NameDropping 10/31/08

As today is Halloween, it's appropriate to note that one of the scariest things in the industry today is the rounds of layoffs rippling through the newspaper advertising world. However, in times like this, it's also important to note that there are people who are earning positions of honor within their companies as well. In this time of tribulation in our industry, here are some people who are continuing to rise to the top:

Kathleen Davies was named advertising manager at the St. Peter Herald, replacing Peggy Carlson.

Peggy del Toro was named president and general manager of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. She had previously spent eight years as advertising director at the newspaper and was most recently president and general manager of the Redlands Daily Facts.

The Press Enterprise Company restructured and promoted two people accordingly. Frank Escobedo was named general manager of Hispanic media and publisher of La Prensa. Ginger Neal was named vice president and general manager of multi-media ventures for Press-Enterprise Company.

Debbie Knoll was named advertising director at the Enid News and Eagle.

Forth Independent Newspapers in Scotland named Leslie McComiskey to advertising sales director.

Michael Rifanburg went from advertising director to interim publisher at The Citizen in Auburn, N.Y., with the appointment of then-publisher Rick Emanuel to the publisher position at another Lee newspaper, the Glens Falls Post-Star.

Marty Sokoler was hired as Vice President of Major Accounts at Denver Newspaper Agency. He succeeds Greig Smith.

Lucy Talley was named associate publisher at the Florida Times-Union. She had previously served as publisher of The Salisbury Post.

"Joe Vanderhoof, president of the Hudson Valley Media Group and publisher of the Times Herald-Record, will now additionally oversee the company’s media group in the Poconos." More here.

Inside Call Center — Training Tips

Facilitate Training Effectively

Ten years of field research conducted by the Thiagi Group produced a handful of generalizations about effective training facilitators, found in the article “Secrets of Successful Facilitators” from thiagi.com. The findings show that effective facilitators are:

• Flexible. “They modify their small-group activities before and during use,” the author says.

• Adaptive. They regulate the rigidity of the structure of the training session, according to the group.

• Proactive. “Before using a small-group activity, they modify it on the basis of characteristics of the participants and the purpose of the activity,” the author writes.

• Responsive. If necessary, effective facilitators make changes in their behavior during the activity in response to the needs of the group to make the training session go smoothly.

• Resilient. “They accept whatever happens during the small-group activity as valuable data and smoothly continue with the activity,” the author says.

Call center trainers should consider adopting these characteristics in order to become more effective facilitators.

Inside Online – Bits & Bytes

Google G1 phone sales better than expected: Original predictions for sales of the G1 smartphone, made by manufacturer HTC and service provider T-Mobile, anticipated 700,000 phones would be sold by Christmas, according to SFNblog.com. The smartphone has widely surpassed those numbers with 1.5 million U.S. consumers having preordered the phone prior to its widespread launch, which occurred on October 22.

Online users becoming accustomed to longer video segments: The New York Times reported an interesting trend in the behavior of online users as it relates to viewing online media. It has been the notion that computer users only have the attention span to watch short video clips on the Internet. The blooming popularity of Web sites like the NBC-Fox venture Hulu.com and the success of political videos on WashingtonPost.com seems to be illustrating the opposite. Hulu, which is home to a variety of video clips and full episodes from television programs, has quickly become the sixth-largest video site on the Internet. The fact that news videos, in addition to entertainment, have the ability to hold computer users' interest for an increasingly extended period of time is an interesting development that could soon affect how breaking news is presented to the masses. Click here to read more.

U.K. newspaper is first to move RSS feeds to full text: The Guardian and Google Reader both announced on their blogs that the newspaper Web site has moved all RSS feeds from partial to full-text viewing, allowing RSS subscribers to read entire articles in their feeders without having to navigate to the newspaper's Web site. The Guardian also announced that with the change to full-text RSS, advertising will soon appear within feed items. To read more, visit the the Google Reader Blog or Inside Guardian.co.uk.

U.S. social networking still going strong: According to eMarketer, the popularity of social networking and the money being spent on it is still on the rise. Social networking is among the most popular online destinations frequently visited by online users, especially in younger demographics. Spending on top social networking sites alone (MySpace and Facebook) in the United States topped $1 billion, with an addition $370 million expected for other network communities this year. Visit Adweek for more information.

Inside Call Center- Lead Lines

Tips for Bringing Employees Together

Call center managers who want to build a team with their employees should take the tips from the learningcenter.net article “How to Build a Team,” which are:

• Create a vision. Successful teams are brought together by the excitement of a commonly desired outcome. Once everyone is on the same mission, goals become powerful visions.

•  Foster commitment. The idea of commitment may be different for different people, so managers should define their expectations. Managers must help team members go beyond their doubts to pursue the vision wholly.

• Earn trust. “Trust is the antidote to the fears and risks attendant to meaningful commitment. Trust means confidence in team leadership and vision,” the author says. Team leaders must show that their own commitment is genuine to gain the trust of employees.

• Include everyone in the effort. This means making sure everyone achieves a certain level of commitment. “The best setting to obtain buy-in and build trust is in small groups that facilitate thorough give and take,” the author writes.

• Help them help each other. It is beneficial to create a system of helpfulness, so that employees can aid each other.

“Productive teamwork moves you toward challenge, through change, with more confidence. Working well on any team generates energy and enthusiasm for life,” the author says.

On the Business-Building Calendar: Patient Appreciation Month

The following dates are from the week of January 26 - February 1:

• Better Business Communication Day (26)
• National Take Back Your Time Week (26-30)
• National Speak Up and Succeed Day (27)
• Freethinker's Day (29)
• Fun at Work Day (30)
• Inspire Your Heart With the Arts Day (31)
• Freedom Day (1)

February is:

• National Children's Dental Month
• National Heart Month
• National African American History Month
• National Parent Leadership Month
• National Patient Recognition Month.
• National Pet Dental Month
• Relationship Wellness Month

Do you have a relationship with the health professionals in your community? In February, consider making contact or enriching a relationship with local dentists, cardiologists, physicians, veterinarians and counselors. Become a reliable source of advertising for them by offering a special page for Patient Recognition Month, or target one of the other month-long themes associated with February and make it profitable. Don't forget the specialists such as foot doctors and physical therapists.

Inside Call Center — Training Tips

Chase Away the Frog: Three steps to deal with morning voice

Telephone sales professionals may often find their voice does not sound clear first thing in the morning, instead it sounds “froggy” or hoarse. According to Susan Berkeley’s cci-telemarketing.com blog entry “How to Deal With Morning Voice,” this is caused by fluids that collect in the tissues of the throat during sleep. Vocal chords dry out and develop build up overnight from lack of use. Berkeley discuses three ways to solve these problems and soften morning voice, including:

1. Drinking water. “Always drink a big glass of room temperature water first thing when you wake up, before coffee, orange juice or any other liquid,” she says.

Squeezing fresh lemon juice into the water is also helpful. Some liquids such as milk and orange juice should be avoided altogether in the morning because they coat the throat.

2. Humming. Telephone sales professionals should hum a bit in the morning to wake up their voices.

3.Imitating the TV or radio news. Spending a couple of minutes imitating announcers can be a great warm-up.

“It doesn’t matter if you get the words right or if you try to imitate a member of the opposite sex or someone speaking another language. You’ll have fun and wake up your voice in the process,” Berkeley concludes.

Inside Online - Bits & Bytes

UK news group to launch additional hyperlocal Web sites. UK-based Cumbrian News Group has plans to launch an additional 13 hyperlocal community Web sites within the next two weeks, according to www.sfnblog.com. The decision comes as a result of noted success of the company's first hyperlocal site which went up in July.

MySpace to launch self serve ads for music pages. The website is testing a beta of its self-serve display ad platform, entitled MyAds. The platform will allow advertisers to upload or create ads quickly online and target sites with users based on certain characteristics concerning gender, geography and music preferences. The Web site hopes to attract a widely yet-to-be seen group of online social network advertisers. President of Sales and Marketing for MySpace, Jeff Berman, has said more than 3,500 advertisers have already signed up for the service, Associated Press reported.

Inside Real Estate - Industry Notes

Foreclosure Trackers launches Real Estate Agent Network. The network was created to provide southern California and Nevada real estate professionals with access to information such as timely foreclosure data and leads from buyers, sellers, REO and foreclosure properties. Foreclosure Trackers has plans to take the network nationwide within the next 30 days, RISMedia reported.

GPS enabled MLS service launched by Realtykast. The company teamed with MLS Property Information Network to launch the program, which will support more than 30,000 real estate professionals in the New England area. The program, Clutch Agent, is a feature-rich program for use on smart phones that is constantly being updated with MLS listings in the immediate area. Clutch Agent also features a business directory that enables users to browse or search business near the specific locations, complete with mapping and directions features. For more information visit www.realtykast.com.

Prudential Preferred Properties launches new mode of customer communication. According to RISMedia, the company has announced an online information tool, Preferred Market Watch, to help real estate customers gather information on specific real estate markets. Currently, the tool can be used to gather information on counties located in the Chicago area. Thtse reports for each county includes charts and graphs illustrating market trends in median prices, inventories, market availability and more. More information on the tool can be found at www.PruPref.com/MarketWatch.

On the Business-Building Calendar: National Hugging Day

The week of January 19-25 on the business-building calendar brings us the following dates:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (19)
• National Hugging Day (21)
• Celebration of Life Day (22)
• Belly Laugh Day (24)
• National Compliment Day (24)
• Catholic Schools Week (25-31)

Consider amping up your Classified section in light of National Hugging Day. If you already have a Personals section, send out reminders to readers that line ads are a great way to celebrate births, graduations, anniversaries, birthdays and other special occasions. Give examples with color photos and encourage people to show their loved ones they care with a kind message and a photo. If you don't have a Personals section, consider creating one next year. Your readers will love sending and receiving messages, and reading others' messages to their special people.

Inside Real Estate - Industry Notes

Adicio and Fizber partner to boost listing inventory: Adicio, a web-based classified advertising solutions developer based in Carlsbad, Calif., partnered with Fizber.com, a FSBO search engine, to provide Adicio's client base with access to over 2 million FSBO home listings on Fizber.com. Adicio clients can search Fizber listings in their local marketplace by zip code and further narrow down the selection through search terms such as new construction, condo, ranch, rental, single or multi-family, etc. Source: Editor & Publisher

Lofts.com promotes loft living is Boston, Mass.: Boston, Mass. is the first urban market to launch lofts.com. Lofts.com aims to provide loft seekers, a growing trend in many urban communities, with a resource devoted specifically to their needs. The site will include listings of lofts for sale, rental properties, upscale lofts as well as more affordable properties. On the Web site, owners can post lofts for sale or rent free of charge. Source: PR Newswire, Lofts.com

Real estate social networking site launches blogging platform: Biggerpockets.com, a social networking site for real estate professionals, launched its full-featured blogging platform. The platform will provide real estate professionals a place to create a blog with built in benefits. A blog created on the site is search engine optimized, has the ability to host advertising and is automatically promoted across BiggerPockets.com. Source: RISMedia

Inside Online - Bits & Bytes

EBay, Inc. to cut workforce, purchase new additions. Facing stock prices that are at a six-year low, EBay announced it's plan to cut 10% of it's workforce eliminating 1,000 full time employees and 600 part time employees from it's payroll. In addition, the company will purchase Bill Me Later for $945 million and Denmark's Den Blaa Avis for its newspaper and the country's two largest classified Web sites for $390 million. The company plans to streamline Bill Me Later with its existing payment plan, PayPal. With the purchase of Den Blaa Avis, EBay plans to expand its current classified business, which already attracts more global traffic than rival Craigslist, Inc., according to CEO John Donahoe. Visit, Bloomberg News for the full story.

IBM's third quarter profit numbers prove positive for tech sector. According to the Associated Press, IBM released an early look at the company's quarterly results revealing its profit per share beating Wall Street's predictions by 4 cents, despite influences of a worsening economic climate. IBM's net income for the quarter was $2.8 billion, up 20% over the same quarter last year.

Most U.S. employees use the Internet in their work. According to RISMedia, over 70% of American workers hold employment positions in which the Internet is used. A survey, conducted by researchers from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, revealed that within the pool of Americans who use the Internet during their work day, 60% of workers use it at least once a day, with most of those employees using the Internet almost constantly.

Online ad sales show decline from previous quarter. Online ad sales for the second quarter declined from the prevoius quarter after experiencing several consecutive periods of increase, according to the Associated Press. A report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Pricewaterhouse Cooper LLP showed online ad revenue fell from $5.7 billion in the second quarter from $5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008. Within the umbrella of online advertising, search and display advertising saw growth in the second quarter, while classified and lead-generation revenue experienced declines.

Inside Real Estate - Industry Notes

Coldwell Banker recently updated its Web site, coldwellbanker.com, to make it more compatible for iPhone users, RISMedia reported. The most notable changes in the Web site's interface appear in the property listing and home value estimator features. When users visit coldwellbanker.com, the Web site is ablel to discern if the user is on an iPhone and if so, will serve up an interface designed specifically for optimal viewing on the iPhone. Check out more photos or a video for more information.

Rentals.com announced the launch of a new ad creation tool aimed at simplifying the ad creation and placement process, according to RISMedia. The new tool reduces the number of steps one must complete prior to being able to place an ad on the site. Keeping in mind the current financial crisis and the inability of an increasing number of people to afford their own, executives at rentals.com are working diligently to better serve the needs of the rental marketplace as it becomes an even more important element of the real estate reality.

On the Business-Building Calendar: Home Office Safety and Security Week

Here is the weekly business-building calendar for January 5 - 11, 2009, followed by some ideas to try:

• Home Office Safety and Security Week (5-9)
• Women's Self-Empowerment Week (5-11)
• I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore Day (7)
• National Joygerm Day (8)
• International Printing Week (11)

Most people have a home office these days, if not at least a computer area with a work desk. Home Office Safety and Security Week is a good time to share some safety tips with your readers about home electronics. Children can be especially at risk of injury or death due to overloaded electrical outlets, tangled wires and poorly placed equipment. About.com has a great quiz about home office safety that can be used for ideas for safety tips.

Home office security is just as important as safety. Readers should lock up valuable documents and information, shred any important documents before throwing them away and make sure entrances (including windows) to the office are secure at night to protect against theft. Safety and security tips can be used to build a page sponsored by home office retailers and electronics repair shops. Provide a way for the advertisers to tell the readers important facts, and to let them know they care about their safety and security.

NameDropping - 10/3/08

With all the change in the industry lately, it's unsurprising that NameDropping should have a number of entries this week. Announced changes that have come across my desk include:

Steven Chadwick was hired as the retail advertising manager at The Signal in Santa Clarita Valley.

Margie Cochrane was named senior vice president advertising for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. She had previously been director of advertising at The Arizona Republic.

Andy Eads was appointed publisher of The Herald-Press. He had previously been advertising director at the Chronicle-Tribune. David Wolcott, who had been retail advertising sales manager, will succeed Eads as advertising director.

Daryl Hively was named vice president of online sales for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Hively had previously been vice president of interactive media for Journal Register Company.

Dave Mace joined Universal Press Syndicate as assistant vice president/sales for the western region. He had previously worked for Los Angeles Newspaper Group.

James Shine has been named publisher of The Lima News. He had previously served as general manager and advertising director at the newspaper.

Catherine Stebbins was hired as the classified advertising director at The Signal in Santa Clarita Valley.

Roger Stokes was appointed advertising manager at The Record Gazette in Banning, Calif.

Lange Svehlak became publisher of the Athens Review this week. He had formerly served as general manager at the Ennis Daily News.

Robert G. Turner Jr. was appointed president and publisher of the Bradenton Herald. He had previously been vice president of operations. He has also served as retail advertising manager, advertising director and general manager during his time at the newspaper. Turner succeeds William Fleet, who was tapped as president and publisher of The Fresno Bee.

Michael Turpin was promoted to vice president of advertising and marketing for Bay Area News Group. He had previously served in that capacity for The Mercury News.

Todd Vodnansky was named advertising director for the Juneau Empire and the Capital City Weekly. He had previously been national accounts manager and interim advertising director.

Have a new position you'd like to share? Add the information as a comment to this post to be included in the next issue of NameDropping!

Inside Online - Bits & Bytes

Detroit Free Press received two Emmy awards for its work in the news and documentary programming category for special segments it created for Freep.com. Check out the award winning video segments, one on Aretha Franklin's "Respect" Anthem and the other an examination Pit Bulls (an often misunderstood breed), at Freep.com.

According to Editor & Publisher, online traffic for washingtonpost.com saw a 42% spike over the previous year in the month of September. The number of page views, which topped 323 million, shattered the previous record of 272.5 million by approximately 27%. Traffic was driven mostly by politics and business topics, with increases of 233% and 141% respectively over the previous year. In addition, over 1.4 million videos were played on the website, up 162% over the previous year.

WaterCooler - Recruitment News 10/01/08

Here's a slew of stories I've been saving up for Recruitment for your perusal:

CareerPath.com alleges its Color Career Counselor is a color-based personality test that can match job seekers with their ideal jobs. If for no other reason than to have five minutes of entertainment, you should try it out!

CareerBuilder noted among its press releases that 1 in 5 businesses are now using social networking sites to research potential new hires.

The Conference Board reported that salary increase budgets for 2008 and 2009 will come in under 4%, accounting for inflation and certain increases in cost of living.

PaidInterviews launched an online career network in September. An article from the Chicago Examiner notes, "PaidInterviews' disruptive model is poised to transform the hiring process by shifting the commission fees paid to recruiters to the candidates themselves. Candidates name their asking fee, which is then matched with an employer's bid fee, and are paid the percent of their first year's salary upon being hired. By paying candidates for their time and efforts, employers are more likely to attract high-quality, 'in-demand' candidates." For more on the company's business model and matching methods, see the Examiner article here.

WorkingCouples.com launched in September, providing an outlet for positions that require a pair of positions to be filled in which the positions work closely together, such as superintendent teams, house parents, caregivers and more. Preview the site here.

Dealers in Danger - Automotive

As a quick follow-up to the automotive notes from yesterday, Reuters has a piece out today mentioning that almost 1 in 5 automotive dealers could be out of business by the end of 2009, making the electric vehicles and product changes for the 2010 model line too late to help with the impact of dealerships closing. However, with each of the Detroit Three consolidating and closing dealerships that overlap markets with other dealerships of the same make, perhaps the number is inflated beyond the natural force of the rough automotive economy. However it plays out, that'd be significantly fewer automotive dealers advertising come the 2010 New Vehicle Preview special section ...

Three Strikes and You're Out

As eight teams enter the Major League Baseball postseason (I am at least mildly obsessed with following a certain Chicago team), who stands to make the most from their performances? One person in a pretty position to profit is Sam Zell, owner of both the recently redesigned Chicago Tribune and the L.A. Times. While Zell has been anything but popular, it is undeniable that having both home teams in the playoffs in the cities of Los Angeles and Chicago is going to sell newspapers, increasing the value of the newspapers' advertising. Diehard baseball fans will want to have a copy of the cover from the day their favorite home team seals their trip to the next round. Many will be checking in to see what additional coverage the hometown newspaper can provide to the upcoming series. How are The Tampa Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the L.A. Times, the L.A. Daily News, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Boston Herald and The Boston Globe monetizing this opportunity? What about newspapers who live in communities housing thousands of diehard fans for any of these eight teams?

I know that many of you create special pages or even sections for local teams that succeed in major competitions. I'd encourage you to closely track tournament and postseason efforts and work with booster and parent organizations at local high schools and colleges (if you aren't already) to promote the achievements of athletic organizations in your own communities. By focusing on local, the opportunities presented to advertisers allow those ads to represent an investment in the community and its members. Score big as fall sports seasons wrap up by promoting teamwork and community in your market.