Newspaper & Mailroom
The Dallas Morning News Focuses on Growth With Briefing, a New Newspaper Targeted to Non-subscribers
Wednesday 11. June 2008 - To meet the evolving needs of both consumers and advertisers, The Dallas Morning News announced today that later this summer it will launch Briefing, a new home-delivered, quick-read newspaper for time-starved families.
This new product reinforces The Dallas Morning News’ commitment to achieving growth by focusing on the needs of consumers for local news and information, and to growing audience for its advertising partners.
Briefing will publish 200,000 copies Wednesday through Saturday and will be distributed free to non-subscribers of The Dallas Morning News in selected coverage areas. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, Briefing will also include a package of coupons and special marketing offerings.
Briefing was developed based on extensive research about the needs of local readers. “Briefing is designed for consumers who are engaged and interested in the world around them but who are not able to fit the traditional newspaper into their busy lifestyles,” said John McKeon, President and General Manager for The Dallas Morning News. “They told us they wanted the most important stories of the day in an easy-to-read format and that’s what Briefing delivers.”
In addition to consumer research, The Dallas Morning News engaged its advertiser partners to better understand their needs and the audiences they most wanted to reach. “Advertisers confirmed to us that newspaper advertising works, and adding more readership is the best way to improve their return on investment,” said Jim Moroney, Dallas Morning News Publisher. “It’s been very exciting to hear our advertising partners’ reaction to our strategy of growth through innovation.”
Initial reaction from the advertising industry is extremely positive.
“Kroger has distributed its ads to News readers and in their TMC program for 20 years. We look forward to adding Briefing to our advertising and marketing program,” said ‘Kirk’ R. W. Douthit, Customer Marketing Manager, Kroger Southwest Division.
“Briefing is a superb example of The Dallas Morning News’ innovative approach to providing advertisers with quality offerings that reach consumers in a meaningful way,” said Stan Richards, founder and principal of The Richards Group, the nation’s largest independent advertising agency.
“We are pleased to see a newspaper listening to needs of readers and providing a resource that meets those needs,” said Jason Erik Armstrong, Newspaper Buying Director for Novus Print Media. “We also have recommendations for Briefing in front of several other clients and are looking forward to the launch.”
The Dallas Morning News also plans to expand distribution of its Spanish-language newspaper, Al Dia, in response to the continuing growth of the Hispanic population in North Texas and advertisers’ desire to reach Spanish-speaking consumers. Beginning in late July, Al Dia will triple its current distribution when it begins home-delivering its Wednesday and Saturday editions free in selected coverage areas, adding approximately 80,000 households to its existing 40,000.
The Dallas Morning News has selected American Circulation Innovations to be the exclusive distributor of Briefing and the Al Dia expansion, taking advantage of ACI’s state-of-the-art technology, including GPS tracking of all copies distributed.