Found Business For Newspapers p. 11

By: Dorothy Giobbe California dental group cancels television ad campaign to
run an advertising booklet in nine in-state newspapers sp.

DEALER NETWORK Advertising Systems Inc. (DNAS) in California scored a victory recently when it coordinated an ad campaign in nine newspapers from the California Dental Association (CDA).
DNAS was started three years ago as an affiliate of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), and provides a one order/one bill co-op advertising system for all of NAA's member newspapers.
Mike Busse, manager of new business development for the Los Angeles Times and the immediate past chairman of the NAA's Co-op Federation, said that CDA cancelled an upcoming television campaign in order to run in the newspapers.
On Feb. 28, CDA ran 1.8 million copies of a full-color, eight-page, trimmed magazine on 50-pound stock in nine newspapers throughout California. CDA paid the insert rate of each participating newspaper, for a total cost of $200,000.
Newspapers carrying the ads were the Los Angeles Times, Stockton Record, Redding Record Searchlight, Bakersfield Californian, Fresno Bee, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner, San Diego Union-Tribune and Orange County Register.
CDA produced the magazine's editorial copy, which Times personnel helped to edit. Treasure Chest's plant in Ontario printed the piece, and overran 30,000 copies for use by CDA.
Busse said he began working on the deal in November 1994, when he approched CDA, which was running a radio campaign at the time. While the association initially expressed some reluctance about the newspaper proposal, Busse said it was won over because of newspapers' ability to target attractive demographic groups.
"Television, as we know, does not deliver to higher income groups," Busse said.
One of CDA's objectives was to develop a piece that could promote its members to local communities, Busse said. The other was to create a support piece that association members could keep in their waiting rooms and offices.
Given the CDA's needs, Busse encouraged the association to use the magazine-insert format.
"What they needed was a magazine of their own that they could not only use [in waiting rooms] but could also reach consumers in a unique, dynamic fashion," Busse said.
Geographically, CDA had three requirements, according to Busse. The association wanted to run in areas with a high presence of state and federal employee unions with dental plans, markets with high-income consumers, and markets that included influential members of the association.
The association was so happy with its membership's reaction to the piece that the exact same campaign will run again on May 16. A third CDA campaign is planned for this fall in 17 small-circulation California newspapers with a total circulation of 2.5 million.
Plans are also being discussed for next year, and Busse said "it looks like there will be expanded campaigns" in 1996.
Most importantly, Busse hopes that other newspapers can learn from the CDA campaign.
"If I can do it, anybody can," Busse said. "Newspapers should be thinking in nontraditional ways. Who would ever think of approaching a dental association? There's a lot we can do if we put the tools together."
?(On Feb. 28, CDA ram 1.8 million copies of a full-color, eight-page, trimmed magazine on 50-pound stock in nine newspapers throughout California.) [Photo & Caption]