This document discusses the brand revitalization of The Birmingham News. It describes how the newspaper faced challenges like economic downturn and changing media that hurt its brand. Leadership realized they needed to control their own story and develop a strategic marketing plan. This involved restructuring, evolving content, strengthening sales and launching a multimedia campaign called "This is Our Story" to position the News as the authority on local news and empowerment. The campaign used icons, taglines and multimedia to spread this message and helped improve the newspaper's growth and image.

2. THIS IS OUR STORY.

5. THIS IS OUR
‣ Brand Revitalization
- How did we get here?
‣ This Is Our Story
- An outsider’s perspective
- This is our story campaign
‣ What Does Success Look Like?
‣ What Choice Will You Make?

7. HOW DID WE GET

9. Brand Revitalization
‣ Tremendous Economic Downturn
‣ Radical Media Transformation
‣ False Perceptions in the Marketplace
‣ Not Meeting Owner’s Expectations
‣ No Cohesive Marketing Strategy / Marketing by Default
‣ New Publisher / New Regional Leadership
‣ Low Employee Morale: Right-sized, pay cut, industry dark cloud
‣ No Strategic Plan

11. WHAT’S THE DEFINITION
Doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results.

12. Brand Revitalization

13. Brand Revitalization
Realizations
‣ Really tired of others telling our story and getting it wrong
‣ Needed to seek professional help: we are not marketing experts
‣ We control our own destiny
‣ Developing cohesive strategic marketing plan was critical to our
long term success

14. Brand Revitalization

15. Brand Revitalization
Boiling it down
‣ A complex, multi-faceted challenge
‣ Limited Resources: Goliath with a David mentality
‣ Great Sense of Urgency

17. It came down
to making a

19. Through a multi-
faceted process,

20. Brand Revitalization

21. Brand Revitalization
‣ Strategic Planning
‣ Leadership / Structure / Mindset
‣ Marketing Workgroups
‣ Maximizing New Publisher Honeymoon
‣ Evolving the Product – Content is King
‣ Employee Confidence
‣ Strengthening the Sales Force
‣ The Birmingham News Multi-Media Company
‣ Marketing Campaign

22. Brand Revitalization

23. Brand Revitalization
Leadership / Structure / Mindset
‣ Marketing Hire: A successful failure
‣ Marketing Steering Committee
- Scrappy, David Mentality, From the Top of the Organization
- Work for each other
- Weekly focus

24. Brand Revitalization

25. Brand Revitalization
Marketing Workgroups
‣ Strategic Partnerships
‣ Media Partnerships
‣ Community Engagement

26. Brand Revitalization
Marketing Workgroups
‣ Strategic Partnerships
‣ Media Partnerships
‣ Community Engagement
Maximizing New Publisher Honeymoon
‣ Kiwanis ‣ Samford University
Business Networking
‣ Rotary
‣ Birmingham Business
‣ Rotaract Alliance involvement
‣ United Way

27. Brand Revitalization

28. Brand Revitalization
Evolving the Product: Content Is King
‣ We embraced an approach of continuous improvement

29. Business Section

30. Fast Find Auto

31. Pink

32. Yes!

33. Bargain Mom

34. Bargain Mom

35. Entertai

36. Entertai

37. Bargain

38. Auburn App

39. Electro
nic
Editio
n

40. Day of Devastation Hardback Book

41. Day of Devastation App

42. Community
Leadership
Series

43. Brand Revitalization

44. Brand Revitalization
Employee Confidence
‣ Quarterly Celebrations
‣ Management team meetings
‣ Increased communication / transparency
‣ Being intentional about culture change
‣ Marketing campaign launch: employees first
‣ Building banners

47. Brand Revitalization

48. Brand Revitalization
Strengthening the Sales Force
‣ Training
‣ Salesforce.com
‣ Promax
‣ Pulse Research
‣ Feet on the street
‣ Laptops

49. Brand Revitalization

50. Brand Revitalization
Multi-Media Company
‣ Digital Team
‣ Business Newsletter
‣ Bargain Mom
‣ Electronic Edition
‣ Apps
- al.com mobile app, High School mobile app, iPad apps
- COMING SOON: al.com iPad app and BN e-edition app
‣ Diversification

51. Brand Revitalization

52. Brand Revitalization
Marketing Campaign
‣ It’s not about ego. It’s an investment in our brand.
‣ Practice what we preach
‣ Partnering with Big Communications

54. 2011 Brand Campaign

56. Indu
}
state of the
stry:
‣ The “traditional media” is
struggling
‣ Perception that newspapers all
over the world are dying left and
right
‣ There are “trust issues” with the
national media, especial from the
political right

58. It’s not a
or an advertising
circulation
It’s a perception
problem.
problem,
problem.

60. “REPORT
THE
S
OF MY ”
DEMISE
–Mark Twain

62. Obje Convince people that their day is incomplete without
taking the time to interact with The Birmingham
ctive: News.

64. Obje To reposition The Birmingham News by reselling
ctive:
the concept of the newspaper.

66. What are the
Table Stakes?
Essentially, elements that all newspapers MUST promise, just to be relevant.
These represent the ideas that provide no new insights or innate differentiation
from any other news source.

68. ‣ More than just headlines ‣ Honest, credible journalism
‣ Better-than-blogger ‣ The best local sports
journalism coverage
‣ Quality news ‣ Great sections for all different
audiences
‣ Everything about our town
and state ‣ Excellent bargains and
coupon options
‣ Local scoops on major
stories ‣ Great regional audience
‣ More journalists than ‣ Balanced coverage
television
‣ Online content

69. ‣ More than just headlines ‣ Honest, credible journalism
‣ Better-than-blogger ‣ The best local sports
journalism coverage
At of these statements. They meet expectation,sections forWhat”
to all face value, people say “So all different
‣ Quality news ‣ Great but do nothing beyond
audiences
that,
‣ Everything about our reason
giving people no additional town to take the time to interact with a
and state
newspaper. ‣ Excellent bargains and
coupon options
‣ Local scoops on major
stories ‣ Great regional audience
‣ More journalists than ‣ Balanced coverage
television
‣ Online content

70. ‣ More than just headlines ‣ Honest, credible journalism
‣ Better-than-blogger ‣ The best local sports
journalism coverage
‣ Quality news ‣ Great sections for all different
audiences
‣ Everything about our town
and state ‣ Excellent bargains and
coupon options
‣ Local scoops on major
stories ‣ Great regional audience
‣ More journalists than ‣ Balanced coverage
television
‣ Online content

71. ‣ More than just headlines ‣ Honest, credible journalism
‣ Better-than-blogger ‣ The best local sports
journalism coverage
None of these issues alone can effectively accomplish the stated objectives. They simply decode as
‣ Quality news ‣ Great sections for all different
‣
“same old, same old.”
Everything about our town
audiences
and state ‣ Excellent bargains and
coupon options
‣ Local scoops on major
stories ‣ Great regional audience
‣ More journalists than ‣ Balanced coverage
television
‣ Online content

73. Identifying Value:
‣ Remind people of the real value of a community’s newspaper,
and the actual value of The Birmingham News to our city

74. Identifying Value:
‣ Remind people of the real value of a community’s newspaper,
and the actual value of The Birmingham News to our city
‣ Reclaim our position as the largest news-gathering organization
in the city and the state

76. Strategy:
If there’s one thing marketing can achieve, it’s
helping The News stand for something.

78. DE-COMMODITIZE
OUR NEWS.

80. Two defensible positions
The Birmingham News can
Stand for:‣ Empowerment {
‣ Hyper-Localism

82. THE CAMPAIGN

84. ICON

86. Condenses the logo down
to its most essential,
Uses the existing words fundamental terminology,
from the logo of “The” with a more efficient use
and “News” of space.
Leverages the fact that The shape and use of rounded
people already know the corners makes it feel right at
paper as “The News.” home on an iPhone.

90. TAGLINE

92. THIS IS

93. THIS IS It provides a sense of
ownership to every story
that originates from The
Birmingham News.
Gives the paper a position of
The “our” signifies all of Birmingham,
strength, restating and reclaiming
meaning that the story The News tells
that The News is the paper of
is one that belongs to all of us.
record for the city, daily expressing
its unique and personal narrative.

95. PRINT

116. TV

120. OUTDOOR

124. WEB

127. MULTIMEDIA

130. After the Launch

132. CityScene TV

135. Lifestyle Section Launch

140. Football U

144. SUCCESS

146. What does
‣Growth
‣Image

148. THE CHALLENGE:

150. What choice will you

152. THIS IS OUR STORY.