NS Meets with Media Agency Heads
At a lunch meeting in London set up by the NS, president Georgina Harvey, Marketing Committee chairman Danny Cammiade and marketing director Robert Ray are meeting with agency heads from top London agencies including PHD, OMD, Vizeum, Carat, M4C, Arena, Total Media, AMS and EMO.
Robert Ray said: “This is a session that we’ve successfully run for the last few years and is a terrific opportunity for us to share with agency leaders the positive developments across local media.
“Importantly, we find the discussion and feedback from agencies highly valuable as we set our industry marketing agenda for national advertisers.”
For further information please contact Robert Ray on 020 7632 7441 or e-mail robert_ray@newspapersoc.org.uk.
Newspaper and TV Advertising Remains More Powerful Than Online
TV and newspaper advertising has more impact on consumers – including 18-24s – than web banners and online video, according to research by Deloitte and YouGov.
In a survey of 2,000 UK consumers, 30% said that newspaper ads have the greatest impact on them compared with 3% who cited online video ads and 4% who cited web banners.
TV ads came out on top at 56%, newspapers second at 30%, magazines 17%, radio 15%, outdoor 15%, leaflets 9%, and cinema 5%.
“These figures reflect the view that, outside search, online still lacks a killer ad format,” wrote Andrew Haughton, strategy consultant at Deloitte, in New Media Age.
Even for “tech-savvy” 18-24 year-olds, the newspaper ad (24%) and even the leaflet (9%) has more impact than web banners (7%) and online video ads (6%).
“It seems the challenge of engaging consumers online is likely to remain a difficult one for some time yet,” said Haughton.
For further information please contact Charles Folkes on 020 7632 7422 or e-mail charles_folkes@newspapersoc.org.uk.
ASA Announces Extension of Digital Remit into Non-paid For Online Space
The ASA’s jurisdiction is to be extended to encompass advertiser’s marketing communications online which appear on the advertiser’s own websites or other pages controlled by them (such as Facebook or other social networking pages).
On 1 March 2011, the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the CAP Code) will apply to “Advertisements and other marketing communications by or from companies, organisations or sole traders on their own websites, or in other non-paid-for space online under their control, that are directly connected with the supply or transfer of goods, services, opportunities and gifts, or which consist of direct solicitations of donations as part of their own fund-raising activities”.
CAP’s implementation document makes clear that the drafting of the new remit is framed so as to focus specifically upon material “which can be properly accepted as constituting an advertisement or other marketing communication” in recognition of the need to protect freedom of speech online and to distinguish between advertising and editorial or other material which is and will remain outside the ASA’s jurisdiction.
CAP acknowledges that “Websites can include marketing communications and other types of communication including, for example, editorial, public relations e.g. press releases and investor relations material that must properly remain outside the remit of the CAP Code and, therefore, outside the jurisdiction of the ASA.”
As well as excluding all editorial and pr content, material related to causes and ideas is also excluded from the new remit. User generated content will be subject to the Code only if it is adopted and incorporated by an advertiser into their marketing communications.
Advertisers now have 6 months to ensure that their own advertisements on their own websites conform with the Code, the revised version of which for both print and paid for online ads on third party space came into force on 1 September.
NS members who subscribe to the ad control service can also contact PERA advisers Atiqur Chowdhury and Ierena Pace for individual advice.
Full details can be found on the ASA’s website.
For further information contact Sue Oake on 0207 632 7463 or e-mail sue_oake@newspapersoc.org.uk
NS Launches Annual Challenge for Young Communications Planners
Friday 8 October will see the wanted ads Young Comms Planning Team of the Year awards take place at the London Art House in Islington.
The competition invites agency communications planners to work on a local media brief for a major brand.
The top two teams of the day will win ‘the wanted ads Young Comms Planner of the Year’ award and a cash prize of £1000 each.
The event will be chaired by Toby Roberts, head of strategy at OMD. Other top agency judges already confirmed include Hugh Cameron – PHD; Richard Hartell – Starcom MediaVest Group; Matt Hardisty - Mother; Tony Regan – Initiative and Ivan Pollard – Naked Communications.
NS marketing director Robert Ray said:
“We’ve run ‘the wanted ads Young Team of the Year’ for creative teams for eight years now. With 1200 local newspapers, 1500 websites and everything from hyper-local to national media opportunities, I believe that local media provides a fantastic canvas to challenge the UK’s brightest young comms planners in this exciting one day competition.
“A number of the UK media industry’s leading comms directors have agreed to judge the awards which shows the potential that this event has for the entrants. We are really looking forward to extending our well-established creative awards to the communications planning community.”
Conditions of entry
- All teams must compete in pairs
- All teams must have two years or less agency experience
- Entry into Young Comms Planning Team of the Year is FREE.
For more information please contact Robert Ray on 020 7632 7441 or e-mail robert_ray@newspapersoc.org.uk.
Police Guidance on Photographers
Chief Constable Andy Trotter, chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Communications Advisory Group (CAG), has written to all chief constables asking them to remind their officers that they have no power to stop photographers taking pictures or to confiscate or delete pictures without a court order.
A copy of Andy Trotter’s letter can be found here.
NS members can contact the legal team in the PERA department for advice if they encounter problems with particular officers or forces.
The NS and Society of Editors are involved in ongoing discussions with CAG - formerly the Media Advisory Group - on other ACPO guidelines, which are currently under review.
This advice is designed to help communications staff in the police service in their dealings with the media and covers subjects such as pre-verdict media briefings, information about sex offenders and the naming of victims of crime and RTAs.
ACPO aims to “encourage a presumption of openness; to promote consistent practice and to offer practical guidance”.
Whilst under review the full set of guidelines has been removed from ACPO’s website, although Guidance on the Release of Images of Suspects to the Media can be found at www.acpo.police.uk.
For further information please contact Catherine Courtney on 020 7632 7465 or e-mail catherine_courtney@newspapersoc.org.uk
Archant’s Adrian Jeakings to Speak at 9th International Newsroom Summit
Adrian Jeakings is booked to be one of the top speakers at the 9th International Newsroom Summit hosted by WAN/IFRA in London next week.
The conference, which takes place at Hilton London Canary Wharf on 8-9 September, will cover issues including: multi-title newsrooms and newsroom networks, paid content and social media and audience engagement.
Full details and a booking form can be found here.
JP Announces Increase in Profits as Ad Recovery Continues
Johnston Press has reported its first increase in operating profits since 2006 (+5.9% to £40.5m) amid signs of improving advertising and circulation revenues. Announcing the group’s results for the first half of 2010, chief executive John Fry said yesterday he expected the recovery in regional press advertising to continue as the economy improves. Media analysts responded positively to the results with Numis reiterating their ‘buy’ recommendation on JP shares.
Total revenue was down 5.2% to £207.3m in H1 2010, compared with a decline of 18.1% in H2 2009 and -32.7% in H1 2009. “As we move into the second half of the year, we have seen the improving trend in advertising revenues continue with total advertising in the first six weeks on a like-for-like basis only down 3.7%,” said Fry.
Some advertising categories and geographic areas were performing well, with property advertising up 9.5% y-o-y and print advertising generally performing better in the South and Midlands compared with the North, Scotland and Ireland, reflecting the recovery in the wider economy.
Circulation revenues were showing resilience, down just 2.8% in the first half of the year. Fry highlighted the group’s strategic focus on investment in printed newspapers and preserving circulations by improving availability of newspapers in retail outlets and improving quality through an editorial review process and increased paginations.
“Over 10,000 readers have been recruited to reader panels and continue to give feedback,” said Fry. The editorial review process uses feedback from both readers and a panel of editors “to develop changes that will keep newspapers fresh and up to date.”
Digital revenues grew 10.9%, following the successful relaunch a year ago of the group’s recruitment sites on the back of a partnership with DMGT’s Jobsite. Since relaunch, unique visitors to the recruitment sites were up 193%, CVs posted were up 400% and job applications were up 1381% on a year ago.
“The group’s offer of a unique combination of digital and print advertising is well received by customers and provides an excellent response to their advertisements. The group is therefore well positioned to grow employment advertising as markets recover from the economic downturn,” Fry explained.
He said that recent developments in terms of paywalls and paid-for mobile apps had “created an environment in which paid-for content becomes more possible.” He cited the example of The Scotsman, whose paid subscribers to its iPhone app now represented 7% of its circulation.
Johnston Press announced a new partnership with the German company Qype to integrate their digital directory proposition within the group’s local websites, providing context-specific content as well as a local entertainment and events database.
Operating profit margins were up 2% to 19.5% and net debt was reduced by nearly £21m to £401m, despite significantly higher interest costs. Positive cash flow enabled the group to bring forward its repayments this year.
Kjell Aamot, the former chief executive of the Norwegian publisher Schibsted, has joined the Johnston Press board. He is also a non-executive director of the French newspaper publishing group 20Minutes (50% owned by Schibsted) and of PubliGroupe, the Swiss-based marketing and sales organisation.
- Johnston Press eyeing ad growth this year (Reuters)
- Johnston Press posts first operating profit increase since 2006 (Media Guardian)
- Johnston Press Reports Cheering Financial Results (All Media Scotland)
- www.johnstonpress.co.uk
For further information please contact Lynne Anderson on 020 7632 7421 or e-mail lynne_anderson@newspapersoc.org.uk.
NS Signs Up Orange for the wanted ads IV
Orange has become the latest major advertiser to sign up for NS research project the wanted ads IV.
Booked through media agency MEC, a campaign for Orange’s broadband service will run in The Herald in Plymouth and on its website over four weeks in September and October.
The campaign will form part of NS research project the wanted ads IV which aims to help understand the contribution local media makes to overall campaign performance.
Research agency Kantar Media has been appointed by the NS to test a series of multi media national campaigns.
Warner Brothers film ‘Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore’ was the first brand to sign up and discussions are ongoing with one more major national advertiser.
Results for the quantitative project are expected later this year. To see other the wanted ads research projects, click here.
For further information please contact Keith Donaldson on 020 763 27443 or keith_donaldson@newspapersoc.org.uk.
Start to Premiership Season Attracts New Readers for Gazette
The Blackpool Gazette has seen a surge in web traffic alongside print sales increases since the start of Blackpool FC’s first season in the Premiership.
The interest in the local team has seen increased traffic to the paper’s website as page views went up to 4.5 million from 2.25 million in a four week period.
Sales rose by three per cent on the Monday after Blackpool’s 4-0 victory over Wigan, and circulation has also risen on match days.
The Gazette’s site hosts the Blackpool FC dedicated section Pool Passion, which contains live blogs, photographs and user forums.
For more information please contact Paul Sinker on 020 7632 7424 or e-mail sinkerp@newspapersoc.org.uk.
Archant Helps Launch New Journalism Foundation Degree
A two year-foundation degree in journalism run by City College Norwich begins this September with the best two students having their fees repaid by Archant and being offered positions within the editorial team.
The course, which will be conducted by former senior journalists with more than 50 years’ experience in the news industry, will train students not only in newspaper reporting and writing skills, but also writing for websites and new media and the ability to film and edit video for the web.
The aim of the course is to prepare students so they are ready to step straight into a newsroom, which is why the college has been working with Archant and its team over the past few months to ensure it is as relevant as possible.
The graduating students will be given real work experience through delivery of some of the modules at Archant’s premises in Norwich and across Norfolk and Suffolk.
Peter Waters, editor of the EDP, explained why now is a great time to get involved in the media industry.
He said: “There have been many stories about the demise of newspapers, but that is simply not true of the best ones. At the Eastern Daily Press we take very seriously our responsibility to serve our local communities, and provide our readers, whether they be in print or online, with quality journalism and a superior news and information service.
“Nonetheless, journalism is changing, becoming more diverse in its delivery and more technologically enriched, and to that end we need new talented people who will help us develop our products to meet the requirements of a rapidly evolving media scene and changing lifestyles. This new degree course has been designed to achieve that.”
Tim Williams, editor of the Evening News, said: “There are few greater jobs out there than that of a journalist and this is a fantastic opportunity to get not only the training needed to enter a newsroom but also potentially a guaranteed job at the end of it.”
Jo Pretty, head of the college’s School for Creative Arts, said: “This course is designed to equip graduates with the relevant skills to achieve academic results and the professional and technical skills required by today’s journalists.”
For further information contact Keith Morris: keith.morris@archant.co.uk.