ASTECH i-News for January
Data-Driven Marketing Automation for Media Professionals

Today's Quote:

"To consider data-mining modeling unproven is to ignore what direct marketing competitors are already doing to take share from newspapers and broadcast media. What IS too expensive and unproven is research focused on ‘business as usual’."

- Miles Groves, MG Strategic Research, Ltd.

(See below: “Are We Too Late to the Party?”)

>Highlights

 

>Copley Finds MAAX Success

Copley Newspapers began a corporate commitment to developing and supporting database marketing in 1997 with the selection of ASTECH and its marketing database technology. Al Frowiss has been instrumental in the company’s database marketing strategy and implementation – both at the newspaper-level as the database marketing manager at the San Diego Union-Tribune and, more recently, as part of Copley Information Services Business Intelligence Group. Al shares some background on the company’s decision to implement MAAX and how it is being implemented.

 

For the past several years, at both the corporate level and the newspaper divisions, database marketing has been successfully deployed for a variety of circulation, advertising and editorial projects and programs. We have expanded our view for the role of database marketing through experience, experimentation with several marketing technologies and growingly sophisticated business intelligence tools.

 

In this time, we've also learned that the tools and data-driven processes we strive to support must be aligned with the analytical skills of the user community. In the quest for rapid deployment of these tools, we no longer have the time to spend months bringing one analyst up to speed on a tool only to have user turnover. At the same time, with medium-size newspapers that do not necessarily have a full complement of marketing/business analysts, our "users" are actually line managers and part-time marketing support staff that need answers and results quickly, without the risk of errors and mistakes in data runs and selection criteria.

 

We have found MAAX to be an excellent solution and fit for where our newspapers are today, and where they need to grow in terms of increasing sophistication.

 

Copley Information Services, the corporate technology group of Copley Newspapers, began an evaluation of MAAX in February 2004. After several months of internal testing, we moved forward with a roll-out to our flagship property, the San Diego Union-Tribune. The database marketing team at the SDUT quickly came up to speed on MAAX and made a smooth transition from their previous marketing system.

 

To date at the SDUT, MAAX has been used primarily to support Advertising/Direct Mail business development. One of the key priorities for 2006 is to aggressively extend application of the system to the newspaper’s circulation marketing activities.

 

There are many reasons why MAAX is the system of choice for Copley. Among them:

 

MAAX has also been rolled out at the Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA), State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL), Peoria Journal Star and The Repository (Canton, OH). The Daily Breeze is using MAAX in support of circulation marketing, targeting former subscribers and non-subscriber households using key PRIZM segments. Springfield is employing MAAX to launch new Easy Pay conversion programs and for target identification, list creation and response analysis. At the Peoria Journal Star, MAAX supports TMC list management and a variety of circulation marketing applications.

 

In summary, MAAX is a hybrid analytical tool that does a great job of integrating database management, business analysis modules, selection/query tools and graphic presentation into a powerful, usable package. With MAAX we have found that it is much easier to deliver complex data to users, set up queries and templates that are intuitive and adaptable, and get immediate use and value for our time and efforts.

Al Frowiss can be reached at al.frowiss@copleypress.com or 858-729-8026.

 

>Are We Too Late to the Party?

In his highly regarded Economic Notes, Miles Groves of MG Strategic Research suggests that the newspaper industry has been slow to “operationalize” research. As a result, advertising market share has continued to erode and the threat to the newspaper franchise has reached a dangerous tipping point. Says Groves :

 

“The critical nature of a marketing information resource has not been lost on advertisers, as they invest in their own data-mining capabilities. More are not merely focused on geographic programs, but on building models drawn from research. These models identify the best prospects to target with mail, catalogs, web positioning and electronic missives to communicate with potential and existing customers.

 

“Among most newspapers, data mining remains a concept that has yet to serve the consumer research needs of publishers. Editors need data modeling to help them understand local trends. Advertising executives need it to help them deliver household level solutions to their clients desiring door-step targeting or the right web page. Circulation executives struggling to maintain existing levels of circulation need it to extend readership models to circulation execution.

 

“It seems though, that despite the urgency to build readership, improve products and better serve advertising clients, interest in what advanced database research can offer is minimal.”

 

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>Publishers Headline INMA Circulation Summit

The upcoming Circulation Summit in Scottsdale, AZ features contributions from several industry leaders who will share their respective visions for the future of newspaper circulation and organization. Specifically, these leaders will address reconciling the desire to make long-term investments in growth with the short-term financial expectations of the investment community. The implications for the structure of the organization will also be a key element of the Summit.

 

Among those senior executives on the agenda:

 

This is an event that you cannot afford to miss…but time is running short! Get more information today at: http://www.inma.org/2006-circsummit.cfm

 

>MAAX™ Users Group Meeting: March 27-29, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas

With 50+ newspapers now using MAAX to propel their data-driven subscriber marketing and targeted advertising initiatives, the 2006 MAAX Users Group meeting will be jammed wall-to-wall with case studies, success stories and client recommendations. Attendees will hear specifically how MAAX is driving segmentation schemes that improve acquisition and retention productivity, how MAAX is contributing to increases in analytical, shared and solo mail revenue, and much, much more.

 

Among the progressive clients expected to participate are the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Denver Newspaper Agency, Seattle Times, Sacramento Bee, San Diego Union-Tribune, Columbus Dispatch, Houston Chronicle, Arizona Republic, The Globe and Mail, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Duluth News Tribune and several MediaNews Group companies.

 

The MUG agenda is shaping up as follows:

 

Monday (3/27)

8:30-5:00: Client case studies

 

Tuesday (3/28)

8:30-3:00: Client case studies

3:00-5:00: MAAX news and enhancements

 

Wednesday (3/29): Optional Training Sessions

9:00-10:00: smartReporter

10:15-11:15: CRM

 

As always, the MAAX Users Group meeting is free of charge to clients. There will be a nominal $75 fee for each of the training sessions for those who wish to participate.

 

For more information, contact Kristin Glennie at kjg@astech-intermedia.com or 303.296.9966 x23.

 

>Look for ASTECH Intermedia at These Events

i-News is brought to you by ASTECH InterMedia, the leading provider of data-driven, revenue-focused marketing automation solutions to the publishing industry. If you like what you read here, we invite you to learn more about our company at www.astech-intermedia.com!

ASTECH InterMedia
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