Come Together: Defining the Complementary Roles of Print and Online
In 2001 I worked with the Newspaper Association of America’s circulation federation to develop a report on how print and online departments could work together to further the sales of subscriptions. Working with me on the project was my consulting partner at that time, Leah Gentry.
From the report’s opening:
… the NAA Circulation Federation began looking at how consumers use print and online news sources and how their choices affect our business. We began looking at the challenges and opportunities both media would encounter as this new consumer channel developed.
Here’s what we wrote for the introduction to the report, which runs 72 pages.
Newspaper marketing executives confront more challenges and opportunities as the media landscape evolves at an ever-increasing pace. No longer can our audiences be solely identified as newspaper readership; online also is becoming an important path for customers to access news and information. As our customers select from an increasing number of routes to us, we conversely enjoy expanded opportunities for marketing to them through multiple routes and for using each platform to strengthen its siblings.
When we wrote the report, pay walls and online subscriptions were just a glimmer on the digital horizon.