Aug. 20, 2006

By DANIEL J. GRIFFIN
Vice President of Marketing
(North Andover, Mass.) Eagle-Tribune

When leaders of The Congregational Church of Topsfield, Mass., unveiled plans to restore their historic structure's 17th-century steeple, Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co. Executive Editor Karen Andreas recognized a 21st-century opportunity.

"Topsfield is home to thousands of affluent, top-flight newspaper readers," Andreas said. "As circulation in our core city areas declines, we need to gain strength in outlying communities such as Topsfield. And the best way to do that is to offer readers there an approach to local news they can't and won't find anywhere else."

On July 28, the day before restoration of the steeple of The Congregational Church of Topsfield, Mass., was set to begin, page one of The Salem News featured an innovative package explaining the project through a series of illustrations.

A September 2005 "DoNorth" section of ETPC's daily newspapers led with a package heralding "Trails & Sails Weekend," a regional event promoting outdoor and historic activities for North of Boston residents. Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co. co-sponsored the event, staged by the Essex National Heritage Commission.

Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co.'s New Mover package target-markets single-family homeowners within days of their arrival. The box offers a complimentary two-week subscription and also includes an unconditional gift many homeowners desire but do not have – an American flag.

Click on the photos above to view larger versions.

So Andreas and ETPC Editorial staffers worked with steeple-restoration experts to present the story in an interlocking series of illustrations – placing the full-color package on page one of The Salem News, ETPC's daily newspaper serving Topsfield, the day before the project was set to begin.

Located just eight miles northwest of Salem, Topsfield is home to only 481 subscribers to The Salem News – just about half the number of residents who subscribe to Boston metro dailies.

For Andreas and ETPC's editorial staff, that signals opportunity.

"With packages like this, we're working to engage a newspaper-reading community in a way that no other newspaper does," Andreas said. "And, as we look toward the future, Topsfield is one of our key 'target' towns. We want to do well there."

ETPC's unique editorial presentation of Topsfield's landmark steeple project is part of a continuing whole-company initiative to align content and services with the interests of the North of Boston market's most likely newspaper readers – readers of the future, not readers of the past.

"In the past, we could expect readers to have long and strong ties to their communities," Andreas said. "Today, with families moving into and out of the area from all over the country and all over the world, traditional community ties aren't as strong. So, we have to think smarter to engage a new and different kind of reader."

For ETPC, the first step in "thinking smarter" about newspaper readership North of Boston began more than three years ago, with a neighborhood-by-neighborhood market analysis geared toward determining where newspaper readers lived and what they wanted to read.

The project was conducted by ETPC Research Director Forbes Durey.

"Using the five major markers of newspaper readership developed by the Readership Institute at Northwestern University, we assessed nearly 1,000 clusters, or neighborhoods, in our market," Durey said. The five attributes? Income, education, marital status, professional status and home ownership.

"Newspapers are no longer a mass medium," Durey said. "To grow in the future, we'll have to target likely readers and work harder to stay connected to them."

Today, ETPC "target" markets' likely newspaper readers within days of their move into any one of the 58 communities in its readership area with a top-quality "New Mover" package.

Shipped via UPS only to single-family households in key neighborhoods, the package announces the recipient's two-week complimentary subscription to one of ETPC's four daily newspapers and includes an unconditional gift from the company – an American flag.

"Response has been just phenomenal," ETPC President and Publisher Richard M. Franks said. "We do very, very well in converting new movers – and most of them are still subscribing a year later.

"And many of those who opt not to subscribe write or call to thank us for the package," he said.

ETPC has even carried its "target" strategy to single-copy sales.

"Historically, single-copy purchase points have concentrated in urban areas," Durey explained. "Our neighborhood/target analysis indicated that many potential buyers weren't traveling by or near our traditional purchase outlets."

To address the issue, in 2005 ETPC aggressively sought to increase its visibility in target neighborhoods with a greater number of new honor boxes. The result: Since new boxes were installed in target areas, single-copy sales for all of the company's four daily newspapers have increased by a total of nearly 1,300 per day.

"It all about fishing where the fish are," Franks said. "And offering readers Editorial 'bait' that keeps them coming back for more."

For Andreas and her staff – and for everyone at EPTC – assembling and delivering that 'bait' is every day's top priority.

"We live and work in a great and historic area," Andreas said. "Readers value what we do because it strengthens their connection to where they live."

One example: In September 2005, scores of area outdoor and historic organizations collaborated for "Trails & Sails Weekend" – a single weekend of family activities for North of Boston residents – from whale watches to sailing trips to tours of historic buildings.

"These types of events really appeal to our 'future' target audience much more than they do to our traditional reader," Andreas said. So, ETPC became a lead sponsor of "Trails & Sails" – and, prior to the event, the daily newspapers' Thursday "DoNorth" weekend activity section highlighted the roster of upcoming activities.

Attendance skyrocketed – and many readers called and e-mailed to request greater notice of when 2006's Trails & Sails Weekend was scheduled.

For ETPC, a sustained and targeted approach to assembling and selling daily newspapers is paying strong dividends: In the extremely competitive New England market, ETPC substantially outpaces metro dailies and suburban counterparts in maintaining circulation.

"There's always room for improvement," Franks said. "But the best way to achieve strong results is to take a hard look at the facts, assemble a strong response plan, and measure the results."

"That's what we do," he said. "Targeting works. If we keep working to fish where the fish are, we're going to catch more fish."