Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association

Final Events for 2008 program year

2008-07-05T03:46:00.005-04:00

HOT-NEW HI-TECH MARKETING TO REACH AND ENGAGE CONSUMERS

2008-02-18T23:13:00.003-05:00

Nationally recognized expert Liz Crawford, Iconoculture Vice President and Consumer Strategist for Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail Brands, will speak to The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association luncheon meeting on Thursday, April 10, 2008.

Ms. Crawford’s presentation will focus on emerging marketing technology that is driving change in consumer expectations and buying patterns. According to Ms. Crawford, “Consumers’ lives are now seamlessly integrating the real world with cyberspace. This creates ubiquitous, interactive touch points, which are opportunities for branding and sales across industries.”

Businesses can now connect with their customers in highly creative and rich media environments that are much more interactive, immediate and actionable. Site-to-store services, social networks, virtual and location-based digital touch points and “Fourth Screen” technology are all shaping how we will buy in the future.

Retailing for the Fourth Screen (that small screen on your cell phone) follows the “silver screen,” the TV screen, and the PC screen. Mobile media provides a portal to the Internet with technology that incorporates all four generations on the mobile cell phone screen. It offers new ways to build brands and drive sales by reaching and engaging consumers outside the home and often in close proximity to the purchasing decision.

Ms. Crawford points out that “consumers are retraining themselves in the art of retail – in how to shop using technology. There are huge implications to why Fourth Screen media is so popular. Marketers now need to create new ways to communicate using this media and retailers need to create new ways to merchandise at a digital point of sale.”

SUBWAY’s® recent mobile phone program offers a powerful example for marketing with Fourth Screen media. The program, offered free to customers who sign up, provides cell phone-based, real-time alerts and relevant coupons. Messages reach customers at key times with where to eat. The Mobile Marketing Association reports that more than 300 SUBWAY® stores in the Seattle-Tacoma area began offering My SUBWAY Mobile to their customers with the following results:

A startling 50% coupon redemption rate on the first mobile offer with the 12 test stores — as compared to the typical 1%-2% response rates from traditional paper-based coupons
8.6% average coupon redemption rate to the mobile offers
150 mobile-phone opt-ins per week
Less than a 1% opt-out rate since the program’s inception.

MultiMedia Intelligence reports that the new media opportunity of Internet advertising, Internet TV, IPTV advertising, mobile TV advertising and in-game advertising will grow to US $41 billion worldwide by 2011. This will more than double the new media advertising segment of 2007, which collectively will reach almost US $18 billion worldwide in 2007. Veronis Suhler Stevenson forecasts total Internet advertising to surpass newspapers in 2011 as the nation’s largest ad medium.

The Hampton Roads American Marketing Association luncheon speaker will arm Hampton Roads marketers and business owners with strategies and techniques to embrace and succeed in these emerging technologies. Liz Crawford, with over 15 years in brand management, has helped drive company and brand strategies for Lysol, Clairol, Colgate, Lipton, Johnson & Johnson and Ford, among others. Her brand management and market research background has led to the development of several new products across an array of CPG categories, including Lysol Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner, FreshLook Radiance Contact Lenses, Lysol Sanitizing Wipes and Ultress Custom Hair Color, to name a few.

A nationally recognized expert, Liz has contributed her perspective and analysis to publications like CBSMarketWatch, National Review Online, and Everything Online Business Book. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and New York University’s Stern MBA program. She has an MBA from New York University and a BA in English from Columbia University. Learn more about Ms. Crawford and Iconoculture http://www.iconoculture.com/.

WHEN:
Thursday April 10, 2008
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

WHERE:
Town Point Club
World Trade Center
101 W. Main Street Suite 300,
Norfolk, VA 23510

Stay tuned for registration info TBA.

The Fame Game: Learn The Effective Use of Celebrities And Popular Music in Advertising

2008-02-18T22:44:00.004-05:00

Don't miss out! Click "Fame Game" below to register online...

The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association invites you to learn the effective use of celebrities and popular music in advertising by playing the “fame game”!

For over twenty years, Barbara Gans Russo was Head of Production at Publicis in NY, supervising television production for world-famous brands ranging from automotive (BMW) to beauty (L’Oreal) and everything in between.

As the world’s largest supplier of celebrities and popular music for advertising, Barbara has brought her production experience to the field of celebrity negotiation, helping agencies and advertisers achieve the best contracts for the most advantageous prices, and then guiding them to flawless, cost-effective executions.

Barbara will help make us “famous” or at least show us how to use “fame”, while containing costs, here in Hampton Roads!

Thu, Mar 13, 2008

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Town Point Club

101 W. Main Street

World Trade Center

West Entrance, 3rd Floor

Norfolk, VA 23510

(Directions)

Note: FREE PARKING for attendees in Main ST Parking Garage. Bring your parking ticket from garage. Have it stamped and validated by the receptionist at the Town Point Club.

Thanks to this month's sponsor:

Great Opportunity: White House Internship 2008

2008-02-03T18:10:00.000-05:00

All information, including Internship Description and Application Form, are available at Hampton Roads Technology Council's website. Just click on the image above.

Super **** preview ads, thanks to CNNMoney.com

2008-02-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

Check out these Super **** preview ads: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/news/0801/gallery.super_bowl/index.html

NEWS RELEASE: The SUPER **** of Advertising

2008-01-22T22:27:00.000-05:00

CONTACT:

Elaine Kennedy
Hampton Roads Chapter
American Marketing Association
Vice President Public Relations
757-589-9446
elaine@rechargemarketing.com

Virginia Beach, VA, For Immediate Release

The SUPER **** of Advertising
Hampton Roads AMA gives a high tech critique of Super **** ads.

On February 12, 2008, in homage to Super **** XLII, a “Who’s Who” panel of marketing experts will join Hampton Roads American Marketing Association (HRAMA) luncheon guests in a high tech critique of the Super **** power-ads. During the biggest football game of the year, companies spend millions of dollars on TV commercials to get your attention. Who did it right? Who got it wrong? Attendees to the luncheon will make the call!

Local research firm, Clarity oms, will provide attendees with hand-held electronic voting devices for a real-time, entertaining and automated approach to quickly tabulating results for all to see. To use, the respondents instantly score each Super **** XLII advertisement by pressing the appropriate key on wireless keypads. The charts and graphic results are then instantly projected – play by play.

WTKR and ODU news and sports reporter Ted Alexander will facilitate a spirited discussion based on audience and panel responses to the questions that are designed to gauge the effectiveness of the advertising. Expert panelists are:

Doug Burdett - President, Artillery Marketing

Elaine Kennedy - President, Recharge Marketing

Jerome “Jerry” Davis – President, Davis & Company

Robert Sanders - Director of Brand Development, The Meridian Group

It’s not only a good time, guests come away with a better understanding of what makes good television creative and mistakes to avoid, all thanks to high-tech voting and the panel of advertising experts.

WHEN:
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

WHERE:
Town Point Club
World Trade Center
101 W. Main Street Suite 300,
Norfolk, VA 23510

FREE PARKING for attendees in Main Street Parking Garage.

COST:
Members: $25
Non Members: $35
Students: $20
Day of the event: $40

REGISTER: http://www.hrama.org/ by Thursday February 7, 2008

ABOUT HRAMA:

Hampton Roads AMA is the oldest and largest professional association of marketers and the key supporter of the marketing community in Southeastern Virginia and Northern North Carolina.

The Hampton Roads Chapter is part of a respected international society of 38,000 members. The American Marketing Association is the only professional marketing organization to focus on the practice and teaching of marketing. Effective marketing requires the understanding and integration of all disciplines from research to advertising and communications to web marketing.

American Marketing Association • Hampton Roads Chapter
P.O. Box 62662 • Virginia Beach, VA 23462
To learn more, visit us online at http://www.hrama.org/

Annual Ad Bowl 2008:

2008-01-17T21:45:00.000-05:00

The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association invites you to join us for the ANNUAL AD BOWL where we’ll review an instant replay of ads fresh from the trenches of Super **** XLII.

Attendees will get in on the action using handheld voting devices that let you instantly score each ad. Have a good time and come away with a better understandingof what makes good television creative and mistakes to avoid, all thanks to a wild-card panel of advertising experts!

Join moderator, Ted Alexander, WTKR news and sports reporter, who will facilitate a spirited discussion based on your responses to questions designed to gauge the effectiveness ofthe advertising.

Missing this would be the equivalent of combining a Foul, Unnecessary Roughness and a Dead Ball all into one play.

Don’t Forget Your Dollar Bills! The odds are great that you’ll walkaway with one of two Kodak EasyShare V803 Zoom Digital Cameras(8.0 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, 2.5in LCD display) to beraffled off; must be present to win. Each $169 value.

WHEN:
Tuesday, Feburary 12, 2008
11:30am - 1:00pm

WHERE:
Town Point Club
101 W. Main ST
West Entrance, 3rd Floor
Norfolk VA 23510

COST:
Members: $25
Non Members: $35
Students: $20
Day of the event: $40
Free Parking in the Main Street Garage.

Bring your ticket inside to be validated.

RSVP by Thursday, February 7. REGISTER HERE

Due to costs resulting in meals ordered for advanced reservations,

No Shows will be billed for the event.

Online cancellations must be received by February 7.

For powerful writing, avoid clichés ‘like the plague’

2008-01-17T20:45:00.000-05:00

By Gail Kent, ABC

Whether you write speeches, ads, Web sites, blogs, brochures or sales letters to introduce your product or service (or even to sell yourself in a cover letter for new job), crisp original writing will provide more impact. There are many ways to write winning copy, but often you should avoid the first thing that pops into your mind, because they are tired, overused clichés that have lost their ability to surprise and impress the reader.

Here are just a few phrases that no longer work (if they ever did…):

· State-of-the-art.
· High-tech.
· Leading edge or cutting edge.
· We’re #1. (If you make a claim, make it specific and verifiable,
as in, “The largest seller of XYZ east of the Mississippi.”
· We care. (You care, we care, all God’s children care.)
· We treat you just like family. (And this is a good thing?)
· Our people make us different.
· Our service makes us different.
· We think outside the box. (Let’s retire the box, please.)
· We’re professionals.
· We do it all. (No, you don’t.)
· We exceed expectations.
· We’re here to serve you.
· Our mission is …. (boring to everyone except the boss).
· The best kept secret. (Not anymore.)
· A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
· Synergy. (This word was so ‘90s.)
· No job too small. (Do you really want to look that desperate?)
· We pass the savings on to you.
· We take pride in our ____ (fill in the blank). (It’s not about
you; it’s about your customer.)

There are many others you can add to the list, including some that are specific to your industry. Be alert and cull these timeworn phrases from your writing or speech for more effective communication.

(Gail Kent is the managing director of The Buzz Factory, a boutique public relations and marketing firm in Newport News, specializing in copywriting and organizational storytelling.)

MediaFest2008

2008-01-17T18:59:00.000-05:00

Looking for new customers?

Looking for new ways to reach untapped markets?

The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association (HRAMA) has partnered with Retail Alliance for MediaFest 2008 - a trade show to showcase local media. HRAMA members and Retail Alliance members will be invited for free.

Retail Alliance has over 2000 members or customers in addition to the over 1000 active participants in the Hampton Roads AMA who will be invited to attend.

You won’t want to miss it. HRAMA thinks MediaFest 2008 will provide your company with unprecedented access to local marketing decision-makers and retailers. These businesses have one thing in common: they are constantly in search of new customers and looking for ways to reach untapped markets. They need advertising and marketing services.

Plan now to be one of the limited numbers of exhibitors at MediaFest 2008 from 4-9 p.m. on February 28 at the Marriott Waterside in Downtown Norfolk. Meet hundreds of merchants looking for the perfect marketing mix that will allow their businesses to grow and succeed. And enjoy the networking, seminars, food and more!

Please act now!

You must register for
Vendor exhibition space by February 12, 2008.

For Retail Alliance members, Exhibition spaces are available for $395 each (non-members for $595) and include an 8x10 booth, program exposure, two vendor passes, 20 additional tickets for associates and customers, a sumptuous spread, and exposure to your market.

Email Us for a Vendor Registration Form, event details and contact information. As a friend of HRAMA please mention your affiliation or membership with HRAMA when you communicate with Retail Alliance.

February 28, 2008
4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Waterside Marriott in Downtown Norfolk
FREE Attendance to Retail Alliance Members/ $25 Non-Members

Help your AMA Chapter Support Hampton Roads Media Marketing and
GET YOUR EXHIBIT SPACE THROUGH HRAMA NOW!

Media Fest 2008
Vendor/Sponsor Opportunities:

Vendor/Exhibitor Fee:
Retail Alliance Members: $395
Non-Members: $595
*Vendors will each receive 20 Free Admission Tickets to give out ($500 Value)
*2 Complimentary Attendee passes
*Each vendor can do a door prize
*Vendor Table and 8x10 booth

NOTE: A limited number of exhibit spaces are available.

HURRY and get yours NOW!

Is stress creating conflict in your life?

2008-01-17T18:45:00.000-05:00

by Kim Humphrey, Executive Director
Community Mediation Center of Southeast Virginia http://www.conflictcrushers.org/

While conflict is a normal part of life, it can be difficult to handle and can affect us emotionally and physically. Conflict often happens because different people perceive the same situation in many ways and people act according to their reality.

Conflict is not always necessarily negative; in fact conflict can be positive as it often creates opportunities for change. We each have an individual style of dealing with conflict. No style is always right or wrong and each has its own pros & cons.

The Competing style is the “my way or the highway” approach. If you are a “competer”, you may make quick decisions, but often you also may bump heads with your counterparts.

The Avoiding style evades the conflict so that nobody’s needs are satisfied. Sometimes conflicts will resolve on their own over time; however many situations require a more direct approach.

The Accommodating style often sacrifices your own concerns to satisfy the needs of others. You’ll make a lot of friends, but might get overwhelmed in the process of trying to please everyone.

The Compromising style seeks to find a settlement that only partially satisfies both people’s concerns. This usually happens faster than collaboration, but might not address all of the underlying needs.

The Collaborating style seeks win-win resolutions that completely satisfy both people’s needs. This takes longer, but often yields better results.

Using effective communication skills can help deescalate most situations. Use reflective listening skills when communicating with others which is simply restating what you have heard to eliminate any misunderstanding.
o It sounds like ____________
o Because ______________

Do not use blaming language by starting statements with “you”.
o Start with this formula
 I feel ___________________
 When I __________________
 Because ________________
 And I need ______________

Example: I feel uncomfortable when I don’t know the deadline because I can’t plan my time and I need to know what the expectation is for completing this assignment.

Other helpful tips include:
o Say what you mean and mean what you say. Don’t give mixed messages. We cannot expect others to read our minds.
o If you are in a heated conflict with someone, take a break from the discussion. It is more likely to be productive when both of you have calmed down a little.
o Stick to the topic when dealing with a conflict instead of bringing up old issues in the past.
o Stay positive. Tell the other person what you do want, not what you don’t want. (Example: ‘I really would like you to ask me before you trim the hedges that border both of our yards.’ Instead of ‘Don’t cut the hedges with out talking to me first.’)

To learn more about conflict resolution tools, visit http://www.conflictcrushers.org/ or call Kim Humphrey at 757-480-2777 ext. 250.

Since 1990, the Community Mediation Center of Southeastern Virginia (CMC) has provided quality education and services that enable youth, families, individuals, organizations, businesses, and communities to effectively resolve, reduce and prevent conflict. The Center is a non-profit organization and a United Way Community Partner. a member of the Virginia Association for Community Conflict Resolution (VACCR), and the National Association for Community Mediation. The CMC provides Peer Mediation Programs to youth, as well as teaches class certified by the Virginia Supreme Court Office of Dispute Resolution for individuals who want to certify as a court mediator.

Networking and Volunteerism is alive and well in Hampton Roads

2008-01-17T17:26:00.000-05:00

"Hi Elaine,
I heard from four people. I e-mailed each of them and thanked them for their response. I will need speakers after our semester ends. I heard from: Jim Waldman, Tage Counts, Diana Counts and Melinda Fontaine. One exciting response was from Melinda. I taught Melinda when she was a junior in high school. It was so very nice to hear from her! Thank you for putting my information in your newsletter and for the follow up as well.

Debbie at VBSchools.com"

THANK YOU:

to the volunteers who answered the call for marketing speakers at Landsdown H.S. from the January HRAMA e-NL (proving that networking DOES work and volunteerism is alive and well!)

“Is Newspaper a Dying Medium?”, the press release

2008-01-14T17:16:00.000-05:00

Vice President and General Manager of The Virginian Pilot, Maurice Jones, will speak at The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association luncheon meeting on Thursday, January 10, 2008. Mr. Jones will discuss what has happened, is happening and may happen to the newspaper as we know it.

The Internet has enabled an unbundling of the elements of what we historically received in our newspapers – and delivered them to us faster and more colorfully. News is free everywhere now with targeted local ads online and in video online, classifieds are available on gargantuan sales sites like eBay and Craig’s List and recently news aggregators have moved into the arena as well. Now we can get our news and buy stuff anytime we want it, sorted exactly to our needs.

So why in the world would we get our news and stuff using ink-laden paper thrown at our front doors? Maurice Jones will tell us why and why not.

Virginia’s largest-circulation newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot, recently launched a major branding campaign to bring readers back to the fold (no pun intended). The ads ask provocative questions with no punch line, only serious questions and a more serious pay-off for the paper’s readers and non-readers. The campaign is a stark shift from past campaigns. According to sources in the know, there has not been another campaign like this in the newspaper industry.

Certainly, the decline of newspapers does not equate to the decline of journalism. Our appetite for news has become insatiable and broadened to include innovative new delivery methods. And, the best newspapers are planning and experiencing rebirths. Learn how The Virginian Pilot plans its rebirth.

CONTACT:
Elaine Kennedy
Hampton Roads Chapter
American Marketing Association
Vice President Public Relations
757-589-9446
elaine@rechargemarketing.com

Virginia Beach, Va., For Immediate Release

Landmark Sale hits local airwaves, Hearsay talk show

2008-01-10T08:14:00.001-05:00

Some notes from the show with video clips to follow:

Virginian-Pilot Business Editor, Bill Choyke, joined Cathy Lewis via phone this week on WHRV’s Hearsay. Per Mr. Choyke, the NY Times broke the story the night before the Landmark staff was informed. Staff still doesn’t know the “why” of the sale. But, the “why now” is fairly obvious. Now is the best time to sell, especially for the Weather Channel, and newspapers will doubtfully “fetch” a good price in the future. And, looking ahead even farther, if the Dems take over the White House, there may be some offensive tax changes.

Lauren Rich Fine, Practitioner in Residence at Kent State University’s College of Communication and Information, joined the conversation. Her background is in equity research of newspapers. Her take on “why now?”: dramatic changes in the industry such as internet and broadband use, the speed news travels, the definition of news today, and the many different ways news is accessed. Classified, real estate and auto, is the most profitable revenue stream for newspapers, which is in direct, full-frontal assault, competition with the web.

In terms of profit-generation for Landmark, Weather Channel and its entities comes in first; Dominion Enterprises is second. Local headquarters, local synergy, local connections will be sorely missed.

What about one paper that serves the entire Hampton Roads region? A marriage of the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press just doesn’t make sense from a circulation perspective. From an operations angle, merging production and distribution for cost savings may be an option.

Family ownership usually means not looking at profit margins as seriously as a larger corporate owner might. And, such an owner may do better, for instance, in investing in new technologies such as ancillary online businesses. Monetizing the online revenue stream has been a challenge for traditional print media.

Newspapers aren’t going away. (TV and radio depends on newspapers for content!) But the format will certainly change.

One caller, with a youthful voice, said he hadn’t read (or bought) a newspaper in ages. All of his news content comes from online. However, the same resources are needed to create online content as for the print version.

What about jobs? The stats: The Pilot serves 5 cities on the Southside of HR. Employment is approximately 232 FTEs (Full Time Equivalents). Circulation is at 186,500. Industry standard calculation is 1 FTE per 1,000 circulation (which equates to some possible over-staffing if you follow these standards).

Potential buyers? Media General (which owns the Richmond Times-Dispatch) or perhaps a local buyer?

And, the Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association (HRAMA) received kudos for our upcoming program with Maurice Jones, VP/GM of the Pilot, on Thursday, January 10th.

Listen to the podcast here in four short parts:

ANALYSIS: Landmark’s Anstrom Defends TWC’s $5B Price Tag

2008-01-06T01:54:00.000-05:00

Landmark Communications CEO Points to The Weather Channel’s Web Site, Brand, Mobile Product

By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/3/2008 11:34:00 PM

Reports Thursday that The Weather Channel is on the market for as much as $5 billion left analysts divided on the value of the network. But Decker Anstrom, president and CEO of Landmark Communications, TWC’s parent company, maintained that the $5 billion is “fair” given the network’s valuable online and mobile properties.

Privately held Landmark projected that TWC and its digital assets will post double-digit profit for 2008 and beyond. TWC also operates a top-15-trafficked site. In an interview with B&C, Anstrom said the price tag, reported in Thursday morning’s New York Times, was an accurate reflection of the network’s starting value.

“If you looked at the current profitability and future growth prospects, you’d conclude that that’s a very fair starting point in terms of our businesses,” he said.

Virginia-based Landmark said Thursday morning that it retained JP Morgan and Lehman Bros. to explore the sale of its assets. Aside from TWC, they include CBS-affiliated broadcast stations in Nashville, Tenn., and Las Vegas; three metro dailies and a slew of community newspapers; an Internet marketing unit; and managed data-network service.

The $5 billion seemed high to some analysts, who did not want to be quoted. They pointed to TWC’s comparatively small annual net revenue -- some $290 million for 2007, according to SNL Kagan -- and to NBC Universal’s recent purchase of independent cable network Oxygen this fall for just $900 million.

Others said the number seemed just right. In a media world where branding is tremendously important, TWC’s name recognition and genre dominance, both on TV and in new-media platforms, is invaluable.

Unlike Oxygen, TWC is fully distributed -- in some 95 million homes, according to SNL Kagan. The 25-year-old network is now nearly fully HD and, while it has perpetually struggled to increase the length of time viewers watch, it is a must-see for breaking weather news.

Perhaps more important, Weather.com is a lucrative Web draw and an asset with an importance to Landmark that likely matches or outweighs that of the linear channel. With 34 million unique visitors in November, TWC’s Web site was the 16^th-most-visited in the United States, drawing more traffic than those of Facebook, Disney, ESPN and Scripps, according to comScore.

An SNL Kagan report released Thursday said that if the company did sell for $5 billion, more than $3 billion of that would be for the Web site.

Further, TWC’s mobile application is the second-most-used in the country, behind only Yahoo Mail, and its consumer products have sold well -- a jazz CD released by the network in October is currently No. 2 on Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts.

“It’s quite a unique brand to have advertising both online and on TV, and the brand is a draw because people know to go directly there as a source of information, and they’re used to it,” Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce said. “Plus, they’ve been expanding their field of coverage, so I think that number [$5 billion] can be justified.”

The most likely TWC buyers would be major media conglomerates that could integrate the channel and its digital assets into existing cable portfolios. They include NBCU, News Corp., Discovery Communications and Comcast. Representatives from all four companies declined comment on the matter.

More lucrative cable-network sales include BET to Viacom in 2000, for nearly $3 billion, and Fox Family Channel and Fox Kids to Disney in 2001. BET went for about $38 per subscriber and the Fox channels for about $34. (At $5 billion, TWC would be selling for about $52 per subscriber.)

Independent Hallmark Channel has had tougher luck, however. On and off the market for the past several years with a $2 billion valuation, the channel hasn’t found a buyer.

But Anstrom said Landmark is at the earliest stage of exploring a sale of TWC and would be happy to hold on to the network if it did not find a buyer and a satisfactory price point.

“If this ended up with us operating it going forward, we’d be comfortable with that,” he added. “As a private company, from time to time, we review what’s happening in the marketplace in terms of what other companies are doing and, as we looked at the environment and our own business, we thought this was a good time to test the market because our businesses are very strong right now.”

Anxious times on Brambleton Avenue, The Virginian-Pilot

2008-01-06T01:48:00.000-05:00

The Virginian-Pilot Editorials
© January 4, 2008

Journalists are not often surprised by our own front pages, but Thursday’s was a shock: “Landmark considers possible sale of Pilot, Weather Channel.”

Despite the qualification, those eight words mark the end of an era, and the beginning of tumultuous times on Brambleton Avenue.

For America, the story that followed was about the sale of The Weather Channel, which was born a curiosity and is now worth billions. In so many small towns, the story was about the fate of their local newspapers. In Norfolk, though, it was about the fate of one particular newspaper. This one.

Lehman Brothers has begun advising Landmark’s corporate chieftains about the sale of the company’s publications. For the first time in a century, we face the distinct possibility that The Virginian-Pilot will have new owners, out-of-town owners.

Since the days after the Civil War, this newspaper has been a champion for Hampton Roads. As a private company, it has been immune to the vagaries of Wall Street, to the constant demands for immediate results, an impatience often incompatible with what journalists do.

Our owners instead concentrated on providing space for journalism that changed Hampton Roads and Virginia, that held the guilty accountable and raised up heroes. It’s what we continue to do today.

Pilot publishers years ago put an elevator ride between the advertising and news operations, insulating journalists from the cause of commerce. Even so, The Virginian-Pilot isn’t a building, or a metaphor for independence. It’s the 1,200 people who produce and deliver this newspaper each day.

There’s no way to know what will happen to any of us. Media purchases have a recent history of ending sadly for employees, and changes in the industry have forced unpleasant truths on newspapers once immune to them.

Still, the principles that made this place so attractive to journalists, and a source of pride for its employees, now make it just as attractive to potential buyers.

The Pilot’s considerable value – economic and civic – arises entirely because it has served its community so faithfully for generations. That mission, that impulse, doesn’t reside solely in our owners, though they have been its voice and inspiration.

“Our news reports should never be influenced by the private interests of the owners or of any other group,” wrote Frank Batten Sr., the man who built Landmark. “Our editorials should exhibit vigor and courage, always respectful of contrary opinion, never tailored to the whims of the editor or publisher.”

That philosophy has guided this place across the decades. It is in the bones of the building, and in each page of what we publish. But, more important, it is in the people. And we’re not going anywhere.

Landmark looks into selling Virginian-Pilot, Weather Channel

2008-01-03T07:58:00.000-05:00

By
Bill Choyke
Philip Walzer

The Virginian-Pilot©

January 3, 2008

Landmark Communications Inc., parent of The Virginian-Pilot, has hired national investment firms to explore selling the Norfolk-based company, including The Pilot.

Read the full story.

Weather Channel Heats Up M&A Market, Cable Net Said To Be On The Block

2008-01-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

News Brief
Thursday, Jan 3, 2008 7:30 AM ET

THE WEATHER CHANNEL, ONE OF the most broadly distributed basic cable networks, is preparing to put itself on the block, The New York Times reports. The sale of the channel, as well as its sister Web site, weather.com, could fetch as much as $5 billion, according to the paper, which speculates that big media companies such as GE's NBC unit, News Corp. and Comcast may be among the suitors. The sale is believed to be part of the break-up of Weather Channel parent Landmark Communications.

Writers Wanted:

2007-12-19T08:54:00.001-05:00

Writers Wanted:

Hampton Roads Chapter of AMA seeks marketing professionals as writers for HRAMA Blog and e-Newsletter.

BE PUBLISHED!

Are you willing to help keep content FRESH?
NEED 5-10 authors willing to do 1 article every 1-2 weeks.
Articles should be SHORT and include LINKS to HRAMA.org or other websites.

If you're willing to write,what is your area of interest?
Report on HRAMA Programs
Welcome new members
Advertising
B2B Marketing
Trade Show Marketing
Consumer Pkg'ed Goods
Direct Marketing
Customer Relationship Mgt
Customer Care/Service
Global Marketing
Web Marketing/SEO
Email Marketing
Media-TV, Radio, Print, Online
Marketing & Sales
Marketing Research
Marketing Law/Regulatory
New Products
New Technology
Branding
Market Plans
Strategic Marketing
Design
Public Relations
Marketing Education
Nonprofit Marketing
Social Networking
Podcasting
others?

ALSO need:
Photographers
Videographers

~~

Interested in this volunteer opportunity, please contact:
Missy Blankenship
VP Marketing/Communications
(866) 325-6252
MGBlankenship@cox.net

Is Newspaper a Dying Medium?

2007-12-08T21:53:00.001-05:00

Have you heard that Newspapers are dying? But, news is thriving, isn't it?

Today, the internet is able to deliver information far faster than any newspaper. Has this form of print media lost its appeal? Has newspaper content simply moved over to the web?

Will the obituary of the print newspaper soon be written, as more and more young readers flee to the web and other media forms for news and entertainment?

For now, newspapers are a profitable business. But pressure from investors to preserve profit margins is leading more publishers to cut jobs which only fuels the perception that newspapers are on their way out.

In all honesty, the decline of the newspaper started more than 80 years ago, when radio came on the scene. In fact, the emergence of every new media technology—the car radio, television, the portable radio, FM, cable, the VCR, the Internet, the cell phone, satellite radio and TV, the podcast, etc. ad infinitum has delivered another blow to newspapers.

Hasn't it?

What will save the newspaper from death? Or, will newspapers someday simply no longer exist as we know them today. Some individuals are risking billions of dollars by investing in this seemingly “dying medium”. What do they see?

Certainly, the decline of newspapers does not equate to the decline of journalism. Our appetite for news has become insatiable.

And, the best newspapers are planning—and experiencing—rebirths.

Unless you've had your head in the sand for the past few months, you know what's black, white and "red" all over. It's the recently launched branding campaign for Virginia's largest-circulation newspaper, the Virginian-Pilot. The campaign is a stark shift from past campaigns. According to sources in the know, there has not been another campaign like this in the newspaper industry.

"Every day. The potential for change. The insight to know how. It's in your hands." The campaign essentially coaxes and provokes readership and includes a viral, social networking element as well. Check out http://www.pilotinyourhands.com/.

Come to HRAMA’s Event on:
Thursday, January 10, 2008 to learn what has happened, is happening and may happen to the newspaper as we know it.

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to power up your advertising and network with the Hampton Roads marketing community!

MEMBERS: $25
NON-MEMBERS: $35
STUDENTS: $20
DAY OF THE EVENT: $40

President@HRAMA.org

YouTube Yourself

2007-10-26T01:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a great example of a company using FREE viral marketing, encouraging fans and employees to post their own videos on YouTube.com:

SEARCH RESULTS on YouTube.com for Cold Stone Creamery

These videos not only sell the product, they make Cold Stone THE place to work. Just one more "scoop" for the direct marketing mix of today's professional.

Welcome, Bienvenida, ようこそ, Accueil, Empfang, Boas-vindas, приветствовать

2007-10-17T10:19:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our weblog, aka "blog", for members and prospective members of HRAMA, for marketing information beyond the website http://www.hrama.org/.

Thanks to this media of Web 2.0, we have all become messengers— but what are we saying?

Blogs are no different from channels like video, print, audio, presentations and so on. They all deliver results - but of varying kinds.

The results you can expect here are mainly about stronger relationships, but also to:

establish HRAMA as your Marketing Expert
develop strong Media Relations
provide for Internal Collaboration
manage Knowledge
recruit new Members
Test ideas
and, ultimately, to Rank HRAMA high in Search Engines.

Sign up for our Mail List
Join AMA and the Hampton Roads Chapter HERE

And, Welcome, Bienvenida, ようこそ, Accueil, Empfang, Boas-vindas, приветствовать