Think Visually, Act Locally

1. Think Visually, Act Locally What Appeals to Readers, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do About It • ASNE Readership Program • Cristal Williams, ASNE • Steve Duke, Readership Institute • Ed Baron, Ed Baron & Associates

2. Readership Trends Average Weekday Readership Source: Newspaper Association of America (Simmons 1970-1997; Scarborough 1998-2003)

3. Readership by Age Group • % reading a weekday 1967           200318-24 yrs                 71%            40% 25-34 yrs                 73%            41% 35-44 yrs                 81%            50% 45-54 yrs                79%            59% 55-64 yrs                 78%            64% 65+ yrs                    72%            70% Source: NAA; Scarborugh Top50 DMAs; Scarborough unpublished survey data as reported in The State of the News Media 2004;

4. Aging ≠ More Reading • % reading a weekday 1967           200318-24 yrs                 71%            40% 25-34 yrs                 73%            41% 35-44 yrs                 81%            50% 45-54 yrs                79%            59% 55-64 yrs                 78%            64% 65+ yrs                    72%            70% Source: NAA; Scarborugh Top50 DMAs; Scarborough unpublished survey data as reported in The State of the News Media 2004;

5. Measure results: circulation, satisfaction, readership Make content and market/sell newspaper How We Reach Readers Identify audience and their interests

6. Look Forward

7. Measure results: circulation, satisfaction, readership Make content and market/sell newspaper Pick content & present in ways that create the experiences Enhance all contact points to build experiences Measure results, including experiences Past Approach Identify audience and their interests Our Opportunity Identify audience and experiences that will make them read more

8. Improve the Experience • ‘Experience’ better predictor of reading than content satisfaction • Avoids ‘rearview mirror’ syndrome

9. Think of a magazine or periodical that you really enjoy and look forward to receiving • How does it make you feel?

10. Coffee House

11. Coffee

12. Inventing Markets, Not Products • Starbucks views itself as a ‘third place’ to hang out. • Wireless Net access increases visits and time spent • Music CD-burning service will too

13. Totally amazing I rule Engaging I’m immersed Easy to use I can get it elsewhere Reliable, trustworthy Basic need/want for this product More at: www.headrush.typepad.com

14. Listening to Readers • 200+ one-on-one interviews • 90 minutes each • Hundreds of similar comments

15. What Readers Said • “I enjoy reading, more than watching or listening” • “I count on this newspaper to investigate wrongdoing” • “It often makes me laugh” • “I always get the newspaper in good condition” • “I save more money from its ads and coupons than I spend on the paper” • “Reading this newspaper is more like work than fun” • “Too many of the articles are too long”

16. Key Experiences • Something to talk about • Makes me smarter • Looks out for my civic and personal interests • Good service • Surprise and humor • Ad usefulness • Too much • Discriminates and Stereotypes

17. Low Intensity of Experiences in Readers = Opportunity Neutral

18. 18-34 Year Olds • Are less likely to: • Say paper gives me ‘something to talk about’ • Feel newspaper ‘makes me smarter’ • Believe it ‘looks out for my personal & civic interests’ • Say the newspaper delivers good service

19. One Paper’s Audit • Counted young adults in photos, as subjects and sources • Conclusion: ‘If young adults are the target, we’re missing by a country mile’ • 90% of people in main news were over 40 (or under 18) • 97% of people in community and features pages • 95% of people in local news section

20. Some Findings • Young adults find newspapers stilted, stodgy, dull • Newspapers are age-centric, e.g. • Pricey restaurant reviews • Emphasis on high vs. popular culture • Personal finance aimed at middle-aged • Young people are “they” not “we”

21. A Difficult Task • Implementing experience is the biggest challenge • Requires willingness to innovate • It requires you to examine traditional practices and assumptions • But if you don’t improve experiences for readers, someone else will

22. A Way of Thinking • It’s not about design • Although design is important • It’s not about using tools better • But use the tools to build the experience • It is a way of thinking about the effect we want to have on the reader • It starts at the story level • What we cover • How we cover it

23. Same story, different photo choices

24. Makes Me Smarter?

27. Taking Risks • Talk about it • Surprise • Humor • Makes me smarter

28. Story-level experience • Minneapolis Star Tribune rethought individual stories to drive experiences: • Talk about it • Looks out for my interests • Surprise/humor

29. New Tsunami Story Original Tsunami Story

30. Inside Pages Side-by-Side: By Story

31. New Teen Story Original Teen Story

32. Inside Pages Side-by-Side: By Story

33. Front Page Study • Created three versions: • Original Paper • Improved Paper • Experience Paper • Tried to drive these experiences: • Something to talk about • Looks out for my civic and personal interests • Surprise and humor • Ad usefulness

34. Original Paper • 22 February 2005 • Typical news day, no big stories

35. ‘Improved’ Paper • Same day, same news choices • Editing, design changed to try to drive experiences

38. Experience Paper • Same day, but news chosen from any part of the newspaper news budget

43. Experience Paper Strongly Preferred Percent who prefer Side by side comparison

44. Experience Paper Strongly Preferred Percent who prefer Side by side comparison

45. Eight Lessons 1. Don’t be afraid to talk directly to readers • Question headlines • Tell us what you think 2. Bring younger voices to the table to share in decision-making • 40 to 50-year-olds can be dead wrong about 20-somethings • Young people aren’t monolithic

46. Eight Lessons, cont. 3. Humor is a huge selling point • Catchier headlines • Paris Hilton brings a pop culture touch to serious story • Rewrite story about blogs as a blog 4. Different story forms are a big hit • 5 things you should know list • Poker story presented as pro and con • Detail boxes convey information in a hurry

47. Eight Lessons, cont. 5. Be more interactive every day • Online poker game • Online debates on hot topics • Samplings of reader responses • Mugs and quotes 6. Look out for their interests. Be practical, personal • Breakout boxes explain how a story affects them • Tell conspicuously what action they can take (e.g. if identity is stolen)

48. Eight Lessons, cont. 7. Not hard to make the paper a little younger • Brainstorm in 30-minute spurts • Charge different editors with looking for talkable stories, “looks out for my interests” elements • Talk across disciplines on key stories • Demand candor (“is this really interesting?”) 8. “Interesting” is not optional. “Informative” is not sufficient. “Compelling” is mandatory

49. People remember experiences. They don't remember attributes (features). --A.G. Lafley, CEO, Proctor & Gamble

50. Totally amazing I rule Engaging I’m immersed Easy to use I can get it elsewhere Reliable, trustworthy Basic need/want for this product More at: www.headrush.typepad.com