1 The Digital Takeover in the College Newspaper Industry
Chloe Ledet
The University of Alabama
Situation Analysis
2 Print Campaigns
Before launching its first mobile app, The Crimson White created the “Feature,” “In Your
Pocket” and “Does it” campaign to inform students of the new platform. In addition, to creating
several campaigns, The Crimson White promoted the mobile app using its official Twitter
account (https://twitter.com/TheCrimsonWhite).
The “Feature” campaign included information regarding the devices that featured the app,
as well as the Denny Deals app that included daily deals and specials offered by restaurants and
other businesses such as the Supe Store, Tuscaloosa Wireless, Glory Bound and more. The
“Feature” campaign ran in The Crimson White’s football magazines and newspaper.
The “In Your Pocket” campaign promoted the on-the-go trend to accommodate the
college demographic. The campaign included new features such as The App Store and Google
Play download.
Alex Thomas, intern at The Crimson White, explained the mobile apps allow users the
convenience of searching through content as they please without having to locate a physical copy
of the newspaper. “For example, today I did not want to carry a newspaper through the rain, so I
used my mobile to stay posted,” (Alex Thomason, personal communication, March 6, 2014).
The recent campaign included the “Do it” message, which encouraged students to capture
a picture of themselves using the app while out with friends or walking to class. The Crimson
White took more of an interactive approach with this campaign. They were interested in making
sure students were more involved, which would ultimately prompt them to download the app. As
of now, The Crimson White has not released any current campaigns promoting the mobile app.
Key Publics
The key publics included is The University of Alabama student body. Since the
publication does serve as the number one media source for students, its primary focus is to make
sure it is accommodating the needs of the current generation, which would consist of the college
demographic. Katie Schlumper, account executive, stated the newspaper will eventually adopt to
3 new trends, which will continue to mold it into a good industry (Katie Schlumper, personal
communication, March 6, 2014).
External Factors: Competitors
Some of the external factors that might affect the future success of The Crimson White’s
mobile app would be its competitors, economic conditions and the industry. Two major
competitors are Campus Specials, a new form of student, and The Odyssey, weekly lifestyle
magazine.
According to Campus Special’s LinkedIn page (http://linkd.in/1i75l1Y), it has been
nationally ranked as the top leader in print, mobile, online and digital marketing for the college
demographic. In contrast to The Crimson White, Campus Special’s app has been ranked on the
top 10 chart in the App Store and 50 on Google Play. Its mobile app includes coupons,
promotions, loyalty points, and VIP discounts, and students also have the convenience of
ordering food from the app.
In reference to The Odyssey’s Facebook page
(https://www.facebook.com/AlabamaOdyssey), the lifestyle magazine serves as a discussion
board for the Greek system. The Odyssey includes a full-staff of writers affiliated with the Greek
System at The University of Alabama, which allows them to penetrate its target audience directly
and send out relevant information pertaining to that audience. The Odyssey’s official website
(http://www.theodysseyonline.com/) includes several boards with information to keep students
updated in the pop-culture industry, as well as the trends and happenings that are taking place on
campus.
Keenan Madden, account executive at The Crimson White, explained a format and style
similar to Buzz Feed is appealing because of the use of pictures, which draws the reader’s
interest (Keenan Madden, personal communication, March 6, 2013).
External Factors: Economic Conditions and Industry
4 With the print industry slowly transitioning into digital, the budgets of college
newspapers have been cut due to the cost of the transition, low readership and overall decreasing
revenue.
In reference to Matheny (2012), Joseph Valdez, editor-in-chief at The Harbor Tides
stated that he has witnessed a drastic cut in his annual budget within the last two years. Valdez
stated that he could soon see his newspaper diminish as they continue to force the digital
transition onto college newspapers (“College newspapers feel financial pinch” 2012, para. 1).
SWOT Analysis
The Crimson White’s strength would be that it is completely student-operated. By having
a full staff of college students, this benefits the publication when it comes to determining what
the publication should produce to better accommodate the student body. College students are
up-to-date as far as knowing what it is trendy and what the current generation will find accessible
and convenient for their everyday use. An internal weakness would include the lack of funds to
produce new platforms for the student body. If the publication is not generating a significant
amount of revenue each year, then its annual budget for the physical year will be decreased, and
the amount of funding provided for executing new plans will be significantly lower.
An external peril would be that The Crimson White is not considered a self-supported
publication. The publication is supported and controlled by a media planning board at The
University of Alabama, which means there are enforced rules and regulations that the publication
must abide by before executing any new ideas.
Problem Statement
If the college newspaper readership continues to decrease, then the frequency of the
publication will decrease, which will result in a total lost of revenue. In order to prevent this,
college newspapers must take the initiative and make the transition to digital media.
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