I have a friend who has started eight businesses in the last 25 years. He's been in everything from Mopeds to Publishing. By most measures, every single one has failed. A few outright, but others were bought or transitioned in to very distinct variations of his founding vision.

The point? There are two:

1. The notion that ideas are a dime-a- dozen and the real key is execution is completely correct!

2. No matter what, IDEAS, innovation or creativity, or whatever you call it remain the lubricant that drive business. Even in failure, things are learned, people and companies pay taxes, inventions get tweaked or services modified to better serve customers. Setting aside the sometimes difficult human part of the equation, ideas are a good thing.

That is the basis for this newsletter. Here are approximately 800 words worth of ideas, notions and observations. Yes, some will fall into the "half-baked" category, and some are no doubt little more than yeast, so let your conscience decide.

Disclaimers:

• Caveat Emptor. Not saying any are good or bad. They are just ideas. Some from right here in Beldenland and others heard during travels, conferences or in working with the dozens of Belden clients seeking new solutions. Please contact us for additional insights to any one; or, reject one soundly, so we can celebrate another successful failure.

• Apologies in advance if some of these don't get the attribution they deserve (or are trying to avoid).

• As the title implies, there will be more. If the premise is correct and "ideas" and "innovation" are good, share your best and we'll pass them along.

• Lastly, DO NOT rely solely on other ideas and "best practices". That is a recipe for oblivion. Doing nothing more leads to mediocrity.

See what you think...

...Glossy newsprint for fashion sections and/or fashion ads. How long have advertiser's hidden behind the "we cannot get magazine-like reproduction, so we won't advertise in newspapers" excuse...and, how long will we let them?

Right here in Dallas, the Morning News ran their Fashion Section three weeks ago in an entirely glossy newsprint and zoned this to their highest demos (approximately one quarter of total distribution) and according to one editor, readers love it and advertisers are "snapping it up!"

(By the way, this happens all the time overseas.) And, since I've mentioned this recently, I have learned of a few others doing it, but why not more??

...What about an ALL subscription product? This is really an intriguing notion - - as important as advertising is, would special niches pay for the right advertising-free content delivered monthly? And, could the internet be used to minimize distribution costs? The answer is yes. There's already a magazine group called Reiman Publications doing just that! Multiple titles like Quick Cooking, Birds & Blooms and Country Woman (there are 10 or so altogether) have a huge following. There's a there there. I'd love to see someone run with it...

...Getting away from content for a minute, what would happen if we completely rethought the newspaper rack? Think about such radical notions as dispensing change? Accepting credit cards? Constructed so that promotional cards or copy could be displayed on all four sides? And, what about incorporating sound (Hypersonic Sound application?) to entice single copy buyers? And, in a related way, other countries are successfully selling subscriptions, yet allowing commuters to pick up their copy at a newsstand. That wouldn't apply in most markets, yet could be great in a selected few.

...I have heard there are some doing this, so let me know where - the newspaper creates and facilitates the conversation between teachers and parents for schools. Use the internet in a way it can provide splendid value and allow homework assignments to be published or snow days to be announced or anything to be emailed so there is more communication between the two. I can think of plenty of obstacles, sure, but the benefits seem to far outweigh the challenges. Perhaps most importantly, there's little doubt we could find the right "sponsor" (plural?) to fund the entire enterprise.

...Can imbedded advertising work in a newspaper? Research on product placement in TV and movies suggest there is far more recall or awareness. There are a host of "church and state" reasons not to even countenance the discussion, but maybe there is a way? It's easy to envision a full page "watermark" ad bordering on subliminal, but being very effective.

...If PVR's (TiVo, ReplayTV and the like) really upend the business model of television, should newspapers find a way to partner with TiVo to accelerate this disruptive innovation? It seems worth a test at the very least. I can envision a package of subscription services joining paper and TiVo service in a way which could bring additional added value (and opportunity to upsell) to readers, viewers and advertisers.

That's it from the present...

More next month.

It would be wonderful if In The Know readers emailed me back with comments, questions, or better yet, their own ideas for distribution. With or without attribution...you let us know. I look forward to learning what you think.