'Living Heroes' honored by Richmond Times-Dispatch
Another good entry from SNPA's Best Revenue Contest!
In partnership with the Virginia War memorial, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch is regularly honoring "Living Heroes" in the Sunday newspaper.
Veterans are profiled in a spot that is anchored on the back of the editorial section on Sundays. The War Memorial suggests a veteran to be profiled and provides contact information to the newspaper. The paper's Design Services writers contact the veteran, prepare the copy and secure a photo. The sales department finds corporate sponsors to support the effort.
Karen Dillion, who submitted the entry on behalf of the newspaper, said: "Any size newspaper can use a 'Living Heroes' style series of ads to honor its hometown veterans. The Times-Dispatch worked with various ad clients to sponsor this series. The Virginia War Memorial supplied us with the veterans’ names and one of our copywriters interviewed them and retold their military experiences in the print ads. The ad campaign was not only a revenue builder for the paper but provided our readers with heartwarming stories of valor."
Read below what some of our contest judges had to say about this entry. And, add your own comments.
View previous articles about contest entries at this link (plus additional revenue-generating ideas not entered into the contest). Here's a quick link to the first-place winner).
Comments
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CCrittendon13
This is very nice and can be replicated in every market, large or small.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013 Report this
Always seems to be interest in veterans and military. Would be great in a market with military presence.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 Report this
jack.perkins
Great way to establish a sense of patriotism in the community and to thank local service men and women.
Friday, November 1, 2013 Report this
jsowell
This is a great idea. It can be changed to fit the niche in individual market areas: veterans, doctors, athletes, teacher of the week, etc.
Friday, November 1, 2013 Report this
Pat Taylor
A new trend toward sponsored content by corporations, non-profit and foundations, particularly those that don't usually do retail advertising. This is a terrific match-up, keeping readers informed of the sacrifices those among us are making. It's good for people profiles, solid content. Some papers are also doing science and educational pages with the same approach.
Friday, November 1, 2013 Report this
mmulholland
Great idea, applicable to nearly any size market.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Report this
jnoel0921
A good way for the paper to support the military in a consistent/visible way. Sponsors receive good PR, too.
Friday, November 8, 2013 Report this
rogerawill
Nicely done, great execution, weekly content and would be a great way to touch those undiscovered advertisers. Promote this on the front page of the newspaper and see your single copy sales increase too!
Friday, November 8, 2013 Report this
drussell
I am a big believer of honoring our military. I also like the fact that this can replicated in any market due to the content.
Monday, November 11, 2013 Report this
dherlinger
I think this is a great idea and should work especially well in communities with a strong military presence. It's a good way for businesses, that support the military and their operations, with a way to voice their appreciation.
Monday, November 11, 2013 Report this
Lauren
A wonderful idea. This is a feature readers would follow and advertisers would support.
Monday, November 11, 2013 Report this