Based on research by the International Newspaper Marketing Association (INMA)
Earl J. Wilkinson, wilkinson@inma.org
On July 1, 2003, the International Newspaper Marketing Association (INMA) e-mailed approximately 700 of its members at leading newspaper companies in Europe, North America, Latin America, and the South Pacific to find out which research topics they would consider most valuable from the academic community.
The responses included an impressive array of different subjects, but several narrow topics stand out as top interests from the trenches of the newspaper industry:
Improving Youth Readership
Recognizing an overall decline in youth readership, newspapers want to get more intimate with their potential youth audiences, but are uncertain how to go about it.
Of utmost importance is understanding their media habits, interests, and desires, and in particular how technology and the proliferation of media have changed the typical youth media diet.
The industry is also struggling to measure the results of existing programs designed to reach out to this audience and to develop innovative new ways to start a newspaper-reading habit among young people.
Understanding Effects of Media Proliferation and Competition
Competition from other media, including the Internet, is of utmost concern in the face of declining newspaper readership worldwide.
Newspapers are hungry for a quantitative analysis of the direct effects the Internet is having on newspaper circulation, revenue, and content. Specific areas of concern include online competition for advertising revenues and whether print newspapers are directly losing readers to online newspapers.
Likewise, newspapers are eager to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Internet if they can justify the cost and continue to profit; therefore, studies on this subject are in high demand.
The responses also revealed a healthy curiosity for understanding what impact the Internet and other technological developments will have on content delivery and format in the future.
Identifying Product Values and Differentiators
Many INMA respondents also seem to have a desire to get back to basics when it comes to identifying the fundamental content values of newspapers. In an increasingly crowded media landscape, newspapers are anxious to identify their strengths, mark their territory, and redefine their roles.
With increased competition for both readers and advertisers, and more media and audience fragmentation, our respondents want to know which values matter most. Is it credibility, a local or regional emphasis, a sense of community, reporting style, niche topics?
Many respondents expressed concerns about the size and balance of content within the print newspaper and how those factors may be influencing circulation declines. Should the information be balanced differently; should the product be organized better; should newspapers be smaller?
These doubts point to an underlying question about how to differentiate newspapers from other media, and how newspapers should evolve, in a time of heightened competition and rapid technological change.
Other Specific Themes
Among other suggested topics:
- differences in strategy and success with single-copy versus home delivery structures;
- how to turn readers into subscribers;
- how to increase frequency of readership among specific groups;
- identifying areas for growth among diverse audiences (i.e. bilingual newspapers);
- successful implementation of customer relationship management;
- consolidation of media companies and its effects;
- how different newspaper pricing models affect sales and profitability;
- the impact of advertising sales pricing schemes and discounts;
- advertising share of weekly versus daily and free versus paid newspapers;
- how to solicit subscriptions without telemarketing.
Broad Themes
All of these topics relate to the broader feedback from our query, which indicated a general sense of anxiety about improving overall circulation, acquisition, and retention practices; and an overall concern that big changes in the near future are inevitable, in terms of business strategy and practices and/or in terms of the newspaper product itself.
Multiple respondents expressed interest in experimenting with various changes to the core of the traditional newspaper product (such as reducing the size of the newspaper, omitting or extracting and selling independent sections, or changing editorial tactics to appeal to specific audiences) to find out whether such adventurous tactics could yield higher readership, greater involvement, more dwell time, or more frequent readership -- especially among young people and infrequent readers.
Any research that can help guide newspapers in the face of such uncertainty would prove valuable.
VERBATIM RESPONSES OF NEWSPAPER EXECUTIVES
The excerpts below represent the verbatim responses received by INMA from its members worldwide. The responses are not ranked, yet are categorized and numbered for identification purposes
Circulation, Acquisition, Retention, Loyalty
1. Measuring reader involvement, how do we know readers are involved in our newspapers and prove the involving nature of the print medium?
2. What factors drive the success of inducing newcomers to a market to become newspaper subscribers. New residents are often "strangers" in the market. How do those who choose to start subscribing believe the newspaper helps them? What compels them to keep subscribing once they've become more familiar with the area?
3. Why are Sunday readership and circulation on the decline (especially on the West Coast of the United States)? Is it a cost factor? Environmental reasons? Weekend activities? Do people expect a different product on Sunday than what they get daily? If so, are they getting what they expect?
4. Understanding diminishing frequency of readership of newspapers in general. Is it a product or a promotion issue? Why can newspapers no longer be passive in marketing their attributes (especially outside of their own pages)?
5. Explaining the polarization of newspaper readership: one cluster of loyal, extremely happy readers versus another cluster of increasingly less frequent, less engaged occasional readers. The middle ground of readers are disappearing.
6. Right now, we've got a lot of information about readers and subscribers, but we haven't done a lot of research on single copy. I would like to see further studies about single copy purchase habits. I would like to see what is causing the decrease in single copy purchases... Is it the same number of people buying fewer papers per week? Or is it fewer people buying any newspapers during the week?
7. Everyone should be frightened about the apparent decreasing number of people interested in news in general. This may be caused by fewer people being connected to their communities via churches and community group, or it may be caused by people filling up their time with other pursuits, or it may be that the news we report on in the newspapers isn't interesting enough, etc.
8. Placement of newspapers in convenience stores and which locations appeared to work better than others for single copy sales.
9. I would be interested in whether the typical single copy buyer, especially the impulse single copy buyer, can be better induced to purchase if the headlines are particularly strong, as opposed to just the general news of the day.
10. I would be interested to know if single copy purchasers would be a good group to focus marketing efforts toward becoming Internet newspaper subscribers, or at least Internet single copy purchasers.
11. In my mind there is only one area that deserves all of the study we can muster: What will it take to get non-readers to read, and to get infrequent readers to read more often? Could it be free newspapers, weekend packages, packages consisting of selected sections instead of the whole awful mess of which most daily newspapers are comprised? Some or all of the above? We need to know.
12. How do we convert readers into subscribers? I'm beginning to suspect that home delivery will some day become a thing of the past. Even, I suspect, will "paid readership" regardless of the source of acquiring the newspaper. Readership is valuable, whether it's for a paid-for product or free product. (Think network television audiences. Nobody says that their audience is less valuable than cable/satellite audiences because they don't pay for content.)
13. What is the future of supplemental circulation to improve distribution numbers for newspaper advertisers? Examine and consider:a) effectiveness of sampling: frequency, quantity, bulk drop options, etc.;
b) effectiveness of permanent full or partial free distribution;
c) effectiveness of companion shoppers;
d) effectiveness of new or supplemental paid/ free product;
e) effectiveness of targeted, supplemental delivery via "wrappers", bagged preprints, etc.;
f) establishing special sections that may run in more than one publication on a regular, ongoing basis; g) value of offering online reader complement;
g) combinations of aforementioned.14. The effectiveness of loyalty ladders. What is the experience of pushing readers up a loyalty ladder for daily newspapers? For example, pushing them from 2 days to 3 days of readership, and then from 3 to 4 days, etc. What's the cost benefit of implementing a loyalty ladder strategy? Is there a point of diminishing return?
15. We have heard why readership is declining among adults--including the ever-popular "lack of time" argument. Yet we know that if content is compelling/important/lurid enough, people will find the time to read it.
The "lack of time" excuse seems too convenient to me. Silver bullet, please: Is there really anything that newspapers can do to be so compelling as to extract more minutes, more interest from readers? Or is the fact that our society has changed so much that people don't really care for the kind of information (or "time allocation") that newspaper reading demands.
Our own in-house survey found that 24- to 34-year-olds don't know or care what is going on in the world (i.e., they are ignorant and it doesn't bother them). Is that our future target audience? Can we ever be relevant to new readers, or should we just stick to the oldsters until they all croak and we go out of business?16. I would suggest they find out why there is such a decline in readership and if there is any change in the perceived value of a daily newspaper to readers.
17. We are developing programmes to reduce drop-off rates of our new subscribers. Around 50 percent of new subscribers are gone after 6 months, and after a year the drop-off reaches 70 percent. This varies per newspaper, varies per marketing method, etc. A data warehouse helps us to create insights in behaviourial patterns. Question: How successful are these programmes? Are the heavy investments worth the money? The added benefits of Internet registration data? What is the role of editorial content/attention?
18. I suggest continued research on strategies to increase occasional reader Reader Behavior Scores (RBS) scores, broken down by demographic group (under 35, women, ethnic targets).
19. What type of content (news and advertising) motivates you to buy a copy or subscribe to the newspaper?
20. Evaluation and assessment of best industry models for selling subscriptions, other than telemarketing.
21. Evaluation and assessment of best industry models for growing Sunday circulation.
22. With declines in average issue and frequency of readership, what are readers (and former readers) doing with the extra time they have? Are they reducing the amount of time spent "educating" themselves or information-seeking; what are they NOT reading as much of anymore; where else might they be turning for information (i.e. How big an influence is the Internet)?
23. What are reasons for newspaper churn?
24. Effective methods of database management.
25. Best ways to build readership.
26. Where will subscription sales come from to offset declining numbers in telemarketing due to state and national "do-not-call" or "no-call" lists?
27. What prompts the buying decision of a single copy newspaper? Data to include over the counter sales (SIC codes) versus vending machines?
28. What is the best way to grow enduring circulation [net of churn]? A study should look at various methods for gaining circulation and an across newspaper marketing mix study.
29. The real impact of price differentiation between causal and subscription. The impact of direct discount on subscription.
30. What is the trend with the various newspapers regarding causal versus bulk versus subscription.
31. Evaluation of the cost of a loyalty program versus the benefit.
32. What drives subscriber loyalty?
33. A deeper study of what types of local news retain readership/or grow readership. What can/should a daily do for news coverage in a zone that is different/better than a weekly or shopper?
34. How to capture younger readers (even if it's not with the daily newspaper). How a newspaper company can best leverage its core, albeit aging, audience.
35. Current research in South Africa shows the thoroughness of reading. For all the other media, measurement is based on opportunity to see or opportunity to hear. Thus, a study that looks at the effectiveness of advertising in different media types based on recall and not opportunity to see or opportunity to hear. (Hopefully such a study will show that radio, outdoor, and television are not such effective advertising options, because people are not actively part of the process. For print media, people are taking actively part because they decide to read the magazine/newspaper.)
36. How is the newspaper habit formed - how do you get readers hooked and keep them there? From what age?
37. Media usage study - we need to know more about the media usage habits of the 18-34 year olds in particular; we need to know at what level we are competing and with what media.
38. How important is it for high school students to feel they are in the know about news? Where do high school students turn to get the news? What kind of information is important for high school students?
39. What do young readers 18-35 want and how do we get them to become loyal readers?
40. A study of reader habits relating to the amount of time they read newspapers and what attracts them to read a newspaper, especially at different age groups? (i.e. 15- to 25-year-olds, 26- to 39-year-olds, 40- to 50-year-olds and 50 plus)
41. Newspaper classified ads have in the past helped people find jobs, homes, and cars. Do young people between 18 and 29 still look at newspapers as a main source for classifieds? For weather? Online or in print?
42. What do people between 18 and 29 want and expect to read in a newspaper?
43. For young readers (18 to 27), what are the product mandates that will deliver this reader and how much money is there to go after?
44. At conference after conference, we hear that youth readership is declining. What should the "information industry" (i.e. newspapers) do to be the provider of information/news content to youth. Forget about the factory that produces the print product: What do newspaper companies need to create (content and formats, please) in order to be the trusted, well-used information content providers to youth--now and in the future? And by youth, I mean kids in the 6th grade through 18 year olds (where traditional data resources kick in).
45. Determine what roles newspapers will/can play in the future in the life of the next generation (i.e. how can newspapers be relevent to this market in content, format such as web/email/printed)
46. To what extent do changing lifestyles and reading habits of youth impact the long-term viability and sustainability of print as a primary medium? How does print remain compelling to youth or can it at all?
47. What motivates young people (ages 25 to 34) to subscribe to the newspaper?
48. I'd like to see once and for all a comprehensive psychographic study of 18- to 24-year-olds (or up to 30s), with an empirical look at their values and how media influences them. I believe there is entirely too much hand wringing going on at newspapers among middle-aged editors who are trying to divine their wills onto this cohort and are having little if any luck in doing so. (Some recent anecdotes include the observation that it just isn't cool to be seen reading a dinosaur newspaper.) Findings could also help media companies shape products and services aimed at the cohort.
49. Is the younger population reading the newspaper, if so, do newspapers-in-education programmes help make newspapers a daily habit?
50. What are the long-term effects of newspapers-in-education programmes.
Advertising
51. Studies of run-of-press advertising versus free standing inserts.
52. I'm very interested in direct mail. Maybe some good questions would include: most successful designs/text and how that effects response, and use of direct mail as retention tools.
53. Are people more likely to read pre-printed inserts in a newspaper or are they more likely to read junk mail?
54. When it comes to classified growth and the Internet, what are the best practices for maintaining and growing our dominant position?
55. Are more newspapers selling their advertising based on discounts or value? What impacts do both options have on the bottom line short-term and long-term?
56. Quantifying advertising results: Revenue is easy, but what are other ways to effectively measure results and how do you go about it? (market share, churn, etc.)
57. Evaluation and ranking of best industry models for commission/incentive programs for display and classified sales representatives.
58. We need a very rigorous, well-designed, "test versus control" study that isolates and shows the benefits of newspaper advertising across a range of client types; i.e. how does the consumer get impacted (company awareness and consideration, consumer perceptions of the company, and of course traffic/sales).
59. What are the ad rates of free newspapers versus paid newspapers in different countries.
60. Sharing of the set up, management of customisation in the distribution program of inserts.
61. What can the newspaper industry do (in addition to continuing to drive more mass in page views) to score higher on advertiser and agency usage for national advertising buys on newspaper web sites?
62. What is the future of advertising in a fragmented media landscape?
63. I would be interested in the percentage of local and national dollars spent in weekly versus daily newspapers; the average cost per thousand for an advertisement; how many ad decisions are made on cost per thousand versus penetration; how much time is spent reading a weekly publication versus a daily; cost breakdown of daily newspaper, radio, television, billboard and weekly advertising. What is more economical?
64. What can we learn from the long time advertising revenue trends? What is more important to newspapers than the long-term trends in advertising? Few areas have been investigated more than this. But where is the analysis about the long-term trends? How are the classified markets and the changes in the retail business affecting newspapers? Television ads? Internet advertising?
65. In regards to connecting advertisers with consumers (i.e. products/services with buyers), what are advertisers' priorities? How are they measuring results? Return on investment? Cost versus value? How has the role of ad agencies changed? What kind of relationships are advertisers seeking--media partner, media bundling, media consultant, etc. How are they identifying and evaluating their prime consumers? What specific measurement tools are they using? How do advertisers envision the future role of newspapers (and their online products)?
66. What are trends and patterns in direct marketing (direct mail, email, customer relationship management)?
67. What is the effect of "do-not-call" policies on our overall business. (I'm not sure if this topic is something for this association to tackle. I'm intrigued on how newspapers expect to change their focus and reliability of telemarketing )
68. What factors generally enhance a newspaper's "brand" in the communities ome have more impact than others?
69. How does "advertising overload" affect people (newspaper readers specifically)? In the past, advertising was seen in just a few places. Now we are bombarded by the traditional forms (newspaper, television, radio, billboards) as well as mail, Internet, telemarketers, bill stuffers, etc. Are people tuning these out? How can advertisers get through this clutter?
70. Which medium is best to market our newspapers most effectively to attract new or lapsed readers?
71. Best practices for sales and marketing: What are the practices that really work? What kinds of results are they bearing? How are they measuring success?
72. What is the return on investment on newspaper marketing/advertising efforts? As the industry contracts, I expect publishers will cut where it seems easiest to do so, and want to reassure them that if they do so, it will be costly. An across newspaper marketing mix analysis might provide insight.
73. In the convergence world, are there good case studies we can explore on the benefits of joint branding power from cross ownership (newspaper, television, and/or radio)? I am sure some of the major players have their own data on this but they probably keep it close to the vest.
74. Are newspapers becoming too much like a magazine? Are we giving readers too much to read? What impact are big weekend newspapers having on weekday reading?
75. What are product and/or editorial changes that have the largest impact on developing circulation, readership, and advertising revenues?
76. Analysis of newspaper habits (i.e. watching people pick up and read a newspaper). What section is read first, second, etc. How long does the reader spend with each type of content (world news, coupons, etc.); the study needs to be more in-depth than what any newspaper can afford alone.
77. How credible is the content I get from my newspaper? My online provider? Television? Radio? Why is it important to me that the information sources I used are believable?
78. What type of content (news and advertising) should be included in the newspaper that is not included today?
79. It would be useful to list all the major components that go into local newspapers and ask a good cross section of people how much value they attach to each element. A supplement would be to ask if the omission of each category would have an impact on the buying decision.
80. Page design and ad layout within newspapers and its associated benefit to readers/advertisers.
81. Which sections of a newspaper are the most and least read by readers in different parts of the world (i.e. world news, national news, local news, economy, sports, editorial and commentaries, culture, etc.)
82. What is the most valuable material the reader gets from the newspaper: hard news, features, analyses, commentaries, entertainment items, interviews, in-depth investigative reports, etc.?
Labor and Journalistic Practices
83. How do trends and patterns in the labour market affect newspapers (i.e. immigration, changing nature of workplaces, etc.)? What are the trends of unionization around the world? What are the implications?
84. What pay rates attract and keep talent in all areas?
85. How do journalists better utilize the Internet for researching news stories?
86. How are universities teaching journalists today, and are they in step with findings of the Readership Institute or are we just turning out more "out of touch" reporters schooled as if newspaper readers had not changed in the past 25 years.
87. "The media" is much criticized as being unreliable, having an agenda, a liberal or conservative bias, etc. I would like to see this negative public perception quantified with each of the dominant media examined separately (newspapers vs. local television news vs. national television news vs. radio vs. Internet vs. alternative news weeklies) and then compared. Do people really distrust their local newspaper as much as they distrust other media outlets?
88. A study of careers in the publishing industry
89. Any study that can demonstrate how news department goals can be measured and aided by market research resources.
90. Anything that exposes the fallacy of using customer service and reader representative "complaint" lines as surrogates for legitimate research among representative cross-sections of readers.
91. How well are newspapers doing in integrating marketing thinking into their cultures. How best to do so? Are those that are doing well doing better than in the past?
92. Measuring the ability to retain and recruit qualified talent and alternate means of acquiring editorial talent from other sources than the journalism schools.
93. In five years, where will people get news and information about their community, nation and world from?
94. Generally speaking, newspapers are losing readership and revenue to competing media, yet remain financially strong and profitable. Why? Is it because in today's fragmented media, newspapers are the last general circulation medium with a niche readership of community leaders and consumers in the market to buy now? The newspaper base, also, has been less fragmented than the competition. If so, what are the other strengths of newspapers? Most importantly, what are the strengths to build on, and how best to go about it?
95. What is the changing role of a newspaper in the rapidly changing media milieu: Do the reading public still perceive newspapers as the authoritative, credible source of news and happenings? Has the newspaper lost its franchise or still hold it in respect of breaking news? Has the on-line edition helped newspapers regain this franchise, and if so to what extent? Do readers still look up to their newspaper for providing proper context to news and happenings and for analyses and informed opinion? Finally, to what extent does the agenda-setting role of a newspaper remain relevant today?
96. How does print retain, or in some cases regain, its rightful share of the total advertising spend or total marketing communications mix? Can the over dependence of print on the advertising revenue stream be reduced? Can there be a healthier balance between circulation revenue and advertising revenue without too much of an erosion of circulation or readership numbers?
97. From both a reader's and an advertiser's perspective, what are the discernable differences between national, regional, and local press. Are the industry's preconceptions of the traditional values for each sector backed up by statistics? And what must each sector do in order to retain and grow their share of the market.
98. With revenues down to flat (aside from recruitment) and ad rates increasing, linage is falling. What would it take to stop the leakage; why are newspapers losing share to other media; how big an impact is the Internet; are newspapers perceived (rightly or wrongly) as dinosaurs?
99. How much of the decline in newspapers is attributable to a general decline in reading (books, magazines, newspapers, and all other print materials) versus newspapers in particular? The former is societal with inherent media usage shifts that probably can't be changed in the short term, but the latter could be remedied by newspaper companies.
100. What is the impact of media consolidation by a few companies? A comparison of media consolidation, its impact if any, between North American and European media companies.
101. What is the pattern in readers' mix of information sources among newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the Internet, and how is this pattern changing over time?
102. What is the relationship between online reading and newspaper buying?
103. How are online classifieds impacting newspaper revenues? Which newspapers have successful online/offline models?
104. What is the printed newspaper's relationship with its own on-line information? After 10+ years of Internet presence, does it have a negative effect on the core printed product currently? And, what kind of future should our readers and advertisers expect?
105. How are online news sites affecting newspaper readership? Are people using online news sites to replace newspapers, or do they search for breaking news but still read a daily newspaper? Does visiting a newspaper's web site encourage people to read that newspaper (and vice versa)?
106. Is the Internet a real threat or is it really a friend to newspapers?
107. What affect are newspaper Web sites having on newspaper (hard copy) readership, subscriptions and renewals?
108. The erosion of print readership to online, particularly among young demos. Recent research shows a more alarming trend than previously reported.
109. How can newspapers generate revenue on the Internet? What are the core strengths of the web--its interactivity, its database resources, etc? What else? How do these strengths particularly complement newspapers, and how best to take advantage of them? Most importantly, what are the best approaches for pursing greater revenue potential on a modest budget instead of the incredible investments that have been made in the past without realizing a worthwhile return?
110. Newspapers vs. Internet: What did readers find in newspapers (sections or information) ten years ago that they now find on the Internet?
111. Is the online operation at the newspaper "those guys over there" or an integral part of the change movement?
112. The Internet. The truth. Have we as an industry used it wisely so far? Has it been worth the investment of time/money? Are there a list of do's and don'ts we all should abide? Can anyone make real money? Do readers really care? Will we ever see commuters switching on laptops on the underground train instead of reading a paper product?
113. What is the effect of the consumer trend of searching for information in a multimedia world? What are the effects of convergence and the reactions of advertisers and ad agencies on the use of media?
114. A few years down the road, will the mind-boggling technological advance, particularly in the areas of Internet technology and communications, make the newspaper more relevant or less relevant? Will content be media neutral in the future with so many delivery mechanisms operating together, one supplementing another? In that scenario will the printed newspaper still be the primary, mainstream medium that drives revenues and enables the core print media companies to remain profitable?
115. The total weekly reach of our Internet sites is now roughly equal to the reach of our printed newspapers. Visitors are somewhat younger and better educated. Site visit is free and registration is required. Question: how to create a high quality environment for the display advertisers in order to build significant advertising revenues from the leading brands? Developments such as half-screen ads, targeted sessions, rich media in a high-quality environment manner. Not annoying ads like pop-ups, but ads to fit with high-quality visitors and high-quality brands. Think of high-end personal care products, cars, luxury goods, etc. The screen offers much better reproduction qualities than newsprint can, so how do we exploit this? Our company would benefit from a new industry standard worldwide. Ambitious? Yes? Possible? I think so. Advertisers are eagerly waiting for high-quality initiatives on the Internet instead of the cheap and noisy pop-ups for yet another price discount!
116. To what extent has the explosion of the Internet impacted traditional reading habits? What percentage of the population is using sophisticated web sites rather than purchasing a newspaper? Are these sites truly being viewed as supplementary to the purchase of newspapers? How many people are paying to subscribe to an electronic news service?
117. Print and online integration, including product differentiation, value creation and establishment, and compelling communication and marketing unique selling propositions.
118. The impact of a newspaper company's web site on its core product.
119. What impact will the Internet have on single copy sales and home delivery?
120. What impact have online newspapers had on the decline in single copy sales?
121. Convergence--How can print, television, radio, web and support each other?
122. What part does price play in purchasing a newspaper either as a subscription or single copy? Is news content losing its value with the proliferation of news sources?
123. What factors drive success of American suburban dailies operating under metropolitan newspaper brand umbrellas? Which such dailies are more successful, particularly in gaining and retaining circulation? Why?
124. What other structural changes are on the horizon for newspapers? By that, I mean sources of revenue such as careers advertising. We have all seen that slip away and we are all aware that it is never coming back. Are there other such categories?
125. Hand in hand with that is the constant quest of all of us to know to figure new and related sources of income. How do we utilize our brand to make money? Is there a natural growth that doesn't involve "convergence," which does not seem to be working?
126. Free versus paid for newspapers: What is the future? Is this a good deal for advertisers and readers or not? Can new markets continue to be found for paid newspapers?
127. How do we change the newspaper culture to become more readership-driven? How are newspapers doing this from the top down?
128. With environmental variables, revenue, and other financial factors including pressure from Wall Street, increased job/employee churn, and declines in circulation and readership (except for "funny" circulation), what are corporate and senior newspaper executives doing to adapt to the changes and challenges; what is and isn't working; are the executives "stuck" in a dysfunctional organizational model and unwilling to do what it takes to adapt?
129. CRM--What is the function of customer relationship management within a newspaper industry.
130. Is the newspaper industry facing a new business model? Research may not find the answers, but can clarify the questions. What is happening to classified ads? Is the Internet or print the main channel for classifieds? Will the emergence of free newspapers reposition the traditional newspapers? There is some interesting work done by Christensen at Harvard about disruptive technologies.
131. As newspapers seek circulation beyond core markets? What are factors inducing non-core newspaper readers to value and start their suburban daily?
132. How have daily newspapers been serving the fastest growing population in the United States--Latinos?
133. What factors drive readers and non-readers to perceive and value a regional daily instead of a local, metropolitan daily? People clearly live regionally, but value "local" in their newspaper. Where have successful regional initiatives been developed and implemented? What made them work?
134. How well are we as an industry aligned with the marketplace? What factors govern our perceptions of the marketplace? Do those factors really apply or do we just hope they do?
135. My only feedback would be that academic researchers coordinate with the Readership Institute, which I think has a very ambitious schedule and it would be fantastic if other academics would align themselves.
136. What are the changing buying habits and predictions for the next 5 to 20 years? Best newspaper sales practice using base sale increases as a benchmark.
137. What is the turnaround time for replacement of newspapers, commencement of newspapers?
138. Understanding the price and value equation. How does one determine that? From packaging to bundling and door step delivery.
139. A follow-up study on the 1990 "Its and Nits Study" to prove that A study to show whether opininion leaders promote word-of-mouth communication because of their opinion leadership role. In other words: if newspaper readers are opinion leaders and they talk to other people, will advertisers reach more people (and how many) through word of mouth?
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