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Newspapers must give insert advertisers what they demand--targeted, demographic-based zoning--and resolve issues about standardizing product sizes, distribution methods and tracking results, the lead print buyer for a national electronics chain said Wednesday morning.
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Marsha Lawrence, print-media manager for Best Buy Co., said her company distributes 37 million inserts through 300 newspapers weekly. Invariably, each paper handles and charges differently for insertions.
Paying for different editions has become a nightmare, with Best Buy trying to understand, among other things, charges for zoning labeled "Zip, zaps, buckets, truck route, country carriers, golden circle, golden triangle, metro, outstate" and more, Lawrence said. Imagine grappling with those kinds of variances with each of the 300 papers.
A national retailer also must deal with never-ending requests from newspapers to deliver inserts early while printers request more time to prepare the products. And newspapers are failing to communicate special edition or sampling plans that could help an advertiser get its message to the right demographic, she said.
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Robert Brown is vice president and division manager for Treasure Chest Advertising's New York Division. He said digital delivery is gradually cutting preprint prep time, though as it arrives on the scene it causes delays and problems as producers adjust to digital makeup.
John Braun, director of New Business Development at Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., offered an innovative solution to get the dialogue going. He said his company, using an idea from The Boston Globe, held a "Printers Day" which brought together 75 printers, distributors and buyers. "We were really surprised with the results," he said. Along with establishing lines of communications, it also gives a view of challenges faced by the paper and how retailers can use its resources to get what they need.
--by Bob Sims