.” Every now and then we all need to get back to what made us successful. The basics are what got us where we are. We all need to have them as our “touchstone” so that we stay grounded and profitable. Look for more informa-tion on the conference soon.

If you have ideas, thoughts, even criti-cisms of our association I would love to hear from you. You can call me at 931.698.4096. Or you can email me at [email protected]. You can even text or call me on my cell phone at 931.446.5239. I look forward to hearing from each of you. With your continued help we’ll make 2015 the best yet.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

Mother Teresa

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

Vince Lombardi

“To get what we’ve never had, we must do what we’ve never done.”

Anonymous

“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.”

Bobby Knight

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Gandhi



PresidentAmber Weems 830-693-7152

PublisherVictory

Publishing

DirectorDennis Skinner 903-794-0996

PublisherAmerican

Classifieds/Texarkana

Vice PresidentJonathan McElvy

713-686-8494Publisher

The Leader News

DirectorNicole Morris 361-668-6397

Publisher/EditorReal Hometown

Media

TreasurerRick Wamre 214-560-4212

PresidentAdvocate

Media

Executive Director

Douglas FryTCNA Office

931-698-4096

SecretaryDonna Stanley 512-259-4449

PublisherHill Country

News

LeadershipNot only is the board of directors made up of some of the sharpest and most dedicated media minds in Texas, they also take time from their very busy sched-ules to make decisions that will help your and your business.

by Bob Berting, Mr. Community Paper

The newspaper industry needs to get more aggressive about the value of print advertising, when the media and media buyers are proclaiming that print is dead.

Although newspaper media is enjoy-ing the largest audience ever, there is one fact that tends to be ignored—

newspapers are still making money and newspapers are still a good invest-ment. Think about it—an industry that generates cash and solid earnings is not dying. Recently I have inter-viewed 2 successful and progressive publishers about this issue and here are their thoughts about the progress

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Print Is Ready ForA Renaissance

of their publication and their vision for the future of print:

Jane Means, the publish-er of the Athens News in Athens Ohio, says: “News-papers are certainly not dead, and with our publication, we have the audits by the Circulation Verification Council to prove it. Community papers like ours, in rural and suburban areas, are heav-ily relied upon for local news. Success-ful business owners know that a con-sistent ad campaign can help achieve that needed trust in a local community

Administrative Assistant

Vickie BeldenTCNA Office

931-698-4096



paper. Local business owners have be-come much more educated on how to effectively reach their audience for their advertising investment. We share information from our audits with every business, large and small. We consider our audits our most valuable sales tool because it proves we are stronger than ever and definitely much stronger than our competition.”

Paul Barrett, Publisher of the Finger Lake Times, in Geneva, New York re-ports : “We are leaner these days with fewer specialists and more talented generalists. We believe a strong team wins…and with a leaner operation, it gives us more horsepower in each work position. We have completely redesigned our paper. Lots of color, more features, a larger news hole. We have even knocked down walls

between our ad department and our newsroom for more effective interac-tive communication. Small commu-nity papers take branding for granted. We don’t—it starts with redesign. Our newspaper racks are beautiful. They’ve become like billboards around the re-gion. We’ve also done a building face-lift, inside and out. All this is part of our branding campaign. What is the future of newspapers? We will con-tinue to struggle with the balance be-tween online and print. Our custom-ers tell us what they need and we work creatively to fulfill their needs. Our mantra continues to be local—local—local. Print and digital: our advertisers tell us every day that they still prefer print and are willing to pay for it. On-line is profitable, but in terms of real dollars, our bread and butter is still print.”

Print Renaissance and Rejuvenationcontinued from page 3

Bob Berting says: Newspapers are not dead. They are being rejuvenated ev-ery day, even if the media, ad agencies, and the general public try to knock them down. Newspapers strive to en-sure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair, and thorough. Newspapers fear no one.

Bob Berting, newspaper marketing con-sultant, has published his new e-book for sales professionals in the newspaper in-dustry entitled “Advanced Selling Skills For The Advertising Sales Pro”. This is a publication for beginning salespeople who can learn advanced selling techniques and experienced salespeople who can sharpen their selling skills. Salespeople can learn 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.

Bob can be contacted at [email protected] or 800-536-5408. He is located at 6330 Woburn Drive, India-napolis, In 46250.

HYATT REGENCY SAN ANTONIO123 LOSOYA STREETSAN ANTONIO, TX 78205

CALL ME 931 698 4096

SANANTONIOREGENCY.HYATT.COM

TCNA CONFERENCESEPTEMBER 24 - 26, 2015

BEST OF TEXASAWARD PRESENTATION



I welcome your input and suggestions. A former art teacher, I entered the free paper publishing business in the early 80s. I write for IFPA, Community Papers of Michigan, and am still learning.E-mail: [email protected] Ellen Hanrahan ©2015

TypographyI ALSO WRITE ARTICLES FOR THE IFPA AND HAVE BEEN DOING SO SINCE 1995. AT TIMES, I WILL LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT AN ARTICLE CAN BE UPDATED, RE-PURPOSED OR RECYCLED… THIS ARTICLE HAS TIMELY INFORMATION ON…

…until next month!

Sometimes, the universe speaks to us and you might want to listen. Granted, it may be a little bizarre, but I do believe there are strange forces at work. Take for example these two magazine covers. In 2012, I received both issues within weeks of each other. Hint, this is how you can sometimes tell what is “trending.” How Magazine is an industry publication dealing with design and usually during this time period they present their articles and take on type and typography. This was the July issue and I’ll admit, I didn’t rush to read because as I skimmed, it was all info that I had read… and heard before. Now fast forward about two weeks and I receive the August issue of Milwaukee Magazine… a local, consumer magazine deal-ing with news, events and information regard-ing Milwaukee and surrounding areas. Holey Moley, is there a pattern here? Two different publications, but do I detect a theme of sorts? Now I won’t bore you with the Milwaukee magazine info, although if you want to know the best burger joints I suggest you go to mil-waukeemag.com. I’m sure they can provide you with an updated list.

HOW Magazine InfoSo, the universe spoke and I went back to actu-ally read the articles in this magazine. Along with the usual update on typography in print and now web-friendly fonts, there was an article on their website, www.howdesign.com that featured “7 Typographic Sins Thou Shalt Not Commit,” by Jim Godfrey (a typography junkie and chair of the Department of Art and Visual Communications at Utah Valley University and a 20-year veteran in working with type). He actually listed 34 Typographic sins last year, but has managed to narrow the list this year to seven! Most of these you already know because I haven’t been writing for all these years without touching on these at least once or twice (right, probably a lot more!).

Free Font Search TipsThere was an article by Denise Bosler in that issue, but more interesting was her online arti-cle about free fonts/free font download tips. Not all free fonts are going to be what you want. Ms. Bosler presents a nice case in what to look for when you type “free font download.” Here are just a few recommendations: Search smart. Instead of typing “free fonts,” add qualifying words such as quality, profes-sional, commercial and design. Look at the whole font. Essential charac-ters (numbers and punctuation) can be missing in poorly executed fonts. Read the license carefully. Many free fonts are licensed for personal use only and don’t include commercial use. Download the open type format. It will give you the mostflexibility in use.

PLEASE DO NOT:Do not put two spaces between sentences.Typewriters… since all of the letters were the same width, it became customary to add an extra space at the end of a sentence to call attention to a new sentence. Do not fail to align baselines of type in adjacent columns of body text. Baselines of all columns of text on a page should align to create a pleasing margin of pure white space. How do you get them to align? Fortunately you can go to Jim’s website at www.jimgod-freydesign.com where he will tell you how. Warning…simple math is involved! I know bet-

ter, and I have broken this “suggestion,” but sometimes to get around this I add artwork to the middle column so that it’s not quite as noticeable. I lined up this column because it was very short and I can adjust the artwork!Do not fail to tuck periods/commas inside quote marks. This is primarily an American convention; but it will keep unsightly negative space from drawing unnecessary attention to the period or comma. By the way, punctuation such as question marks and exclamation points

belong either inside the quote if they are part of the quote, or outside the quote if they are not part of it. Semicolons and colons always appear outside quotation marks. “I really love type”, she said. (wrong) “I love type so much,” she asserted. (correct)Do not fail to kern display type. I have writ-ten many times on the idea of unity and using a display type that hasn’t been properly kerned disrupts visual unity, not to mention that it’s just not professional! Unseemly gaps can impede readability by distracting the reader. The kern-ing tables of some typefaces work extremely well, but the human eye is a great judge of “looks.” Adjust the spacing between letters and cer-tain letter pairs especially in display faces. Each typeface is unique, so there really is no hard and fast rule about the amount of space to use. This is where looks become important.Do not indent a paragraph too far. The stan-dard indent for a paragraph is 1 em space (the point size of the type), not half an inch. Most software has default tabs set for half an inch, creating a big hole in the text. Easy fix, adjust the tabs. I have always said to not use the pro-gram (or computer) default! On my iMac I can also use Command/Shift/M to create the indent.Do not use process colors for body text. It’s hard to read, but more important, it’s hard to register on press. Use black or a rich black, or spec a Pantone color (adds cost!). Your press-man will be eternally grateful.Do not use Faux italic/oblique, bold and small cap type. Thanks to word processors everywhere, we see type that’s hypocritical: It kind of looks italic (or bold) but it’s not. Select the italic or bold version from the font menu, and if a typeface doesn’t have genuine small caps, don’t use them (the weight of the letter-forms will be inconsistent and unattractive–that’s a whole ‘nother issue. I change my default “small cap” to about 88% in my preferences).



Work Positive3 STRATEGIES

TO CURE OVERWHELM

“Overwhelm” is a constant theme in our coaching con-versations lately. Business profes-sionals have this sense of more ef-

fort and fewer positive results. There’s more to do than there is of me to do it.

How do you deal with overwhelm?

Here are 3 things to do right now to move forward despite the overwhelm:

FOCUSYour attention is a non-renewable re-source. This most precious asset is best invested according to your priorities. Set your priorities based on:

Time: Once your time is spent, it’s gone. You have only now. Focus on deadlines and timelines, markers and metrics for guiding your attention flow.

Core Values: Your focus is allocated according to certain character qualities

you choose, like integrity, honesty, and exceptional customer relationships. You best select your core values away from the heat of an overwhelming moment to insure consistent action. Schedule time daily so you do what you choose in the best possible man-ner.

Unique Contribution: The mission critical is determining your unique contribution to achieving the business dream within you. Perhaps you can do anything, but not everything all at once. Focus on your chief tasks that contribute your piece to the emerging puzzle of success at work.

FINISHDistractions are unavoidable. A client walks in. Something breaks. A system fails. It happens, right?

Yet some distractions are manageable such as voice mail, email, and social media.

You are successful in conquering over-whelm when you sort through such interruptions and focus to finish. Multi-tasking is a myth. Better results emerge—more profit, more productiv-

ity, more personal satisfaction—as you focus to finish.

Certain tasks are on-going, e.g., sales calls. Yet if you have unfinished stuff lying around your to-do list consis-tently, focus to finish is begging for your attention.

Get started by finding one to-do item to finish at the end of your day. Check it off your list, enjoy the satisfaction of accomplishment, and that same sense welcomes you the next morning.

FOLLOW THROUGH WITH FEEDBACK

When I pitched baseball, my coach taught me the importance of follow through. To throw a fast ball, I con-tinued through the pitch and touched my shoe laces. To throw a curve ball, I followed through as if pulling down a window shade to my knee. The ball magically struck the zone I visualized it when I followed through.

The same is true when you focus to finish and then follow through with feedback. Evaluate your results by asking for feedback from your clients and teammates. Focus on the positive strengths and replicate them in your system. Find a better way to achieve your business dreams instead of the weaknesses.

When overwhelm next assaults you, focus to finish and follow through with feedback and you’ll Work Posi-tive in this negative world.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 leave the office earlier to do what they love with those they love. Discover more at www.GetPositive.Today.



points to consider:

1. Logo: This is the most obvious con-tinuity factor. Too many times, I’ve seen businesses make the mistake of using one logo in newspaper ads and a different logo elsewhere. If your graphic department creates a logo for one of your advertisers, make sure the logo will be used everywhere – on the printed page, on the web, on mobile devices and on business cards.

2. Typography: Type has been called the visual voice of advertising. There’s a big difference between Gill Sans Ul-tra and Goudy Old Style. Make your font choices – for headlines and body copy – and use them everywhere.

3. Color: A number of companies have theme colors. Target uses red, Home Depot features orange and UPS uses brown. The connection is so strong that it’s difficult to think of those com-

panies without thinking of their col-ors. If one of your advertisers adopts a color, make sure it will (1) reproduce well on newsprint and (2) be different from the theme colors of main com-petitors.

4. Overall theme: It’s nearly impos-sible for a merchant to gain a foothold in the marketplace if consumers don’t know what the company represents. In other words, an advertiser shouldn’t sell itself as a high-end retailer on Monday and a bargain basement store on Tuesday. Find a theme and stick with it. And make sure it reflects the advertiser’s true identity.

5. Offers: There are two types of ad-vertising – image and response. Image advertising is designed to build long-term identity, and response advertis-ing is designed to generate immediate results. The best campaigns feature some overlap. For example, while Mi-chelin emphasizes safety (image), they

offer special deals on tires (response).

Merchants in your hometown can do the same thing. Help them strengthen their themes by making relevant of-fers to make their cash registers ring. If they don’t give consumers compelling reasons to buy, those people will take their business elsewhere.

(c) Copyright 2015 by John Foust. All rights reserved.

John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad de-partments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for informa-tion: [email protected]

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Advertising’s FutureA few months back, someone in the pages of Adweek suggested that, given all the changes technology has brought us, we need to redefine advertising.

I disagree. Advertising has always been about connecting brands with people. It still is. But today we know a lot more about the people with whom we want to connect and almost every day we’re given new tools to help us make those connections. Plus, now, if we do it right, those folks we actually en-gage will connect with each other and with all their friends to help us build a whole community of brand fans and activists. We’ve always said that word of mouth is the best medium of all. Augmented by word of Web, it’s even better.

There’s no question that the advertis-ing industry has changed dramatically. But its purpose is still the same. And while we obsess about all the changes, it behooves advertisers to remember the basics that haven’t changed and won’t. Chief among these non-changes is human nature itself—the obsessive drives that motivate the people we’re trying to influence. As they always have and always will, people seek brands that will help them survive, help them succeed and help them take care of their own. They want brands that will help them be loved and ad-mired and that will, in some way, en-rich or improve their lives.

Although I’m no longer involved in the day-to-day business, someone recently asked me how I see the ad-vertising industry evolving. As a re-sponse, I suggested we define a period

between 1950 and, let’s say 2030, and then divide it into three unequal parts.

Beginning in the ‘50s, we had the “Creative Revolution” inspired and led by Bill Bernbach, who broke all the rules that had been established by the early high priests of advertising. Dur-ing this period we learned to respect the intelligence of the consumer, how to engage people with humor, irony, wit and emotion. We learned the im-portance of craft and the power of a well-told story.

All this turned out to be a better way than relentlessly pounding unique sell-ing propositions into people’s heads. Mindless repetition was just one of the tactics favored by those who had gone before.

Then, at the end of the last century, came the “Digital Disruption” during which advertisers were given amazing new tools to help make those all-im-portant consumer connections. Moun-tains of data helped advertisers better understand and more precisely locate their prospects. Digital messiahs pro-claimed the end of Madison Avenue, and at times it seemed the obsession with technology was diverting atten-tion from the basics. I was often re-minded of what Henry David Thoreau said at the end of another century: “Men have become the tools of their tools.” I feared that we sometimes did things just because we could, not be-cause they were right. Had the digital disruption turned into a digital dis-traction?

But now I believe we are on the cusp of an even more promising period

of industry development, a period where the lessons we learned during the creative revolution about craft and storytelling with emotion and humor will combine with the tools and data brought to us by the digital disruption. For want of a better label I’m calling this new period “The Ultimate Revela-tion.” (To me it sounds kind of pro-phetic, even biblical.)

And what will be revealed in the ulti-mate revelation? Among other things it will become quite clear that there is a profound divide between creating a buzz and creating a brand. There’s an important difference between a one-off stunt and an enduring brand story. There’s a difference between an algorithm and an insight into human nature and between mere contact and true connection. Finally, there’s a wide gulf between big data and a big idea.

There will be other truths revealed in the years ahead. More than ever, brands will need authentic and com-pelling stories that are told consistently across all points of engagement. We’ll learn again as we learned with the ad-vertorials of an earlier time that native advertising compromises the integrity of both brands and media. It will also be revealed that media strategy and creative strategy need to come back together, and words like “digital” and “traditional” will lose their meaning. They will blend into one word called “advertising,” the art of connecting brands with people.

I could be wrong about all this, of course. To borrow a line from Oscar Wilde, “I am not young enough to know everything.”

Keith Reinhard (@kreatividad) is the chairman emeritus of DDB Worldwide.



Web design is BIG business

2015 March TCNAToday

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