Hartford Business Journal

10 Hartford Business Journal • January 21, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS: Advertising, Media & Marketing EXPERTS CORNER Marketing and advertising ROI: Look at data differently By Kara Mitchell U nfulfilled promises of revolu- tionized, measurable return on investment metrics by market- ing-technology providers means mar- keting has never had to work harder to justify its role. Chances are, the data your mar- keting-technology source provides is too little, or far too much, to connect in meaningful ways. But the promise made means the expectation has been set, and the complexity and competi- tive business landscape adds to the demand. Because of this, capturing the return on your marketing investment is criti- cal. Most marketing professionals have leaned heavily on digital tactics and technology investments because of their ease of measurement. Metrics such as cost-per-thousand, cost-per-click and cost-per-acquisition are likely recorded. Or, it might be unique viewers, key message pull- through, likes, retweets and comments. More savvy brands might even be us- ing an ROI calcu- lation. These are good data points that can be used to evaluate a cam- paign. And they are usually available in dashboards or reports from a variety of tech and software providers. But do they tell the whole story to truly demonstrate marketing's role and connect marketing to the organi- zation's business goals? For a better perspective on ROI this year, we can look at data differently. Data is most often used as rear- facing, but it should also be viewed as forward-looking. For instance, market- ers should leverage data to learn more about a customer, delivering rich intel around how a customer behaves or how they self-identify. This can provide a great starting point for a discussion around audience segmentation and how to better tailor audience messaging and targeting in the future. Using data to audit and trace how your audience wants to interact with your brand is another way to use data in a forward-looking approach. This type of audit can help map out the customer's path to purchase. In the past, most brands used a "funnel" model to map out a customer's path to purchase. Marketing tactics like public relations and social media sat at the top, building awareness. Moving down the funnel, advertising tactics and lead generation helped guide the customer to form a deeper relationship with the brand that ultimately netted out at the bottom of the funnel where a sale or conversion took place, followed by retention tactics (sometimes). The problem with this model is that it assumes the customer moves in one direction, down the funnel. This doesn't match what technology is showing us, that customers often Kara Mitchell By Natalie Missakian Special to the Hartford Business Journal A s newspapers across the country have folded or scaled back their publication of print edi- tions in the wake of changing reader habits and declining revenue in the digital age, the 254-year-old Hartford Courant has continued to deliver statewide and local news to the doorsteps of Connecticut readers every morning. But the new year brings new chal- lenges for the nation's oldest continu- ously published newspaper, which is entering 2019 with a slimmed-down newsroom and uncertainty surround- ing the ownership of its parent com- pany, Tribune Publishing. In November, at least nine veteran newsroom staffers took a voluntary buyout offered to Tribune employees in a cost-cutting move, the latest in a series of cuts to the paper's news staff over the last 10 years. Meanwhile Tribune Publishing, which owns the Courant and eight other newspapers, is still looking for a buyer after a deal with newspaper pub- lisher McClatchy collapsed last month. The latest difficulties are playing out against the larger backdrop of a struggling industry, as more readers and advertisers turn away from print media in favor of digital platforms. A recent Pew Research Center analy- sis shows weekday print circulation at U.S. newspapers declined 11 percent in 2017, marking the 29th consecu- tive year of declines. At the Courant, average weekday print circulation has fallen 32 percent over the last three years, from 89,152 in the third quarter of 2015 to 60,265 in 2018, according to Alliance for Audited Media figures. Despite these headwinds, Hartford Courant Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Andrew Julien is bullish about the paper's future, and rejects any sugges- tion that the state's largest newspaper is in trouble. "I do get upset when people ask me questions like 'Is the Hartford Courant going to survive?' " he said in a recent interview. "Are we going to survive? The Courant has been around for 254 years. We are going to thrive." He said the decline in print subscrip- tions doesn't mean readers aren't out there, but it's no longer as simple as delivering a paper to their doorsteps. "You have to find people on Facebook, you have to find them on Twitter, you have to make sure that if they're search- ing for something online and it's a story that they care about, that you're there when they want you to be there," he said. To replace lost print subscribers, he said the Courant's strategy has been to build its audience by engaging readers on digital platforms and in the commu- nity, and finding more creative ways to tell stories and present information. Digital opportunity As part of its election coverage last fall, for example, the paper offered an interactive online quiz that matched respondents with a gubernatorial candi- date based on their answers and hosted "pop-up newsrooms" in the community to foster conversations about the issues. "The internet and the digital space is a challenge but I see it as a tremen- dous opportunity," he said. "We can engage a whole new generation and pools of readers." The Courant has also diversified its advertising toolbox, offering more branded content and video ads, he said, and has pursued new revenue streams such as hosting events and A Daily's Dilemma Amid more buyouts and ownership uncertainty, Hartford Courant publisher says newspaper adapting to digital age Andrew Julien became the Hartford Courant's publisher and editor-in-chief in 2016 after Tribune Publishing abruptly replaced all publishers at its newspapers that year. HBJ PHOTO | NATALIE MISSAKIAN

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