The second annual Sunday in America study from PARADE magazine has uncovered a growing trend among consumers that is good news for newspapers and advertisers -- the "Sunday state of mind." Sunday is a day when Americans do what they want to do, not what they have to do. They are relaxed and most receptive to fresh ideas on Sundays, and actively look to newspapers for the information they seek. A boon to publishers and advertisers, the "Sunday state of mind" offers exciting and extensive avenues to reach millions of readers with a variety of messages, the report shows. "In this age of media fragmentation and hectic consumer lifestyles, the power and influence of the Sunday newspaper has never been greater," says PARADE President Jack Griffin. The Sunday In America study and segmentation analysis, conducted by Yankelovich in conjunction with Harris Interactive, was commissioned by PARADE to address the readership challenges of the newspaper industry. Here are some of the major findings: * Sunday provides advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach consumers on the one day when they are most likely to think about planning, researching and buying products, and are more actively seeking such information. * The Sunday newspaper prompts consumers to take action, such as making entertainment choices, making purchases, or researching an item they have read about. * There are five distinct segmentations of the population based on people's goals for Sunday: Traditionalists, Rechargers, Explorers, Believers and Overwhelmeds. Each pursues their goals differently, and Sunday in America(TM) illustrates how newspapers and advertisers can help people meet their respective goals. * Two-thirds of Americans read the Sunday paper, and they find it more entertaining, relaxing and worth the time than the daily newspaper. * While this is true, most would like a more manageable Sunday newspaper: Keeping stories on one page is the No. 1 change readers would like to see. They'd also like brief indexes to each section of the paper and summarized versions of news stories. Size is not much of an issue. * While most Americans prefer to read the Sunday newspaper in print form, some typically seek it out on the Internet. Those who do prefer the electronic version say they like it because it's more manageable to pick and choose what they want to read. * Most popular sections of the Sunday newspaper continue to be local news, national news, comics and coupons. "Americans have many similar goals on Sundays, but they go about achieving these goals differently," says Ann Clurman, a partner at Yankelovich. "The segmentation analysis shows this. The good news is that newspapers can now look to this information for guidance in reaching all potential Sunday readers -- no matter what category they fall into."
Zyman Marketing Group and the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), today announced the launch of the NAA Newspaper Marketing Tool, an interactive online tool designed to help member newspapers grow subscriptions, newsstand sales and ad revenues through improved marketing planning. With its member newspapers including the most respected names in news and comprising nearly 90% of the U.S. daily circulation, the NAA addresses issues that collectively affect the newspaper industry. When the NAA decided to help newspapers re-invigorate their marketing efforts and better reach their readers, they partnered with Zyman Marketing Group's marketing strategists to create an interactive tool that could be used effectively by all of their member newspapers. The NAA Newspaper Marketing Tool will assist decision-makers at the individual newspaper level in constructing and executing a marketing-driven approach to increasing their sales and profitability. Because of the strong initial positive response from member newspapers, the NAA anticipates widespread adoption of the marketing tool. The tool will debut at the NAA's upcoming marketing conference, taking place in Washington, D.C. July 22-25. "The Zyman NAA Newspaper Marketing Tool will help our member newspapers, from the large city papers to the most local of publications, attain business objectives by providing a disciplined process for developing marketing strategy," noted John Kimball, Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer for the Newspaper Association of America. "It's time newspapers consider themselves a marketing organization as well as a cornerstone of the community."
MeasureCast, Inc. today announced that total time spent listening (TTSL) to Internet radio stations measured by MeasureCast during the week of July 16-22 was down slightly compared to the previous week, causing the weekly MeasureCast Internet Radio Index to drop five percent from 198 to 189. Nevertheless, 11 of the MeasureCast Top 25T stations streamed more hours of radio entertainment than they did the previous week. Significant increases in TTSL were enjoyed by Virgin Radio (up 23%) and ESPN Radio (up 16%). Sixteen of the top 25 stations experienced an increase in estimated audience size, or CUME. And 17 of the top 25 on-line broadcasters were Internet-only broadcasters - one more than the previous week. MEDIAmazing.com finished another week as the number one on-line radio and Internet-only broadcaster, while United Kingdom-based Virgin Radio was the leading terrestrial station broadcasting over the Internet. Other facts for the week of July 16 - July 22: - 79% of all listening occurred between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific, an increase of 10% over the previous week. - ·The peak listening hour was 11 a.m. Pacific, with 8% of the day's listening. - ·11% of the week's TTSL took place over the weekend, down 2% from the previous week. - ·The peak listening day was Wednesday, with 19% of all TTSL occurring on this day. - ·The largest single age group listening to Internet radio last week: 25-34 year-olds (29%). - ·55% of listeners were under 35; 26% were younger than 25, and 5% were over 55. - ·70% of listeners were men; 30% were women. - ·Top streaming nations include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. - ·The South (30%) and the West (28%) of the U.S. have the greatest number of streaming media consumers.