Erie Times-News drives ad revenue using LEAP audience modeling

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When Presbyterian Homes approached the Erie Times-News, securing significant incremental advertising revenue wasn't top of the list in assisting the senior living facility with their Caring For Life Fund.   Rather, the objective was to add donors to a program that provides support for residents who have outlived their resources through no fault of their own.  They had to find a new audience, and with stiff competition in the marketplace, the sophisticated marketers at the Erie Times-News turned once again to LEAP Media Solutions.

Enter LEAP's audience-based advertising revenue development program, which took the client's data, appended and enriched it with demographic and lifestyle data, and segmented it to provide a revealing look at Presbyterian Homes donor profiles.   By identifying key characteristics of existing supporters, the data showed that Presbyterian Homes donor segments matched the Erie Times-News top print and digital audience segments across the board.  Then, through the application of LEAP's Targeted Growth Model methodology, Erie was able to help Presbyterian Homes meet their goal of finding prospects they did not already serve.   The LEAP data scoring model provided the team at the Erie Times-News with the critical information to sell and run a successful, channel-integrated advertising program for Presbyterian Homes by targeting a new and high-value prospect audience, resulting in $50,000 of incremental advertising revenue over the six-month program.

"Presbyterian Homes had to take a jump into the game," says Rich Forsgren, director of audience development strategy and technology.  "With competition from another local retirement facility they needed to go beyond just direct mail campaigns to reach a new audience that shared the same demographics, lifestyle and charitable giving traits.  Working with our staff, LEAP helped us identify who they were and where they lived, and a more comprehensive campaign including inserts, press and display ads was created that augmented their existing direct mail efforts, and the results were impressive."

The success of the program only promises to grow.   Presbyterian Homes' initial advertising initiative was for a six-month window.  Rich and his team are preparing for another six-month campaign adding another $50,000 to their advertising revenue.    Based on the success of this project, and a dozen others like it, Erie is finding that its investment with LEAP Media Solutions is manufacturing a significant return on investment beyond the benefits it already derives from other circulation marketing and audience management services provided by LEAP.

"LEAP gives us 360 degree segmentation," adds Bill Dietz, business development manager and the newspaper's data guru, "which enables us to see how demographics and behaviors are working together, allowing us to make intelligent decisions for ourselves as well as our advertisers.  It's a data game, and we're winning."

With several hundred thousand dollars of new revenue in the coffers, the promise of an additional revenue in the coming months, and a new, highly effective model to provide its advertisers, the Erie Times-News is a perfect example that audience-based advertising revenue development built on solid data, proven processes and best practices can and does impact the bottom line.

Dietz sums it up perfectly.  "Educating our clients on segmentation and the value of the different customers that are business drivers makes it easy for them to be our business partner.  The focus is all about audience and as a business partner we can help them win.  Data doesn't lie."

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