A Stark Look at American Mornings

By: Carl Sullivan Consumers give many reasons for giving up daily newspaper readership, but the beat-the-clock American morning, complete with screaming kids and instant oatmeal, is a popular anecdotal excuse. So The Orange County Register in Santa Ana, Calif., is countering that notion with its "Take Back the Morning" advertising campaign.

David Stark, senior vice president of marketing at Freedom Orange County Information, explains the spots and how they promote the Register's online efforts. Working with the Register, OCRegister.com, myOC.com, the Spanish-language weekly Excelsior, OCExcelsior.com, and Coast and Orange County Home magazines, Stark also talks about the marketing challenges facing publishers in this day of increasingly fragmented media. Prior to joining Freedom, he held numerous positions with Time Warner, including vice president/global client solutions, where he was responsible for developing cross-media solutions for multinational companies across the organization: CNN Networks, Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Warner Bros., and America Online.

1. Tell us about "Take Back the Morning." What are the online components and how does the Register see the relationship between print and online evolving -- especially with the very Internet-centric 25-35 year-olds?

Stark: One of the biggest marketing challenges for any brand is to effectively expand your audience while not alienating your core customers. Just ask the NFL.

Our "Take Back the Morning" campaign was developed to do just that -- resonate with young adults, while also reinforcing the value of our newspaper to an established, older demographic. To achieve this, we had to build our campaign's message around the needs and thoughts of consumers.

The Register used primary and secondary research to uncover the necessary consumer insights. We found virtually every demographic segment led fast-paced, high-pressure lifestyles. The young adults faced major life changes and multiple demands. "Take Back the Morning" uses empowering, emotion-filled images to show how the newspaper can be a temporary means of escape from life's demands -- a rewarding way to seize control of a day. We did not promote price or product attributes. It is a very non-traditional approach that has proven very successful.

The campaign yielded more than 8,000 new subscription starts since its launch last September, and the Register had record-highs in customer retention for 12- and 18-month subscription renewals.

We ensured maximum reach, impact and influence for our campaign by using a sequenced, integrated advertising program. We used print, TV, radio, outdoor, Internet and third-party promotional partners. Online was certainly a critical piece of that media mix -- pop-ups, fixed buttons, run-of-site banners, search engine optimization activities, and e-mail blasts.

As far as serving Web-savvy consumers is concerned, there is truly a symbiotic relationship between print and the Web. We are continually strengthening our focus on serving customers through multiple distribution channels -- especially the young adults who prefer to receive their news online.

2. In late January, you launched Premium OCRegister.com. What's the goal of this product and how will it affect your free site? What will be the impact on traffic? How will you market this product?

DS: Premium OCRegister.com gives people a choice on how they wish to subscribe and receive our newspaper -- in print or on the Web -- while preserving the original layout and content. The entire paper is displayed on a browser exactly as it appears in print, without requiring special software or time-consuming downloads. The service includes access to archived content dating back to November 2002.

Premium OCRegister.com is its own, inherently different product than our free HTML-based site, so it should not affect our regular Web traffic. Web surfers, frequent travelers, business commuters in and out of Orange County, part-time residents, and people who frequently access our previously-published information are finding this product particularly useful. Beyond the goal of adding to our daily average, the objectives of Premium OCRegister.com are to:

* increase our 7-day subscription retention rates
* up-sell existing 1-, 2- and 3-day subscribers
* provide a service to individuals living outside our trading/distribution area who cannot physically receive the print edition.

Similar to our brand campaign strategy, we are marketing Premium OCRegister.com through multiple consumer touch points -- in-paper ads, subscriber bill inserts, single copy inserts, e-mail, online messages, events and other outside media outlets.

3. In the past, a newspaper publisher could focus on one medium -- print. Is it difficult in this multimedia world to keep a consistent message about your brand out there? How do you tailor branding of the Register for different media?

DS: We live in a constantly changing, fragmented media world driven by channel proliferation, mobile applications and evolving consumerism. In this dynamic environment, newspaper publishers that embrace convergence and connectivity will be able to more effectively position their messages across a set of properties. Our approach is quite simple -- we stay true to the essence of the brand while "utilizing the utility" of each medium. In practice, the brand promise is consistent across channels but creatively built to serve the selling process and platform: print, TV, and outdoor for branding and awareness; radio and print for informing and encouraging trials; and online for transactions and loyalty (2-way interaction).

4. What marketing initiatives do you have on tap for 2004?

DS: Throughout the year, we constantly evaluate our programs to ensure our budget allocations are providing the greatest return on investment. Our plans include the continuation of our brand campaign "Take Back the Morning" and numerous other B2C and B2B programs that support our growth initiatives. We will continue our promotional collaborations with partners that enhance our brand position and sponsorship of our area sports teams -- the Anaheim Angels baseball club, Mighty Ducks hockey club, and Anaheim Storm pro indoor lacrosse team.

5. What's the most creative marketing you've seen lately, whether for newspapers or other products? Can newspapers learn from the best marketing efforts in other industries?

DS: The most creative marketing I've seen lately is for Apple's iPod. Apple has an innate ability to create a movement, to position the personal benefits associated with the product and to capture market share through first mover advantage and segmentation.

Any industry can learn from other industries. Newspapers are consumer products -- prepared, packaged and delivered daily through various distribution channels. Newspaper marketers can gain valuable insights from a variety of sectors -- packaged goods, automotive and consumer electronics, to name a few. We should focus on how the "best of bred" creates need, want and desire by relevantly linking their brand to the lifestyles and life-stages of their target audiences.