Ogden Newspapers migrates 75% of public notice orders to self-serve

Cameron Nutting

We discovered many of our public-notice clients were open to the change. They had previous experience with other self-serve platforms and quickly understood Column's value, especially the convenience.”

Cameron Nutting, Chief Revenue Officer at Ogden Newspapers Inc., Washington D.C. - Baltimore Area

Our biggest concern from the beginning was client self-serve adoption. We were apprehensive that our clients would not embrace the change. But much to my surprise, clients embraced Column right away.”

Lori Figurski, Regional Director of Advertising at Ogden Newspapers, Martins Ferry, Ohio

In less than six months of rolling out the Column platform, Ogden Newspapers successfully migrated 75% of their public notice orders to self-serve.

Ogden Newspapers publishes 72 newspapers in 16 U.S. states, from New York to Hawaii. Across its prominent portfolio, the company processes an average of 5,000 monthly public notice orders. Before their collaboration with Column, Ogden representatives were responsible for manually handling all notice volume for multiple newspapers in a single region and managing other advertising duties. This manual approach was inefficient. 

Solution 

In September 2021, Ogden Newspapers recognized the need for a more streamlined process and committed to putting 100% of their public notice volume across all markets through Column. The goal was to improve time management, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience.

Implementing the self-serve platform involved a well-defined plan and strong collaboration between Ogden Newspapers and Column. The partners collaborated to create strong documentation that educated both newspapers and their clients about the Column transition.

"Our newspaper teams had everything they needed to get their clients on board,” said Lori Figurski, Regional Director of Advertising at Ogden Newspapers and Column champion. The documentation included a clear timeline for when the transition would occur and instructions on creating a Column account and placing a notice. On average, the time it takes to place a notice in Column is less than five minutes. Start to finish."

"Column’s team also prioritized comprehensive, individualized training for newspapers and their clients. “The Column team was able to offer one-on-one sessions,” said Figurski, “which gave the newspaper team a comfortable setting to speak up, ask questions, and get familiar with the platform.”

Outcome

1. Enhanced Customer Experience. Column’s intuitive interface and self-serve capabilities empowered customers to easily place their notice orders online, eliminating the need for phone calls, emails, or in-person visits. “Our biggest concern from the beginning was client self-serve adoption. We were apprehensive our clients would not embrace the change,” said Figurski. “But much to my surprise, clients did embrace Column right away.” The first group of the phased rollout included three papers in a rural community. In 60 days, 75% of their clients were using self-serve notice placement.
   
   
   
2. Improved Efficiency. On average, it takes newspaper staff 30 to 40 minutes to process a notice order. Column cuts that time in half. The platform automates key parts of the notice process, such as invoicing, pagination and affidavits, dramatically increasing productivity and improving time management. “The biggest benefit by far is ease of use and convenience,” emphasized Figurski. “Once staff reviews and confirms the notice, all they have to do is wait for the notice to publish. No one’s sitting at the computer hand-typing it in word by word.”
   
   

Conclusion

Column attributes part of its 75% self-serve success rate to its volume-based pricing model, which aligns the company’s incentives with that of its clients. Column succeeds only if publishing partners can significantly improve customer experience and achieve high automation and efficiency.

Ogden Newspapers' experience serves as inspiration for other publishing companies seeking to optimize their public notice business.

For more info contact

Enrique Diaz
Customer Success Manager Team Lead
enrique@column.us
cell: 305-431-1224