Poynter reporting 22.10.2010
The Post-Gazette’s push to develop new revenue streams has compelled the company to experiment beyond publishing, as it has moved into areas such as sponsored events with free admission. Those events have included a Post-Gazette “summer camp” featuring classes on fly fishing and cooking, as well as higher-brow discussions of the midterm elections.
The Post-Gazette did not create a new events arm, instead reshaping the mission of its existing marketing department.
“We work with sponsors to find out what they want — and what fits with our own editorial values,” he said of the funding arrangements for the events.
“It’s a new revenue stream,” he added, “often tapping into different dollars [than usually sought by newspapers] — it’s not ad dollars, it’s community marketing dollars.”
Events provide the Post-Gazette with a revenue stream on the flip side of PG+: Instead of serving a small audience with paid content, they pursue big crowds with sponsors picking up the tab.
“When you’re trying to get a high level of engagement in addition to all the public relations around an event, you want to fill a room with a good crowd,” he said.
Although he refused to provide specific numbers, he said revenue from the events business has surpassed PG+, with each fairly modest “relative to our core [newspaper] business.”
He added: “It’s a coincidence that these two lines of business are emerging at the same time for us. What they really represent is an overall diversification of our business model that recognizes that we’re no longer just a newspaper.
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/business-news/newspay/105813/post-gazettes-premium-pg-service-profitable-but-no-holy-grail
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