Answers from Michael H. Tandrup, CCI

newspaper techniques: What should a newspaper offer as 'state of the art' service (in terms of process) to the ad buyer?

Michael H. Tandrup: The purpose of advertising in newspapers is to generate and maximise a response to the product/service/event that an advertiser is selling/branding. It is a simple statement, but it is one that cuts to the heart of the question ‘what should a newspaper offer as state-of-the-art service to the ad buyer.’

In our experience news organisations are constantly looking for ways to
keep the customer at the centre of their universe. They know that by
attracting the right reader that they can attract the right advertiser.
Therefore as the habits of the consumers change, and they are changing
exponentially with the increasing sense of being loyal only to oneself
constantly coming to the fore, news providers are finding delivery options
that mirror these habits. And paying for these developments are the ad
buyers who in turn reap the rewards of unbelievable accuracy in targeting
consumers and also an increasing ability to see a definite ROI for their
advertising dollar/euro/etc.

Part of keeping the customer at the centre of their universe is finding
out as much information as they can about their customers. To that end
many news organisation are looking for sophisticated technology to allow
for the collection, storage and retrieval of consumer data. Every time an
ad buyer books an ad, a goldmine of information is collected and grows
over time.

Ad buyers are demanding easier ways to do business with news
organisations, so the traditional barriers that existed in booking ads in
newspapers (differing formats, differing systems, differing ad specs,
differing deadlines and general inconsistencies across markets -
especially for national campaigns) are slowly being torn down as the
industry consolidates and more channels are added to traditional sources.

So what does all this mean in practice?

We have found that many newspapers believe that establishing an effective
web order entry (WOE) portal will allow them to service an ad buyer more efficiently. The idea of giving ad buyers meaningful (not just
superficial) access to the ad buying process at a time that is convenient
to them obviously creates a service-oriented approach that newspapers, in particular, had been unable to effectively provide with limited call centre hours.

Some might not consider this to be state-of-the-art, but if you took a sample from the top 20 newspapers in any given market you will most likely find several newspapers that do not offer genuine WOE services, so for many even this rudimentary solution is a good first step.

We have heard through various sources that larger agencies are not likely
to use individual WebOrderEntry systems, but having industry-wide
XML-based exchange standards such as e.g. AdConnexion, AdsML will reduce the anomalies between systems and facilitate quicker and more improved business transactions, as well as improve the customer satisfaction.

Ad buyers are also taking advantage of the zoning capabilities offered by
most newspapers. As zoning becomes more granular via state-of-the-art technology, news organisations can offer advertisers target demographics and be assured that they can actually deliver on those promises.

According to some national advertisers in countries like the U.S.A., inserts, rather than display ads, have been the most effective way to reach
well-defined target audiences. Insert technology has allowed advertisers to advertise down to the individual mailbox at cheaper rates than a standard display ad.

nt: What is frequently asked by your customers (in terms of development), tools they would need for the future?

M. Tandrup: Several large news organisations are investing in
technologies that will give them that micro control over their
distribution, which in turn they will use to lure ad buyers.

Some news organisations are looking at better ways to benchmark their
online operations. Given that there are very few standardised ways of
measuring click-throughs or impressions in comparison to the stringent guidelines for auditing print circulations. So technology that can help establish credibility amongst advertisers for products outside of the
newspaper is also crucial.

Speaking of products outside the traditional newspaper, we have heard from an increasing number of newspapers who are seeing the printed product more as a niche product rather than a mass media, despite often increasingly higher circulation figures. This means that many of our business partners are developing products that reach ‘non-traditional’ readers. Again newspapers are wanting vendors to provide them with technology that gives them the agility to launch new products (while maintaining corporate processes), using re-purposed content.

Of course from CCI Europe's perspective we are often asked by news
organization for technology that can simplify the booking process and not
just for the printed product, but also electronic media such as internet
banners. Many newspapers still require you to talk to two-three different departments in order to book a multiple media package consisting of classified, ROP and internet advertising. Radio and TV spots will only add to this complexity, therefore pre-converged technology is going to be essential. By pre-converged technology, we mean systems that have convergence as a focus from their development (like CCI AdDesk Sales) and not tacked on as an afterthought like some systems on the market.

Another technical innovation that news organizations are looking to
provide ad buyers is an increase in the automation of E-mail and
electronic services and more real-time interaction with advertisers (order confirmations, proofs, re-solicitation at/before ad expiry, billing, etc.). One thing that newspapers ask for that relates to technology, but perhaps only implicitly to the ad buyer, is better control over their
financial system. News organisations are hoping to reduce the time from
order to payment, while eliminating errors, again automation is the key.
For example: e-invoicing, e-tearsheets, and e-payment.

Some news organizations are actually changing their advertising paradigms
to be more media neutral, forgoing the traditional rate structure in
favour of modules. For example a full page ad may cost the same if it is
run in a broadsheet or tabloid as the response to the ad is the same.

Technology is a funny beast, what is state-of-the-art to some is now second nature to others. We see a great deal of new and innovative ideas evolving from traditional newspapers (e-paper in particular is one that will only grow in strength over time) and of course technology is the platform to make these dreams a reality.

In general advertising has always been all about servicing the customer's
needs. Many newspapers have sales staff that has all a customer's history
either on cards by their phone or in their head, they can rapidly book ads
in seconds using out of date technology because they are so versed in its
usage. That is great for them but a terrible situation for the news
organisation, as obviously there is substantial contact information that
is lost with every departure. Obviously this is not a feasible solution in
a world with many sales channels, many of which are expected to be fully
electronic or self-service channels.

New technology captures all information in a central repository for use
across the entire organisation and allows the organisation to better service their customers. That in turn makes the newspaper a more attractive choice of media for ad buyers as they offer a greater depth of audience segmentation and reach.

Michael H. Tandrup is solution strategist for advertising solutions with CCI Europe.


Page first published: 21.06.2006