Content Rules – How to Win
Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY © 2012 by Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Any duplication, reproduction or usage of this document or any portion thereof without the
written consent of the firm is prohibited.
Who We Are
Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. is a leading research based consulting firm that:
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Helps companies understand consumer-relevant product needs and values
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Provides practical, best-in-class operational direction
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Informs clients with key insights to anticipate market trends
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Our Expertise
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We are the market share leader
across media industries:
We also do substantial business in
these industries:
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Consumer Electronics
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Consumer Packaged Goods
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Retail
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Healthcare
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Financial Services
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Sports
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Travel and Transportation
Local Television
Cable and Broadcast Networks
Cable and Satellite Distribution
Television Production
Internet
Gaming
Mobile
Movies
Publishing
Tablets
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Our Newspaper Experience
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
The Newspaper of the Future
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Magid believes that newspapers can leverage their unique and valued brand
attributes and the voids in local markets to fulfill local media and advertising
needs.
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Magid has developed a disciplined, multi-phased process of ideation and
consumer-based validation research to design the blueprint for the
Newspaper of the Future.
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By re-structuring the business model and leveraging local assets, a
newspaper can be transformed from a weakening print media company into a
highly valuable local multimedia and advertising sales enterprise.
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
The Goal: Dramatically increase your feedback from
people: viewers, users, and information consumers.
 Increasing research
capability by establishing a
proprietary panel
 Getting more research for
less money per study.
 Ability to talk to your
consumers more frequently
– potentially as many as 6
times per year or more.
 Highly flexible.
 Faster turnaround.
 Tracking the growth/change
of news consumer wants,
needs and opinions.
 What’s in those surveys:
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Content ideals.
Concept testing.
Test promotion.
Tracking customer attitudes
Sales efforts – for example,
use of panel to test
advertising for client
development.
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Newspaper of the Future Experience
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The local media of the future process has been applied in a total of 9 markets
– 6 for local newspapers, 2 for local television stations, and 1 including both
local newspaper/television of the future for a duopoly.
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We are now applying our Digital News Product of the Future process which
leverages our extensive Web, social media, mobile and tablet experience to
help optimize digital local news products and business models.
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Why Newspapers? Or more importantly, what’s happened to print:
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Understanding Market Voids: Identifying brand and market shortcomings,
and quantifying these gaps to lead to stronger product and consistent growth
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Defining Content Focus: Implementing a more focused content selection
process based on consumer attitudes to increase product relevance and use
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Overhauling Content Presentation: Executing concept development and
testing to reinvent presentation, style and tone to create a more compelling
product
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Optimizing Distribution: Re-working circulation strategy based on areas of
readership for efficiency and cost savings
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Enhancing Advertiser Products and Services: Developing new and
enhancing current ad products, services and sales strategies based on
advertiser needs to increase ad revenues
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Maximizing Advertising Effectiveness: Helping advertisers optimize print
and digital ads to drive incremental revenues for media companies
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Understanding Market Voids
To define voids and opportunities for growth, Magid gauges interest in several
content areas, news values and presentation styles as well as measures the
client’s current performance in these areas. Voids identified in previous projects
have included:
 Lack of meaningful depth and detail
 Lack of content relevance and uniqueness
 Lack of original reporting and watchdog journalism
 A failure to understand the community and its ideals
 A failure to demonstrate market expertise
 Boring and/or confusing presentation
 Bias
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Example: This Paper Falls Short On Key Market Values
When looking at ideals and evaluations, we see that this paper falls significantly
short in eight of the top 10 market values
Serves the community by watching out for wrongdoing from business and government
43%
Importance 810
-28
71
Does original reporting, not just collect stories from other media sources
40%
-31
71
The paper digs deep to get the real story, not just the official version
40%
-29
69
On any given day, spending 20 minutes with this paper will give me a lot of information
49%
Is the most complete source for local news in the area
69
43%
-26
69
Is politically neutral in its stories and headlines
31%
-38
69
Has valuable information that I cannot easily get elsewhere
32%
-33
65
Shows a thorough understanding of the local area and its history
59%
The people who produce the newspaper really seem to care about their readers
34%
Does a good job of boiling things down to what is important to know
32%
The paper’s photographs consistently help to better tell the stories
38%
Has a good balance between serious and lighter stories
64
-29
63
-27
59
56
40%
Has a good balance between positive and negative news
54
42%
54
Has columnists and personalities that I enjoy reading
44%
54
Reports on positive business development in the area
43%
51
Provides the most useful store advertising and coupons
42%
Sets the agenda for what everyone else will be talking about
Paper 8-10 Evaluation
10
Gap
= 50-60% of Importance level
= near Importance level
44
29%
%
20%
40%
32
60%
80%
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Defining the Content Focus
We consistently find that newspapers’ content mix misses the market with
consumers. By doing a detailed assessment of content ideals and voids, we build
specific filters to help clients focus on more compelling content that increases
overall readership and time spent with the paper. Changes implemented include:
 Change in geographic content mix: local, national, county, state, etc.
 Adding and/or removing specific content sections
 Changing content tone: positive/negative, opinion, writing style, story selection
 Adding navigational tools such as content rails to showcase content breadth
 Focusing on the freshness of content
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
How Do We Better Define The Printed Newspaper?
Multi-story “round up” rail?
Story branding?
Multi-photo vs. Featured photo?
National vs. Local?
Visual content vs. Text?
Important/Relevant vs. Interesting?
Quality (Writing style? Headlines?)
1A Content
Choices
1A Design
Choices
2A-3A
Content/
Design
National vs. Local?
Important vs. Interesting?
Columnist?
Information destination?
Overall Section A Impact
- On current subscribers
- On readers who don’t subscribe
Other
Factors
Marketing slogans?
Impact of editorial opinions?
Teases?
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Overhauling Content Presentation
We find that readers are turned off by the look and feel of the paper. By
developing and testing prototypes, we can help our clients define the optimal
approach to content presentation and create a more interesting product.
Presentation factors we have addressed include:
 Headline writing
 Use of color, photos and graphics
 The use of call-out boxes to highlight key elements of a story
 Quantity of content presented on the front page
 Use of navigation graphics and section headers to guide readers to sections
 Presenting two differing viewpoints next to each other
 Different use of spacing and fonts
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Example: Content Focus Is Not Optimized
In this market, one-third or more of consumers are dissatisfied with even the most straightforward
content areas, such as local, state, county and national news.
A-National
D-Your city or part of town
C-County
G-State government/politics
E-Local business/economy
O- Investigative/watchdog
B- Entire state
L-Events, entertainment
Q- Natl/world opinion
F-Schools /education
H-Crime
P- Local/regional opinion
N- Local ads
K-College sports
M- Lifestyle info
J-Pro sports
I-High school sports
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Very
Interested
Only somewhat/Not Satisfied Among the
Very/Somewhat Interested
TOTAL MARKET Interested but
Dissatisfied
68%
61
54
52
51
50
47
42
40
38
38
29
25
23
19
17
11
37
37
39
30
31
46
33
28
40
31
31
39
25
21
32
33
26
35
36
36
26
28
42
30
25
31
23
26
28
16
11
19
14
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Newspapers are still strong in smaller markets – tying with TV
among younger panelists
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Tablet app
None
Smartphone app
Other local
website
Typically, in surveys of newspaper readers, Magid
finds that TV is the leading choice (norm 44%-53%).
-
1%
2%
2%
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Newspapers usually are a distant second (norm 14%22%).
Radio can have a range depending on the market (6%21%).
Digital sources typically are not as strong (13%-16%).
9%
Newspaper
website
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The findings here are consistent across most Large
Dailies and Community papers.
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The print advantage skews A45+. Younger people
are more split in their choice of main source:
Local newspaper
10%
38%
9%
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Local radio
station
Local TV station
28%
Base: Total Market
Q.B1 . Which one of these sources do you use most often for local news and information?
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Age 18-34 chose newspaper (14%) and TV (15%)
equally
Ages 35-44 still preferred newspaper (24%) to TV (22%)
equally
Digital sources lead for ages 18-34 (55%), and for ages
35-44 (41%), declining rapidly by age to just 12% of
ages 65-74.
Emotional connections with the newspaper run deep
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Most readers say it would be a huge loss if the paper were gone. That’s a common sentiment
among newspaper readers elsewhere, too.
It would be a huge loss to our area if it were gone
61%
Mean
It's uniquely important to life in our local area
47%
7.6
I feel a strong personal connection to this newspaper
39%
6.8
It's by far the best way to get local news and
information in our local area
38%
6.1
It's useful, but easily replaced
23%
6.1
0%
20%
4.7
Base: Past-month Readers
B7 How much do you agree or disagree with each statement about the printed version of_______(NEWSPAPER)? (Scale from
1/STRONGLY DISAGREE to 10/STRONGLY AGREE)
40%
60%
80%
Overall evaluation of measured newspapers: Below Average
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Average evaluation of 6.7 is weak; normative goal around 7.5
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Sunday evaluations are stronger than for weekday (as seen in other markets).
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The Sunday/Saturday evaluation was 7.2 for both Saturday and Sunday markets.
Overall
N=2394
6.7
Sunday (Saturday)
N=2280
7.2
Weekday
6.4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Base: Past-month Readers of the Main Paper; Readers who read Sunday (Saturday), or read Weekday
(Mean excludes those choosing “Not familiar/Don’t know”)
Q.A2/F1 Please think about what you personally want from a news organization that focuses on local news. Based on your
own needs and interests, please rate each of printed versions of (MAIN PAPER)
Scale 1/Poor to 10/Outstanding, or Not familiar/Don’t know
N=2161
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9
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Readers' ratings reflect perception of negative momentum
 About 1 in 3 readers of papers (29%) rate their paper as getting worse .
 Only 11% say the paper is getting better, for a NET average of -27.
 Scores underperform Major Market norms, which currently average closer to NET 0/neutral.
N
Worse
Total
Large
Dailies
Better
-38
11
-40
Community
Group
-29
40%
30%
20%
10%
NET
2411
-27
11
2054
-29
12
357
-18
0%
Base: Past-month Readers
Q.A3 Over the past six months, how would you say that ____ has changed, if at all? (Getting Worse, About the same,
Getting better, Don’t know)
10%
20%
A few key changes would make a ‘big difference’ to more than 50% of
readers
The newspaper provided even more
depth to its news stories
33
61
The newspaper had more about local
activities and things to do
36
57
The newspaper had more local coverage
in the main section
When using stories from national
newspapers and wire services, a local
reporter would also provide a more …
The newspaper made a real and obvious
effort to eliminate bias in the newspaper
The newspaper had more columnists you
enjoy reading
28
38
27
35
63
The newspaper included more
stories from the national
newspapers and wire services
The newspaper had more special
reports on health care
47
30
49
27
Each week, the newspaper included
a local coupon book for stores in
your area
35
39
The newspaper had even more
reporters on staff
31
42
51
60
51
The newspaper took a stronger
point of view on stories, like what
you might hear from a well-…
The newspaper gave special
premiums and shopping discounts
to subscribers only
The newspaper included more stories
written by the newspaper’s own staff
37
48
The newspaper expanded to have a few
more pages each day whether I read
them or not
36
47
The newspaper’s delivery was more
consistent and reliable
A little
A big difference
Q. P3 Suppose that ____(MAIN NEWSPAPER) made some changes. For each possible change listed, please indicate
what difference it would make, if any, in the value you get for what the newspaper costs Base: Past-month Readers
42
30
34
38
25
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Layout Analytics Guide Front Page Design
Actual Front Page
Layout Analytics
Type
Target %
Space %
x%
z%
max x%
z%
Story text
x-y%
z%
Headlines
x-y%
z%
x-y%
z%
x%
z%
x-y%
z%
Photos/Graphics
Largest Visual
Top
Teases/Mast
Lower teases/
index/UPC
Captions/Bylines
/White/Other
Flags:
• Too much x
• Too little story y
• Too little z
Optimizing Distribution
We have found that newspaper circulation strategy needs to be re-assessed
based on:
 Those who read the paper live in higher demo areas that are generally
suburban as opposed to center city
 Those who “use” the paper for coupons and non-content reasons live in lower
demo areas
 Different marketing messages needed for acquiring these different types of
readers
 Content that needs to specifically reflect important geographical areas
 Circulation tiers need to be created to ensure alignment with acquisition and
subscription goals
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Maximizing Advertising Effectiveness
In order to increase ad effectiveness for advertisers and ad revenues for media
companies, Magid has developed a customized process (Magid Advertising
Performance Research) that improves advertising effectiveness across platforms.
We work with media clients to identify opportunities, conduct consumer research
to test ad creative, and provide actionable recommendations to improve
advertising performance.
The process positions our media clients as valuable partners in helping to
improve ad performance, thus enhancing their relationship with key
prospects which leads to new or larger media buys. We have completed over
75 engagements and generated over $1MM in incremental advertising on
average for top ten market clients.
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Results
Every newspaper we have worked with has seen notable improvements
including:
 Improvements in attitudes and perceptions of the paper’s brand
 Two major market papers increased circulation for the first time in 10 years;
one paper’s circulation is now even after being down for consecutive years
 Renewed focus on content areas of importance to readers
 All redesigns launched with improvements in content, navigation and style
 More attention to in-paper marketing to promote strengths of the paper
 Newspaper sweeps that align promotion, marketing, circulation, sales and the
newsroom behind a few key, in-depth stories
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© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Case Study: Improvements in Market Position After One Year
December 2011
May 2010
Weak position as a medium
•
•
•
•
•
People reading less
Perceptions that paper getting worse
Circulation overall not strong, weak in
specific areas
Efforts to improve paper’s web site and
Sunday edition not benefitting brand
Internet and mobile use accelerating, print’s
value questioned by own readers
Stronger position as a medium
•
•
•
•
Perceptions that paper getting better
Circulation has improved
Efforts to reposition the print product
appear to be paying off
These improvements come even as
Internet, mobile and tablet use
increases
Weak position as a local brand
Paper’s brand is stronger
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Paper rated mediocre vs. other media
Emotional attachment to the paper and
newspapers had largely disappeared
Positive marketing not off-setting bad wordof-mouth
Most valued attributes to newspaper
readers not reflected in brand perceptions
Paper perceived to be on wrong side of the
market’s political preference
•
•
•
Positive brand scores have increased,
negatives are down
‘Relevance’ is a long war, but it helps
to be winning some key battles
Easing of negatives extends across
many sub-groups
Fewer label paper as ‘liberal’, and
more express that a Moderate paper is
their ideal
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Case Study: Improvements in Market Position After One Year
20
% Better vs. % Worse – Total Market
15
% Better vs. % Worse
10
5
0
-5
Better/Worse
-10
Satisfaction
-15
25
Wave 1
Wave 6
6.7
7.2
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Case Study: Improvements in Market Position After One Year
% Better vs. % Worse – Total Market
35
% Better vs. % Worse
30
Net 31% of adults in
market said paper
improved
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
Better/Worse
26
© 2012 Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
Bill Day
Executive Director
757-771-1230
bday@magid.com