Last call for Christmas Press Coverage
The time for indecision is over. If you want to be positively sure your product or service will be in the news this holiday season, sign up with NewsUSA before the end of September and get a message you control in front of millions of newspaper readers. Call me at 615-429-2718 for rates, including current package deals that will keep you in the news for a year solid.
This Christmas shopping season is expected to be a little better than last year's but not by much. You had better be top of mind to succeed, according to a survey from Information Resources. "Consumers will take a more strategic approach to holiday shopping this year and are heading into stores with shopping lists and a budget in mind." But here's opportunity:
* More than 98% of shoppers will make spending time with family a priority in the holiday season
* 93% of consumers' holiday plans include getting together with family and friends over the dinner table and at parties
* More than 90% of shoppers are making gift-giving a priority, up nearly three percentage points from last year
Nearly two thirds of consumers plan to eat their holiday meals at home, half plan to dine at their friends' homes and holiday parties, and almost all plan to consume alcoholic beverages during these holiday parties. Consumers plan to spend the same or less this year than in 2008 on holiday meals, according to the report. More than 94% plan on spending no more than $500 on food and 90% plan on spending no more than $200 on holiday beer, wine, and spirits purchases. Only 11% of consumers mention they will shop without a grocery list, and private label buying continues to be top of mind for shoppers.
There are your story angles. You just need to tie them into what you are pitching and get guaranteed press coverage on the features. See the kinds of clients using this service here.
Magazine Sales Are Downright Ugly
Last week the Audit Bureau of Circulation released its magazine numbers and they made the newspaper industry look positively robust.
In the first half of 2009, overall paid circulation dropped 2.1%, not so bad, but single copy newsstand sales were down 12%. Advertising plummeted 27.9 percent during the first half of the year.
Surprisingly, two of the real bright spots among major magazines were two news weeklies with hefty subscription fees: The Economist (up 9%) and The Week (up 1%). Signs of intelligent life perhaps, but "In single copy sales, no magazine saw an increase."
The celebrity gossip magazines got a thrashing, with OK! Weekly down 21%, In Touch down 20%, Star down 14%, and People down 13%.
ESPN The Magazine was down 20%, Sports Illustrated down 25%.
Business was brutal too: down more than 15% each at Forbes, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review. (Inc. bucked the trend, up 7%)
The most dramatic declines, however, were in the area where PR typically has the most success: women's magazines. This fertile ground is looking pretty fallow lately. Ladies Home Journal dropped 46%, Better Homes and Gardens fell 36%, and Family Circle fell 23%.
The lads stopped spending too: Penthouse dropped by a third, single copy sales of Maxim fell 17.9 percent and Playboy’s slipped 25 percent.
And in the "who would have thought ten years ago" category, Reader's Digest filed for bankruptcy...
Can you imagine the media coverage if newspapers turned in these kinds of circulation numbers year-over-year?
Food for Thought
- A Harris poll finds the national mood getting more optimistic: 46% of Americans believe the economy will improve in the coming year, while 32% say it will stay the same and 22% believe it will get worse. In May, just under two in five believed the economy would improve in the coming year while over one-quarter said they thought it would get worse.
- Reach the parents, reach the kids. A study from the Scarborough Kids Internet Panel finds 63% of teens go to their parents/guardians for information about health and nutrition. 50% turn to the Internet. "When teens reach the age of 16, however, the Internet trumps parents as the source for health information."
- Older and more patriotic: 59% of Americans say they are more likely to buy a product if it is advertised as "Made in America," but age matters. Three-quarters of those aged 55 and older, two-thirds of those aged 45-54, and three in five of those aged 35-44 all say they are more likely to buy a product advertised as "Made in America".
Publicity Campaign Results
Despite the gloom and doom among some large daily newspapers, the overall number of papers in the U.S. has barely budged in the past five years. Suburban and smaller city papers are still healthy and profitable. In some markets they are expanding, despite a huge drop in auto advertising and an ongoing recession.
Also, as editorial staffs get cut to the bone, you are probably finding that your pitch e-mails are having trouble getting through to anyone and your calls go unreturned. Meanwhile, NewsUSA placed full features in the following top-100 newspapers this summer:
Miami Herald, San Diego Union-Tribune, Grand Rapids Press, Dallas Morning News, Newark Star-Ledger, Bergen Record, Sacramento Bee, Houston Chronicle, Fresno Bee, Nashville Tennessean, Buffalo News, Toledo Blade, Kansas City Star, Akron Beacon-Journal, San Jose Mercury-News, Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, San Antonio Express-News
How did your results compare? For automatic, guaranteed media placement in U.S. newspapers, call Tim Leffel at 615-429-2718.
Need more info? See how it all works here.
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Newspaper Deadlines:
Thanksgiving
Materials for articles geared to the Thanksgiving holiday should be in this week or it's too late.
Christmas
Materials for Christmas shopping, travel, and entertaining features should be in by the end of September.
Winter
Get it together now for winterizing the home, energy efficiency, winter driving, and cold/flu season.
* Remember, NewsUSA stories routinely get picked up for a period of several months to one year+. Plan ahead to maximize your event/ seasonal exposure or pick evergreen topics that are relevant for long periods.
Quote of the Month:"If nobody spoke unless he had something to say, the human race would soon lose the use of speech."
-- W. Somerset Maugham
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