Syracuse's The Daily Orange Newspaper Research & Strategy Presentation
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WHAT IS OUR OBJECTIVE? • Determine why students are not reading The Daily Orange • Determine ways to increase student readership • Determine what changes can be made to the paper to facilitate this increase in readership THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
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The Daily Orange is the only independent student newspaper in the city of Syracuse, New York. Our team was tasked with finding the sources behind their declining readership. We were also tasked with uncovering and strategizing ways to increase readership among non Newhouse & non Whitman students (those two departments have the highest rate of readership). Our team conducted significant primary and secondary research among the Syracuse student body, including focus groups, quantitative studies, category analysis, etc. We found, in general, that few students go out of their way to pick of a Daily Orange newspaper. The majority of students read the paper when they have a few minutes of free time, and the paper happens to be within a few feet of where they're sitting. We also found, as we predicted, that students were almost universal in their likeliness to pick up a Daily Orange newspaper if they knew, ahead of time, about an article or section that would highly be of interest. Students also believed the paper is affiliated with Syracuse University (it isn't) and viewed the paper as a channel for writing experience instead of a hard-nosed paper with journalistic integrity because of it.
Transcript of Syracuse's The Daily Orange Newspaper Research & Strategy Presentation
WHAT IS OUR OBJECTIVE? • Determine why students are not
reading The Daily Orange
• Determine ways to increase student readership
• Determine what changes can be made to the paper to facilitate this increase in readership
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
WHAT WILL WE TALK ABOUT? • Newspaper Structure and
Consistency
• Engagement
• Content
• Events
• Branding and Sponsorships
• Changes
• Future Research
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
What Does the Daily Orange Stand For?
• Gap in perception versus reality
• Overwhelming majority of students believe the paper is affiliated with Syracuse University
• Is it for students, or the city?
• The paper needs to decide on the focus so it can better represent that focus. It can’t be all things to all demographics because the needs of a college paper vs a city paper are completely different
• Too many readers believe the purpose is writing experience vs. journalistic superiority
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
The Daily Orange on Campus Every student knows about The Daily Orange. But few students actually care about The Daily Orange.
How do you change something like that?
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
What Do Readers See When They See The Daily Orange?
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
The Logo What’s inside
Half the cover story Sometimes a picture
Half an infographic
What Do Readers See When They See The Daily Orange?
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
The Logo What’s inside
Half the cover story Sometimes a picture
Half an infographic
They don’t see the full description of the cover story
All we see is a picture
All we see is a picture
All we see is half an infographic
All we see is a picture
All we see is half a drawing
What Do Readers See When They See The Daily Orange?
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
They don’t see the full description of the cover story
You must make an executive decision. Either place all copies of the paper open face up, so that everyone can see the entire cover story, or make changes to the top half to that, when folded in half, the cover story and image are clearly visible.
NEWSPAPER STRUCTURE • Consistency in layout, structure,
and headings
• The article most likely to entice students to pick up the paper should be on the front page with engaging title and image
• Make sure full title/image of front page article can be seen if paper folded in half
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
A Calendar
• A weekly calendar
• 7 day calendar that begins on Monday and is a preview of the weeks events
• This is important. Students want to see what’s going on before they begin planning their week. They want incorporate these events into their schedule
• More than just 1-2 events per day
• Overwhelming support among respondents
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
Engagement • Use passive action verbs and
words
• Tell me, in the headline, what the article is about.
• Continuity for article title + “see ____ page 4.
• Mini info/summary boxes in the corner of longer stories.
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
• Headline each section
• The “what’s inside” portion of every day's paper changes from day-to-day. Make this uniform. Have the “what’s inside” header include a summary or teaser of one article from each section of the paper
• Color code each section to make it easily identifiable and recognizable
• Themed days? People didn’t know which days have what theme. Make this clear so students have something to look forward to.
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
Increasing Readership • Anything that involves students on campus
• On campus interviews/questionnaires
• E.g. ask a question to random students, print their picture and their answer. This should be a daily occurrence
• 4/10 students read The Daily Orange once a week or less
• 100% of students would pick up the Daily Orange if they were featured in the paper or knew someone who was
• Take the paper to the student
• Few students pick up the paper when they enter the building. Most pick up the paper when it happens to be wherever they’re sitting. And if they have a few minutes of free time, they may pick it up and read it
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
Brand “The Daily Orange” • Sponsor campus activities
• Students could play with dogs on the campus green to relax from the rigors of finals. Sponsoring events like this will familiarize students with The Daily Orange as a brand. It will humanize the brand and put you on the way to making them care about the paper.
• Partnerships with campus organizations and campus reps for giveaways and to engage readers. E.g. a partnership with Victoria’s Secret where readers would have to find the VS code in the DO, and enter code online for a chance at a free gift card.
• Better branded newsstands. There are too many students who don’t know where to get the DO. Make it easy on them. Additionally, if affordable, cease placing advertisements on your stands. People see the advertisements but not the DO branding. They assume it’s just an advert and not a DO stand.
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
Consumer Recommendations • No More Weather?
• Yes, no more weather
• 0% got weather from paper
• 100% Phone/internet
• Ditch “From The Morgue” title
• Respondents thought it was an obituary section
• Found the obituary concept depressing
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
The Next Step • Consider a complete graphic redesign (possible consultant: Sherri Taylor)
• Further research
• Place questionnaires on the DO website (for easy sample) asking about improvements the readers would like
• Have Guest writers e.g. invite a famous alumni to write an article about something important to them solely and specifically for DO publication. Or have famous alumni or important professor be a guest editor for the day/week.
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
Take Aways • Be less vague
• Uniform layout/content structure
• More campus/student involvement
• Brand yourself
• Make the people care about you
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
