Went to the morning session of the NAA Marketing conference in Orlando.
Topic: innovation and new ad ideas. Here’s one for example: the Chicago newspaper and its niche pub for young peeps had a “roadblock” ad for one day. Advertiser was Gap. Here’s how it worked, they blocked out an entire newspaper or section with Gap’s Red ads from the front page stickie to the back page full ad. Effective.
Other good ideas to, like a Friday automotive section. Typically it’s Saturday. With a bonus radio buy.
I won’t lie. It’s cold today. Overcast, breezy and cold. How cold? iPhone weather reports 48, and I’m pretty sure it’s warmed up in the past 3 hours I’ve been up.
And what’s up with people’s dedication to Starbucks? Nothing against Starbucks, I’ve spent my share of cash on their brew. But here at the Marriott World Center, there is a Starbucks in the lobby. And people will line up 20 deep and wait forever for their drink. That’s crazy.
Maybe they don’t know there is a coffee shop downstairs that isn’t as busy. $2.50 for a large.
I know, it’s not the same.
Most of the sessions here in Orlando at the NAA Marketing conference have dealt with the future. Quit whining about the past, the good old days of the newspaper industry - whether you come from sales or the newsroom - and focus on the future. And its strengths.
Today, the message continued to be preached. One of the afternoon speakers had this to say, “Think of digital as the core product and print as the support product.” That’s a dramatic shift, but it indicates where the audience is trending.
Earlier this week, newspaper execs were warned to develop a high percentage of overall revenue from the digital side in order to survive.
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Caught the U23D movie in Orlando on Tuesday night. And there’s one word for this show:
Genius.
80 minutes of U2 in 3D as the title would suggest. I’m a huge U2 fan so it played to the right crowd. Filmed mostly from their Argentina shows.
These guys are amazingly tight in their musical performance. I’m sure ever song is a cover song to them. They’ve played them, heard them, blah blah blah for so many years they could routine them in their sleep. But Bono provided great energy on stage in this film. Edge’s sonic harmonics sounded great from the theatre speakers. Adam Clayton actually stole a lot of camera time which is unusually for a U2 concert film. It’s usually mostly Bono and Edge. And of course Larry Mullen Jr. kept the beat from a massive drum set.
The whole 3D idea is to provide fans with a unique view of a U2 concert. And it succeeds. It looks visually stunning, with mic stands seemingly right in front of you. The colors and post production work are outstanding.
The movie played Cannes this past year and really is a technical achievement. It’s nothing new as far as a U2 concert goes. If you’ve seen or heard them, this is more of the same. But the 3D is a cool new twist.
Interesting statement. From Merrill Lynch.
The late Tuesday session at the NAA Marketing conference in Orlando dealt with innovating past the economic slump. Lauren Rich Fine, former managing director, said the innovation many newspapers are trying is a sign of hope. It shows there is hope because of the effort to fight the slump and meet needs of the industry. It’s all about new business models.
She said despite the worries, she’d rather be a newspaper than a TV station. Interesting. I don’t think she was just playing to the crowd.
Yes, a return trip to Bongo’s. But with a mission. Joe Hopper and I return to Downtown Disney to catch the U23D movie at the AMC. I tried to catch it in Washington DC last week, but it was only playing on the weekends. So we cab it over in the monsoon and run into the themepark. I manage to completely wipe out just as I reach the Bongo’s stoop, complete with a sliding stop in the rain. Nice.
I had steak last time here, I ordered chicken this time. More rice. More plantains. Slightly less garlic.
We ordered some appetizer that I can’t pronounce or don’t remember. Basically it’s a fried mashed potato with meat in the center. I’m telling you, this would be a smash hit in OKC.
It’s been a big news day in Florida. Tornado warnings up north. Massive power outtage in the south.
Also grabbed strong cigar from Sosa Family Cigars. Man. They recommended a “full bodied” cigar. And it was.
As someone who has spent the past decade in the online biz, that question seems a little obvious to me.
In the Tuesday afternoon session at the NAA Martketing conference in Orlando there was a session devoted to the online audience for newspapers. Simple business model: you must be relevant to your customer and show value to your audience. And you must differentiate, show you are different from the competition.
According to Scarborough Research, newspaper Web site users shop more online and spend more when they do than from other not newspaper sites.
Here’s more: when newspaper sites shopped for items such as clothes or travel items like airline tickets, 3 of 4 actually followed through with the purchase.
Scarborough went further. Seven days of newspaper Web traffic were equal to 80 spots on radio. That’s reach for you.
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Here’s the real reason newspaper execs come to the NAA Marketing conference in Orlando - or any conference. To network. To meet, greet, boast, learn and most importantly ask questions.
Dan “Patio” Dalton. It you’re in the media biz, you probably get his emails. He is a one-man marketing machine, with a personal brand: an image of himself on his porch. I’m not kidding.
But everyone knows Patio Man. And he’s always at these conferences. So he runs into Kelly Fry, OPUBCO Communications Group Vice President for News and Information Center (now that’s a title!), and me on the trade show floor and demands we spend 30 seconds with him. He can be a pest, but that’s the mark of the good salesman I guess. He is tenacious. We give him the 30 seconds and his product is solid. In fact we have used Content That Works, his company, for a while now.
However, he convinces us to join him and his co-workers and the company CEO Paul Kamp for dinner. So now we have an adventure on our hands as they say we are headed to a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant located somewhere in an Orlando strip mall.
How could this go wrong, right?
Of course we roll in, nine strong, and grab a corner table. Place is packed. Mostly with locals I think. I’m not sure how anyone else would know about this place. Paul is a former restaurant/food critic outta Chicago, so we kinda trust he knows his pasta. In fact, he breaks down the difference between North side and South side pasta (alfredo vs tomato, sorta).
But we don’t get pasta. We order the special, the sea bass. I’ve never had sea bass. In fact, I’m not sure I want sea bass in Oklahoma. It’s great though. Really top notch fish. Served with potatos cut lengthwise. I usually try to include a price, but Paul and Dan ordered for the group so I didn’t get a good look at the menu.
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