When the Daytona Beach News-Journal needed help making a profit with its TV magazine, MyWeek, the Florida newspaper turned to Advantage Newspaper Consultants. Based in Fayetteville, N.C., the company provides consulting services to more than 250 North American publications
MyWeek is a full color TV magazine insert that includes local TV listings, puzzles and entertainment content. It is distributed to about 86,000 readers as part of the News-Journal’s Sunday paper. Through targeted advertising and cooperation on both sides, ANC and the News-Journal brought in more than $678,000 of annual advertising revenue from MyWeek in 2015 alone.
Since initiating the advertising sales plan in 2013, the News-Journal has continued to see the magazine grow. According to John Jones, vice president of ANC, in 2013, ANC’s goal was to raise $300,000; in 2014, the goal was $465,000, and they made $567,000. This year, they exceed their goal once more, surpassing their target of $600,000.
The process takes about two weeks to create a yearlong revenue stream. First, the staff from ANC and the News-Journal set up appointments, prepare presentations, work on pricing structure and set up package deals for advertisers. The second week, ANC and the News-Journal sales teams go to the appointments together to pitch to advertisers.
Jones said that targeted advertising is a key point in the success of the program. For MyWeek, the targeted audience is “traditionally baby boomers and up, the mature audience.”
Jones said while not all of their clients are as successful as the News-Journal, working together is what really makes the difference.
“We’ve implemented the same program with other newspapers, but it (success) depends on what we get from other side,” he said. “You get out of it what you put into it.”
The greatest challenge Jones said he faces is getting qualified appointments. Talking to the right clients about the right ad or ad spot is incredibly important and where his team is most effective. In order to get the right clients, Jones learned to be more aggressive over the years and communicate better with the newspaper staffs.
“The results have been phenomenal,” said Bill Offill, News-Journal publisher. “It’s (MyWeek) something that’s grown….It’s gotten better and better.”
He said in a time when many newspapers either struggle to make money off TV magazines or have opted not to produce them anymore, the News-Journal is thriving because of MyWeek. Offill added the News-Journal plans to utilize MyWeek again next year.
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