Roundtable on Strategic
Marketing
Leon Levitt
VP/Digital media
Cox Newspapers
Changing Media Landscape
Up against HUGE lifestyle headwinds
Expectation that news/information is free
Way people get news and information- graze many different sources
Broadband is changing the game and has a big impact on newspapers
Wireless broadband will become ubiquities and along with thinner/cheaper laptops changes the way we must tune our sites
National competitors entering local markets
Changing Media Landscape
MSNBC and Yahoo News each have 26M UV and 16% reach (NYT 6.9 UV and 4.2% reach)
Google… $5B revenue, 300% growth, 35% margins
Ebay… Profitable from day one
AOL moving to a more free based model
Everyone launching better search (MSN in game)
RSS feeds allow us to be aggregated
Online 2005 retail sales up 22%, $172B
5.5% ALL non travel retail sales moved online
Changing Media Landscape
Real Estate… Who knows? What will the
industry look like?
Monster… Nearing $1B in revenue (only
20% $6B help wanted moved online)
Craig's List… Business model virus!
Roll of aggregators (Indeed, Oodle)
How we WIN….
Alignment print ad online business models & strategy
Aggregation of audience, driving online past 7-day market share and extending incremental reach (we will win)
Reengage youth (not all eyeballs are equal- fresh sockets!)
All about local audience (Differentiator)
Managing supply and demand (broadcast model)
Sales and business plans drive technology
Urgent focus on revenue transition from print to online (classified, retail, its just like Sunday)
Changing Media Landscape
Changing Media Landscape
MUST GET THE MESSAGE OUT…
While print is declining the aggregate portfolio, in many cases, is increasing market share
NP sites in July- 115M UV (Yahoo, MSNBC, CNN) combined 70M UV
Not just online, many other print products
Trade Associations, media companies much more aggressive in positioning the issue
Monster is the example
Aggregation of Audience
AJC print past 7-day reach is 51% (Scarborough)
AJC.com sites extend reach to 56% (10% bump!)
223,000 online only readers
Backfill younger demographics
Past 7-Day is gold standard
OPA project (5 vendors, different methodology)
Changing Media Landscape Business Model Alignment
E & P headline: Internet broadband growth <insert word> newspaper circulation…
Cox Philosophy
More than just a newspaper site (different medium)
Produce and tune for broadband (integrate video and interactivity)
Link content, convenience (utility), conversation
Aggregate before being aggregated (RSS)
Develop comprehensive best in class search
Produce & play into trends / Pockets of passion
Determine and own franchise topics (prep sports versus NFL, MLB…)
Reinforce local-local differentiators (think micro)
Own breaking news (back in that game)
Cox Philosophy
Think like users / Shout versus whisper
Make better decisions using “overnights”
Content that drives revenue (not all journalism)
Credibility is not the same as news judgment
Difference in edited/non-edited content (user
generate content and blogs)
Daypart content plans (broadcast model)
Airline or roller coaster (depends on time of day)
Must provide impact for advertiser
All about local audience
User Engagement
Study
Online Publishers Association (OPA)
Satisfaction
Satisfaction Engagement
Top Usage Drivers 1. Entertains & absorbs
me
2. Looks out for people like me
3. My personal timeout
4. Regular part of my day
5. A credible, safe place
6. Connects me with others
7. Touches me and expands my views
8. Makes me smarter
9. Turned on by ads
10. Easy to use
11. Helps and improves me
12. Worth saving and sharing
Unique to “Online”
Entertains and absorbs me
Connects me with others
Tailored for me
Guides me to other media
A way to fill my time
My guilty pleasure
Tries to persuade me
OPA User Project
Helps me feel smarter
I don’t want to be embarrassed
Helps me be clever, have the scoops, be
king of the water cooler
Gives me a dose of fun and serendipity
Use of Online Data
Registration versus non-registration (rich data
versus widest audience)
Ads/registration- user consideration in free model
ZAG versus full registration
Behavioral targeting (market size)
Plan on how to use!
Opt-in email
Linkage to newspaper subscribers
AJC.com Consolidated Sites
June- 3M unique visitors
June- 61.7M page views
Registered users- 30.5M page views (49%)
NDMA- 21.7M (71% of registered users and track
by county or ZIP)
Nonsubscribers- 24M (80% of reg users)
Registered users- 1.4M profiles
Active registered users- 465K past 30 days /
260K past 7 days (167K in NDMA)
Changing Media Landscape
Do we understand a very different business model? – Different news judgment and one revenue stream
How do we transition revenue across a federation of verticals (especially retail)?
Do we manage or push print erosion? (eyeballs versus dollars)
How will people’s info needs change in a world of wireless broadband & cheap/thin laptops?
How can we create strategic and business alignment across all of our products?
We must prioritize and reconcile what is cool with a sustainable business model
Changing Media Landscape
Content management systems/strategy
– Single positing efficiency (edited)
– Seamless blending user generated non-edited
content
Comprehensive search
Web order entry
Control of distribution
Sale structures and accountability
Changing Media Landscape
Tougher times… online is a big part of the
revenue answer… 40% revenue growth can
juice the overall enterprise!
Much of NP YOY revenue growth driven by
online (in some cases 70%)
Building a new asset!
Roundtable on Strategic
Marketing
Leon Levitt
VP/Digital media
Cox Newspapers
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