Since we’ve changed our name to Local Media Association, it’s been a very positive experience for the association. We know the name change brings with it the opening of new doors and opportunities. For
instance, the 2012 Innovation Mission has some amazing tour stops including Google and AT&T Interactive which arguably may have been harder to confirm as Suburban Newspapers of America.

However, there has been some visible “head scratching” to me in e-mails from our members about the three acronyms we use that are all very close in nature. I thought I would take this opportunity to update everyone on the differences in these names. Here is a short glossary:

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In partnership with NewspaperToolbox
Deadline for Entries: June 1, 2012**

Our community newspapers are full of amazing local news that we're all proud of, and behind it all stands hard-working advertising and classified departments. The annual Local Media Association Advertising and Promotions Contest recognizes your creative hard work throughout North America. With thirty categories just waiting to be won -- from Best Ad Series, to Best Cover Page to Best Shopping Area Promotion -- this contest covers the gamut. Enter today!

 

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Who says print is losing ground? At 160 pages The Landmark surely isn’t. This is the largest issue in the history of this paid circulation weekly newspaper in the Worcester, Massachusetts area. The issue included a 32-page “Hey Kids” section focused on area family activities.

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Local Media Association presented the Major Account Outlook last week via conference call with Steve Winslow of Best Buy, Steve Mueller of GeoMentum and Tyler Kelly of Centro. The purpose of the call was to give members the opportunity to ask questions and review plans for 2012. They all are firm believers in community newspapers with local editorial content. “We send insertion orders to 4,500 newspapers every week” said Mueller. Content is critical to them and they are looking for information on enhanced distribution (i.e. social media) as people consume media differently. And all of this “becomes part of the psychology as we try to connect with customers,” said Mueller.

According to Winslow “we want the newspaper to be the eyes and ears in the market.” It’s critical to know growth demos, market shifts, etc. “It’s important to keep us updated” on changes. When they are placing advertising they are looking for the 40-60% penetration in a market.

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Listening to the Mike Blinder webinar on how they created $600,000 in 60 days with GateHouse Media you realize that in a nano-second world that spending time researching and preparing for client meetings is more important than ever.

It does take a village when you put together a sales plan for a company as large as GateHouse: 79 dailies; more than 250 weeklies and 95 shoppers plus more than 400 websites. Blinder had a host of GateHouse executives from around the company (and the country) on the webinar to discuss how they’ve been successful with a focused sales approach.

According to Brad Harmon, Corporate VP of Sales & Marketing digital goals for 2012 will be double this year’s percentages of 25-25%. Harmon says “that is very achievable.”

In order to reach these goals it’s important that three things happen according to Harmon: we simplify, standardize and automate. Infrastructure is key. Currently they have 10 digital specialists in the New England area and plan to add many more where there are regional opportunities.

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Membership voted 5:1 to support name change

After forty years, Suburban Newspapers of America is changing its name. Local Media Association was recommended by a committee (including the SNA board of directors and the SNA marketing committee) that represented nearly 30 member companies. It was an intense five month process that included an enormous amount of healthy debate. The membership received ballots on December 1 and when the voting ended today, the motion had carried. In fact, SNA members supported the name change by a ratio of 5:1.

“It’s simple, self-explanatory, direct,” said Jon K. Rust, Co-President of Rust Communications and Chairman of the Board for SNA. “It puts ‘local’ first – just like we do as media organizations – and it shares that we’re not just newspapers anymore, but much more. It also says that we are united as an association, working together to become better.”

In 1971, SNA was formed when a group of entrepreneurial, family-owned newspaper publishers merged three other associations into this new one. The association has always carried the entrepreneurial spirit of those founding fathers with innovative and cutting-edge programs and research. In that vein, a new tag line has also been developed - “Innovate. Educate. Inspire.”

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All SNA delegates (designated voting member for each company) received a ballot on December 1 to vote on a proposed name change for the organization. The SNA board of directors is recommending Local Media Association as the new name.

Many voices were involved in proposing this new name. In addition to the 14 companies represented by senior level executives on the SNA board of directors, another 12 companies were represented on the marketing committee. These companies include: GateHouse Media, Sun-Times Media Group, Journal Register Company/Digital First Media, New York Times Regional Group, Swift Communications, Metroland Media Group, Deseret Digital Media, Borrell Associates, Rust Communications, Wick Communications, ASP Westward, ThisWeek Community Newspapers, American Community Newspapers, Richner Communications, The World Company, Arizona Daily Star, NGM Partners, Holden Landmark Corporation, CrossRoadsNews, The Elkhart Truth, Dow Jones Local Media Group and USA Weekend.

There are many reasons for the proposed name change as you might imagine. The current name confuses people and is not reflective of the entire membership. It also does not account for the digital side of our businesses. As for the new name, "...it's simple, self-explanatory, direct", said Jon Rust, Chairman of the SNA Board of Directors, "It is also powerful: It puts 'local' first - just like we do as media organizations - and it shares that we're not just newspapers anymore but much more." The board has also put forth a new tagline: "Innovate. Educate. Inspire." These words truly reflect the spirit of SNA that will continue under the new name.

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The Southern Newspaper Publishers Association’s Annual Convention took place in Williamsburg, Virginia, last week. Below are a few highlights and top quotes of the conference:

“I can’t compete with your brand.”
From Warren Webster, President of Patch, when asked how newspapers can compete with Patch.

Patch is in 863 neighborhoods covered by 1,000 journalists. In 2010, they were ranked the 10th largest local property by comScore in terms of monthly unique visitors – in 2011 they moved up to number five. They are investing in infrastructure. In terms of town penetration, 50 percent of a town population visits Patch within 7 months of site launch and over 80 percent of the population will visit monthly after one year. Currently, 90 percent of their advertising is local and 10 percent is national. They want to be the “concierge” of the web.

When asked about revenue needed by Patch, Webster noted the example that they would need $10-$12,000 of revenue per month in a 26,000 populated market.

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The SNA Foundation has launched a new program that is designed to put innovation on the fast track. The Local Media Innovation Alliance is a membership-based program that will provide monthly research papers and related webinars that will focus on the following:

• New and sustainable business models in the digital age
• Monetizing the digital side of the business
• New content strategies
• Promising new trends in all areas of multi-media publishing
• Mobile, tablets, and more

The reports will focus on promising trends/opportunities from local media companies of all kinds including newspapers, pure plays, radio, TV, directories, and more. Membership is open to all local media outlets.

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SNA is pleased to announce two upcoming conferences scheduled for the second week of November in Tampa. The first is a brand new one-day Local Media Daily Deals Summit, created by SNA in response to tremendous interest and explosive growth in daily deals programs. All local print and broadcast media companies are invited to attend. The second three-day program is a newly developed Classified Multimedia Conference designed to take community classified departments to the next level. This program is targeted at advertising directors and classified managers who are looking to expand their marketing footprint through new technology and a targeted sales approach. Although held at the same time in the same hotel, these two events are distinctly different from one another and feature two very different and unique programs.

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With preconference bonus session on November 9th

Suburban Newspapers of America is pleased to announce the creation of a brand new conference dedicated to the topic of daily deals. The “Local Media Daily Deals Summit” has been created by SNA in response to tremendous interest in the deals programs. “In the last year the deals programs have just exploded,” said Nancy Lane, President of SNA. “We thought it was important to showcase success stories during a one day summit to help all members grow this segment of the business. We have some outstanding case studies to share from markets and companies of all sizes. This is a must-attend event for any member that is serious about daily deals."

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SNA's Lifetime Achievement Award to Be Presented in Phoenix This Fall

William (Bill) Brehm, Sr., has been named this years Dean Lesher Award recipient. Brehm, Sr., has been active in the publishing industry for more than 60 years and at one time served on the SNA Board of Directors. In 1984, Brehm, Sr., presented the Dean Lesher award to Ralph Markham of the Antelope Valley Newspapers (California). Twenty seven years later, he will now be presented with this distinguished honor.

Brehm, Sr., began his career at the Industrial Post in Bell, California (near Los Angeles), in 1946 and became president several years later. He also was president of the company's first newspaper (The Daily Democrat in Fort Madison, Iowa). The newspaper is still under the same ownership 90 years later as part of Brehm Communications, Inc. Today Brehm operates more than 60 daily, weekly and semiweekly newspapers, shoppers and niche publications located in the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

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Save the Date!
November 9-11, 2011

SNA is pleased to announce a newly re-tooled Classified Conference focused specifically on innovative solutions for Classified Departments. The SNA Classified Multimedia Conference will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in sunny Tampa, Florida, this November 9-11. Rooms are a low $99/night!

After important and honest feedback from our 2011 conference committee, SNA decided it was time to take this conference up a notch. These won’t be the same-old classified sessions. "This conference will address higher level issues and will focus on the hottest opportunities for classified categories of business," said Nancy Lane, SNA President. "Technology is allowing us to sell differently in print, online, mobile and more; we'll focus on the areas with the greatest revenue potential by showcasing promising trends and new success stories."

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