08/18/2017

How Ogden turned eclipse content into a revenue win

Staff report

Lori Figurski’s team at Ogden Newspapers proved the power of applying tried-and-true revenue ideas to fresh opportunities.

Figurski, Ogden’s regional advertising director and an ONMA trustee, emailed us a PDF of a full-page package that included a half-page of useful, credible information on the upcoming solar eclipse and a half-page on the bottom with spaces for 12 “business card” ads in 2x2 sizes.  She reports that the space sold quickly and provided a nice boost in incremental revenue.

Two members of ONMA’s Convention Committee “borrowed” the idea after Figurski mentioned Ogden’s success at a recent committee meeting.  They reported similar success, selling out the space in less than two days. Variations included larger ads in the half-page space for paid content. 

The lesson: Make sure you’re brainstorming to identify unusual events of high reader interest that advertisers would be quick to embrace.

Click here and here to see PDFs of Ogden’s full-pages of eclipse related content and ads. Lori also welcomes questions. Send email to Lfigurski@ogdennews.com. 

And share your success stories with us so all ONMA members can benefit! Send email to Executive Director Dennis Hetzel at dhetzel@ohionews.org.