Survey Says... - September 2006
It’s true and we all know it. The newspaper world has a host of “dirty little secrets” which regularly get swept under our collective industry rug with the hope that no one will notice.
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What If? - August 2006
Whether you believe the future of the newspaper industry is "so bright we've got to wear shades" or mired in an inexorable decline towards irrelevance, there's one series of questions every Publisher should be asking her or himself...
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Snippets - July 2006
Consider these a very random collection of thoughts, reactions, observations or ideas which bubbled to the collective Belden consciousness during recent client presentations or as a result of attendance at the Mid-Year Media Review or the NAA Growing Audience conference in early June.
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BIG BETS - June 2006
Here's a reality that undoubtedly falls in the "things that keep Publishers up at night" category...very soon - in the next few years at the most - newspapers are going to have to place some very big bets on their strategic direction!
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Stop the Madness! - May 2006
The plan for this edition of In the Know had been to continue with ideas, suggestions and observations that had emerged from several conferences and client discussions, but the situation warrants a change of pace. A RADICAL ONE...The time has come for the newspaper industry to stop being it's own worst enemy!
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On the Fly - April 2006
Consider this a "download" of ideas, conversations,
suggestions, opinions and even hearsay from the last
few weeks. Most of the content a function of the NAA
Publisher's/NEXPO or INMA World Congress
conferences.
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More Than a Medium - March 2006
Not long ago I hurried to the airport, heading to deliver
a client presentation the next morning. While in the
airport lounge I got one of those sinking feelings
everyone is familiar with and, indeed, had left my
laptop power cord right where it belonged, plugged in
to my office power outlet.
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Everyone Sells! - February 2006
Many have heard the suggestion that everyone is
a salesman! Most would dismiss such a blanket
statement as pure balderdash; but, we think it is much
closer to the truth and should be a part of newspapers'
distinct marketing strategy and advantage.
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Ignore Your Budget - January 2006
Not once in the last 60+ Belden newsletters (over 5
years!) has there been an outright sales pitch. Hints,
subliminal suggestions and encouragement to invest in
more research have abounded, but nary an offer to
buy. We're making an exception this one time, so
please indulge us - this is too
important!
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Christmas Debt - December 2005
Last month's In the Know promised a
conclusion to our newspaper/market SWOT analysis...a
veritable research cliffhanger! It's promising
news...
You'll recall Belden had been engaged to conduct
multiple (4) internal focus groups/SWOT (strength-
weakness-opportunity-threat) analyses for a mid sized
paper, and then to compare those with the feedback
from visiting with 30 - 40 advertiser's, community
leaders, and random "person-on-the-street"
interviews.
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Synchronized Ubiquity - November 2005
Huh?
What is that?
First of all, it's our way of piquing your curiosity. This
is another one of those newsletters which is a
smorgasbord of ideas and notions we've either seen or
wondered about as we've criss-crossed the
countryside. We hope there's at least the kernel of a
good idea buried within these 800 words. You decide...
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What A Good Idea! (Make that two...) - October 2005
Belden is in the last phase of a very worthwhile and
fascinating engagement. While we cannot share
specifics, here are the basics - See what you think...
A well respected midsized newspaper wanted to
conduct an internal assessment of their perceived
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as
viewed by multiple internal groups and then compare
those to the perception of market advertisers and
community leaders. The goal? To identify, then bridge
any gaps between the direction our client was headed
and the market perception of the newspaper
direction.
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Tomorrow's Research - September 2005
Belden DOES have a sense of where market
research is headed in the years to come, but what we
really hope this issue of In The Know
accomplishes is to get reactions and feedback from
YOU that communicate us what you want to
understand about audiences in the near and longer
term.
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Sooner or Later - August 2005
It's budget time in many organizations, so NOW is the
perfect time to plant what we hope ends up being very
fertile research seeds which just happen to have the
incredibly short germination cycle.
The sense of urgency is twofold:
- Some of the issues we'll mention have been on the
minds (and, even asked about) of our advertising
clients for ages.
- We're running out of time!
CAVEAT: Whether these are tempting research
subjects or not, now truly IS the time to act. As
much as it pains us to say so, we'd MUCH RATHER see
our clients and the industry TAKE STEPS or ROLL OUT
NEW or REACT IMMEDIATELY or JUST DO SOMETHING,
than conduct time consuming research and neglect to
act upon the findings.
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SDREAMING CONSCIOUSNESS - July 2005
We cannot help it! Engagement after presentation
after fieldwork after conference after brainstorming
session after strategic planning retreat we encounter
oodles of ideas and notions that all seem to have
merit. Just like there's no such thing as a bad
question, maybe the same can be said of ideas?
Here's a newsletter full of 'em - you decide if any
have even a kernel of goodness ...and, heaven forbid,
how to execute against any?!
Good luck...
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Awash in Opportunities - June 2005
In conversations and conferences and interactions
over the past few months, it seems as if the BIGGEST
challenge our newspaper industry faces is prioritizing
opportunities in a way that will yield the most return.
Not necessarily an easy thing to do when so much
seems so promising.
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The Future is Already Here - May 2005
See if you don't find this a fascinating juxtaposition?
During the recent NAA Publisher's meeting there was
an interesting, well-attended session on classified
advertising. It was very well done. No ground
breaking news, but it clearly focused all attendees on
how much has been lost and how much is at risk (the
number $4 Billion was cited) if we fail to embrace the
internet as the PRIMARY tool for the aggregation,
distribution, and search for all our classified verticals.
Digital is in!
But, get this!! At just about the same time, a wisp of
white smoke wafted out of the Sistine Chapel to let
the world know Pope Benedict XVI had been chosen.
Guess how the Publisher's of the land learned of this
breaking news?
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Observations From Seemingly Everywhere - April 2005
In the last two weeks, we've interacted with dozens of
people at both the NAA Marketing Conference
and at the Pacific Area Newspaper Publisher's
Association Ad Forum (PANPA).
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Ideas Redux - March 2005
The newsletters which have repeatedly generated the
most reaction - emails, comments, calls - are those
which report IDEAS we've encountered in our travels
or hinted at in Belden research engagements. Since
we're coming up on the NAA Marketing Conference we
fully expect this and the next edition will be full
of notions to ponder. We look forward to your
feedback!
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The Time is Now - February 2005
Suspend disbelief for a few minutes if you can and
imagine the unlimited potential (ok, that's a bit
hyperbolic)...the very real opportunity if newspapers
once and for all proved their value as a
branding medium.
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You Say Want a Resolution? - January 2005
With a mid month publishing cycle, New Year's
resolutions in January might already be
somewhat dated, but Belden Associates' resolutions,
along with several client undertakings are worth
mentioning.
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Ideas II - November 2004
There’s been very little feedback or reaction to the previous newsletter suggesting more ideas and more failures and a greater pace would be a good thing for news “papering”. We’re either on to something or everyone is hard at work implementing their latest and greatest ideas and don’t have time for discussion. No other possible explanations come to mind!
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Ideas I - October 2004
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.
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Heart Over Mind - September 2004
Over the past several days I've been gathering
material for upcoming Belden Associates
presentations. In a significant percentage of the work
there's one recurring theme which should be on
everyone's mind...
...how important the heart is in winning
customer loyalty!!
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You Want to Measure What? - August 2004
With so much valuable research available – both proprietary and secondary – there’s a very real “paralysis-by-analysis” trap to avoid. Are you successfully doing so?
This is the time of the year multiple studies are in the midst of questionnaire design as we anticipate fall interviewing. In a few cases, this is a first time questionnaire in search of any number of market insights. We’re able to apply the best of Belden and client thinking to seek answers to prioritized issues.
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Viva la Difference - July 2004
Many out there know the title on my business card is
C.I.A.O. That stands for Chief
Imagination and Acceleration
Officer. Now, what the heck do you suppose
that means?
There IS a reason - and, even a legitimate story
behind such a funky title...
...upon arriving at Belden Associates, we conducted a
traditional S.W.O.T. analysis. The only twist was that
we identified the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats of both the newspaper industry
and Belden.
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Culture Clash - June 2004
This is really intriguing. And, maybe an
additional reason for optimism. See what you
think...
In the past two months Belden Associates has visited
several individual newspapers or newspaper
organizations headquarters and the subject which
came up the most and certainly evoked the greatest
interest and most heated discussion was
CULTURE.
There's a growing understanding of how bad things
really are...of how much work needs to be done to fix
change resistant organizations...of how QUICKLY things
need to happen...and, of the consequences of inaction.
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Eyes & Ears - May 2004
Travel for the Officers and Project Directors here is
pretty routine. However, it isn't too often we're
attending back-to-back-to-back conferences. Since
we just returned from Washington, D.C. and the New
Readers and Revenues, Readership, Publisher's and
Editor's conferences, it just made sense we act as
your "eyes and ears" and share notions, tidbits, ideas,
general impressions and any insights we gleaned.
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Take Responsibility - April 2004
Think back to your early sales days (even if you didn’t have early sales experience this should resonate) and remember when that “so and so” advertiser didn’t buy what you thought was a slam dunk, can’t miss campaign?! What could that knucklehead have been thinking?? Doesn’t she know newspaper is far better than [TV, radio, outdoor… fill in the blank] anything else being contemplated? I simply cannot believe HE didn’t buy!?!
We occasionally feel the same way. It’s hard to believe when a prospect (or, even existing customer, ugh) invests in research from a source other than Belden. Tell me it ain’t so! Sometimes it’s, a syndicated product, perhaps budget was an issue, there are times a prospect has a great, enviable relationship with another newspaper partner, and, yes, there are times corporate headquarters suggests tighter expense management, and research and/or training are the first to be eliminated from any budget.
Something must be wrong with those guys…
That’s NOT the case at all!
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Break It Anyway - March 2004
Everyone knows the axiom, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, it's WRONG! Very.
Certainly as it applies to the newspaper industry, it is.
And, let us state right off the bat, as a partner to the industry we include ourselves as members of a broken industry.
Yes, margins might be returning... continue
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More is Better - February 2004
Generalizations are great, aren't they? It is so easy to lump people, issues, opinions or just about anything else in to a category and be done with it. It takes little time. Minimal thought. And, one typically won’t "upset any apple carts", slay any dragons, shift a paradigm or disappoint a boss by espousing generalizations.
As it applies to research, the generalization More Is Better appliesin spades!
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Research Innovation - January 2004
In last months In The Know we mentioned the exhortation of Rooms To Go founder, Mort Seaman, that advertising be more innovative. No doubt a worthy goal.
But, shouldn’t that also apply to any research being conducted to drive both strategic decisions within newspapers and the ways in which advertising departments are interacting and responding to their customers? That certainly makes sense... continue
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Common Themes - December 2003
Several recent events have reinforced Belden thinking and seem appropriate year-end observations. However, as these words make their way from laptop to In The Know template to email and web, just about all seem to be of a recurring nature. See if you agree... continue |
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Comfort Zones - September 2003
Several recent events – some significant; others minor – have caused many here to think about the pitfalls of getting too comfortable... continue |
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From the Heart - August 2003
Through the years in newspaper sales and research, I've added to the list of the characteristics that make up the very best sales people - continue |
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Ask, Then LISTEN - June 2003
A marketer who knows far more than anyone around here once said, "Give customers more of what they say they want and less of what you think they need."continue |
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Say That Again??? - April 2003
I’ve had the pleasure of addressing several newspaper groups or organizations lately (… these really are GREAT fun!) and have been given a fair amount of latitude regarding the topic...continue |
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Are You Kidding Me??? - February 2003
It doesn’t happen all that often – probably once or twice each year – nevertheless, when a client occasionally invests the time and dollars to complete proprietary research and then does little or nothing with the findings, that’s exactly how we react...continue |
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When in Doubt - ACT - January 2003
Don’t know how else to say this - It’s true here at Belden Associates and we’ve heard it countless times in the last several weeks –“…no matter what happens during this holiday season, we’re more uncertain of what the New Year holds than any other time we can recall!...continue |
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Partner Observations - December 2002
In the last few months we’ve encountered several issues that could be described as promising. We’d like to share not only because you might agree, but when viewed collectively, it appears there really is good news out there…
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Point of View - November 2002
Don’t know how else to say this - Belden Associates is working on a host of very cool assignments right now. In the past year we’ve conducted research from Alaska to Florida on projects ranging from classified advertising to weekend package structure to newspaper design to branding to pass along readership...
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Communicate...why? - October 2002
At Belden Associates, we approach new teammates with this request: "Even though new, your eyes and ears are the most valuable ones we have... at least for a while!"
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Helpful Hints for the Small Research Department - September 2002
Many papers understand the value of research yet have little in-house help to analyze and distribute information to clients both internal and external.
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Market Research: A Valuable Business Investment (Not an Expense!) - August 2002
Market research should be a valuable tool to drive more appealing products or services greater velocity, increased sales potential, and reduced costs.
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Opportunities Galore - July 2002
Perhaps it's because more notable personalities have predicted newspapering doom before, but it comes as a bit of a surprise more attention hasn't been paid to recent comments of Eric Scheirer of Forrester Research.
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Ideas – Where are They? - June 2002
We’ve all heard an industry speaker or colleague proclaim, "…there are no NEW ideas, just
old one’s repackaged in new ways."
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Now is the Time - May 2002
There are a few this newsletter is distributed to who will remember the Steve Martin routine in which
he boasts how one can pay NO taxes on a million dollars. First, he knowingly tells the audience,
"Get a million dollars!" Then, when the IRS audits you later, sheepishly reply, "I f-or-g-o-t!"
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Diversity in the Marketplace - April 2002
¿Se habla espanol? Bueno! Then you’ll have a definite marketing advantage as a result of Hispanics growth.
Over the past few years, the population of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States has grown dramatically,
with a 58% increase from 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000.
HERE
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To RBS or not to RBS - March 2002
Clients and prospects large and small are asking about the value of the Reader Behavior Score (RBS)
developed by the Readership Institute. Should they measure or not? How can it be done inexpensively?
What to do once they have it? The list goes on…
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Crystal Ball Gazing - February 2002
The inclination around here is to WAIT ‘til the year has started to look at trends, forecasts or
even think about resolutions – year-end is entirely TOO busy! So, where are we headed? And, what
hints at that direction?...
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Pre-research - January 2002
The decision to conduct research can be boiled down to urgency of objectives and available funding.
Consider these steps and thoughts regarding planning…
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It's Showtime - November 2001
Newspapers tell us linage is down from movie theaters and studios. Have you armed your sales force
calling on individual movie theaters, movie chains and studios with something specific to talk
about…information to reinforce the value of movie advertising?...
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Research As An Investment - October 2001
Many will recall the television advertising campaign of 20 or so years ago with Victor Kiam telling
viewers he "…liked the Remington Electric razor so much, that he bought the company!"...
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Survey Shows Positive Effect… - September 2001
The second Sales and Web Site Survey for newspapers is complete. Survey data were collected from eight
different newspaper sites ranging in size from three top-thirty markets (including major markets in
Pennsylvania and California) to several smaller markets in the Northwest.
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Questionnaire Design - August 2001
We all understand that research consists of gathering useful information to help analyze
content or brand, capture consumer behavior, understand our market, increase sales, track
results, etc. It plays an increasingly important role in our rapidly evolving industry.
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Challenges in the Newspaper Industry - July 2001
In today's economy, many newspapers are challenged with steady or declining readership, and
faced with little or no growth in advertising revenues. First quarter results show actual
declines in most major categories. Competition in many markets has continued to grow.
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Strengthening Client Relationships… - June 2001
Making calls with a member of the market research staff is an excellent way for account
executives to distribute and explain new research information to clients. It can also
improve and build upon the relationship...both external and internal*.
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Ad Slowdown = Opportunity - May 2001
Are commitments to marketing and promotion considered a "discretionary expense?" Do they
fall into the "first things to be postponed category" during any economic slowdown? Be careful,
you could be playing into the hands of some of your most dangerous competitors.
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Building the Newspaper Brand - April 2001
Building and properly managing brand equity is a top priority for newspapers.
The key first step is to assess the Brand's particular strengths and weaknesses objectively.
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Digital Déjà vu - March 2001
No doubt readers are familiar with the "man on the street" interview of days gone by or know
that such interviewing techniques are common in other countries. For example, in Mexico,
polling takes place at the household since telephone penetration hovers at 10%...it's the best option.
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Mechanics and Tools in Building.. - February 2001
2000 brought us many new tools - that always means many new challenges...multiple questions,
lots of confusion and maybe even a bit of anxiety. What is this gadget? What does it do? How
can it help ME? Digital what? It seems a whole new world of buzzwords like "integration", "convergence"...
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Convergence - January 2001
The most common question we get about convergence is "just what is convergence?"
The best answer is that Convergence is an absolute necessity. It is a must-do and a
"you better have already started it" kind of priority...
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Real Research…Real Results - December 2000
An increasing percentage - 60% already - of Belden projects include an Internet component. In some cases,
a few questions are merely tacked on at the new media manager's insistence. In others, a comprehensive
menu of variables is examined.
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Let's Get Excited About Newspapers - November 2000
On the heels of a very interesting results presentation to the attendees of the NSA Client
Conference we'd like to share some of those highlights...
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Teenagers: Opportunities for Newspapers - October 2000
Recent research Belden conducted for the NAA Teen$eek project and ongoing research among teens for the
Providence Journal prove newspapers are sitting on a gold mine, yet don't seem to realize it...
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Time to Change - September 2000
The newspaper industry faces plenty of challenges. The decrease in readership amongst all
demographic groups has caused the industry to pay more attention to what's going on in their
market and in readers' minds. Terrific!
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Exploiting Internet Opportunities - August 2000
The eventual ubiquity of the Internet in American homes poses many unique challenges -
and opportunities - for the newspaper industry...
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Why Research - July 2000
From our perspective it seems terribly obvious that research ought to be the lifeblood
of many day-to-day and strategic decisions at newspapers.
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What Advertisers Are Telling….Part 1 - June 2000
The relationship between advertiser and newspaper is no longer one of sales reps taking orders
and newspapers displaying ads. Advertisers now see the newspaper as a partner to grow their
business.
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What Advertisers Are Telling….Part 2 - May 2000
Beyond reducing advertising rates, what could make a difference in advertisers' satisfaction
with their advertising investment in daily and Sunday newspapers? Where do newspapers need
to focus attention and resources to improve the perception of value?
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Circulation Marketing
Continuing downward trends in newspaper readership and circulation penetration in many
markets have created increased demand for strategic research to investigate how to better
market and position the daily newspaper in an increasingly competitive media environment.
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Topics That are Read
A passage from the new Media General corporate plan, entitled, "Media General in Migration,"
emphasizes the point that only the strong will survive in the newspaper industry -
and in business in general - in this new marketplace. The plan quotes a Michael Crichton novel,
"The Lost World," in which Crichton explores the reasons why dinosaurs are extinct.
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