In Google Test, Newspapers Move to Widen Ad Base
The newspaper industry is finally confronting its Achilles' heel: It is too hard for small advertisers to buy ads.
Newspapers have long catered to their biggest local advertisers -- such as department stores -- for the bulk of their revenues. But department stores have cut their spending as they have consolidated, just as other large advertisers have migrated to the Internet and other media.
With ad revenues and circulation plummeting at many major metropolitan dailies, publishers are trying to make them more user-friendly to small advertisers.
In one of the more dramatic efforts to reach new advertisers, this week more than 50 daily newspapers will begin selling ads in their newspapers through Google Inc.'s Web site as part of a three-month test. The hope is that small advertisers will find the automated process of buying newspaper ads easier and more convenient than dealing with individual newspapers' sales representatives.
Google has amassed a network of hundreds of thousands of advertisers, roughly 100 of which have signed up to test the program. For example, NetFlix Inc., the online movie rental company, says it has signed on for the test despite not having done much newspaper advertising beyond the fliers stuck inside Sunday papers.
A recent study by the American Press Institute found many newspapers reach only a small portion of the advertisers in their market. The study cited the example of Virginia's Richmond Times-Dispatch, which had about 3,500 local advertisers, out of a base of 16,000 potential advertisers.
"In local markets, newspapers are leaving a lot of money on the table," says Mike Smith, executive director of Northwestern University's Media Management Center. He says small advertisers are put off by high prices, extensive paperwork, the difficulty finding a sales representative to focus on their needs and passing muster with a newspaper's credit department.
Automated ad-buying has already been a success in the area of classified advertising. Starting about four years ago, newspapers across the country began offering "self-serve" classified-ad sales systems that allow users to buy ads online without calling a sales representative.
The results of the online classified systems, provided by companies such as AdStar Inc., have been starkly positive. "Typically advertisers who place their own ads online spend between 40% and 60% more than the people who call the phone room to place their ad," says Peter M. Zollman, founding principal of Classified Intelligence, an industry research outfit.
The Newspaper Association of America says that it set up a committee this summer to study ways to make the industry easier to navigate, such as possibly standardizing business practices. And in the past several years, many newspapers around the country have launched niche publications or free commuter newspapers that target smaller advertisers.
Pending the results of the test, Google anticipates potentially extending the print-ad brokering to other types of publications, such as national newspapers, college newspapers, weeklies and magazines. It said the current test participants represent an audited daily circulation of about 15 million.
Yet some are concerned that bigger advertisers might eventually funnel significant ad buying through Google's system, undercutting the newspapers' own sales teams. "As long as Google sticks to the long tail of advertisers, it'll be value-added for everyone. If they veer away from that it will be ugly for both sides," says Jason E. Klein, president and CEO of Newspaper National Network LLC., an ad-sales network for the industry.
Google says that advertisers of all sizes are included in its test, but that its system gives newspapers total control over which ads they accept. Ultimately, the company said the program should provide additional revenue to newspapers beyond what they currently generate.
报纸携手谷歌开拓广告市场
报纸出版行业终于开始面对小客户买广告难这一其致命弱点了。
长期以来，百货商店等当地最大的广告客户才是各家报纸刻意逢迎的对象，因为这些客户是报纸主要的广告收入来源。但在行业整合大潮的影响下，百货商店普遍削减了广告支出；而其他广告大户则相中了互联网和其他媒介，纷纷弃报纸而去。
许多颇具影响力的日报如今都面临着广告收入和发行量骤减的不景气局面。迫于压力，报纸的发行商不得不放低身段，尝试拉近它们与小广告客户之间的距离。
谷歌本周推出了一项为期3个月的试行业务，为50余家日报提供广告销售平台。这是这些报业公司为了开拓市场所作出的积极尝试之一。报纸发行商们期待购买广告的自助流程能让小广告客户感到比与销售代表打交道更加便利快捷。
谷歌已经建立起一个由数以十万计广告客户组成的网络，其中有100家已经决定参与这个项目。例如，在线影片租赁公司NetFlix Inc.就表示准备参与这项试验，尽管该公司除了在Sunday报系作过夹页广告外在报纸上的广告投入并不多。
美国报业研究所(American Press Institute)近期的一份研究发现，许多报纸接触到的客户只是潜在客户群体中的一小部分。这项研究指出，以弗吉尼亚州的《里士满时报──时事通讯》(Richmond Times-Dispatch)为例，这家报纸约有3,500家广告客户，而当地潜在的客户却多达16,000家。
西北大学传媒管理中心(Northwestern University's Media Management Center)的执行主任迈克?史密斯(Mike Smith)表示，地方市场上仍有广阔的商机有待开发。他说，昂贵的收费、繁杂的文案工作、广告销售人员难觅踪影、需通过报社信贷部的审核等因素使小广告客户常常被报纸拒之门外。
自助式广告购买已经在分类广告领域取得了成功。全美的各家报纸从4年前就开始推出了自助式分类广告销售业务。这项业务的推出使得客户无需联络销售代表便可通过互联网自行购买广告。
AdStar Inc.等公司提供的在线分类广告系统取得了令人瞩目的成就。业内研究公司Classified Intelligence的创始人Peter M. Zollman表示，一般而言报纸通过互联网出售广告所获得的收入比通过销售代表所取得的收入要高出40%-60%。
美国报业协会(Newspaper Association of America)表示，它在今夏成立了一家委员会来研究提高报业亲和度的方法，比如说给行业经营方式制定统一标准等。过去几年间，全美许多报纸都针对特定人群推出了相应刊物，或出版了供人们在上下班途中阅读的免费报纸，以满足小型客户的广告需要。
如果试行效果理想，谷歌准备为全国性报纸、校园报纸、周刊和杂志等更多类型的出版物充当印刷广告经纪人的角色。谷歌称，目前参与该项目的报纸经审计后的总发行量在每日1,500万份左右。
不过，有人担心大型广告客户最终可能选择谷歌的中介系统购买大量广告，从而打击报纸自己的销售团队。Newspaper National Network LLC.的总裁兼首席执行官贾森?克莱因(Jason E. Klein)表示，只要谷歌继续走为小广告客户服务的路线，就能创造一个双赢的局面。但如果谷歌偏离了这个路线，结果将是两败俱伤。
谷歌表示，各种规模的广告客户都参与了此次尝试推出的服务，但它的系统把接受何种广告的决定权全都交给了报纸。谷歌称，这项服务应该能给报纸带来额外的收入。
Julia Angwin
