Beware the 26 was a viral marketing campaign led by the Florida Times Union to emphasize 74 percent of people in North Florida consume either the paper or the Times Union website Jacksonville.com. While the campaign was strong and generated a lot of buzz, the payoff was pretty flat. Here are the real 26 you should be paying attention to.
The TU will be giving away prizes for the next 74 days, which frankly conjures visions of step-fathers trying to impress their new sons or daughters with iPods and PS3s. The message of the campaign seems a bit desperate. Check out the lead sentence on the homepage of the website:
They’re not space aliens, politicians or a new boy band (thank heavens) – but they are still kind of annoying. See, The 26 is actually a small percentage of our community clinging to a crazy misperception – that newspapers are yesterday’s news.
So the Times-Union is saying anyone that doesn’t conform to their method of news distribution is “annoying”? Ouch. People who like to slice and dice their news when they want and how they want it for free are no better than the sophomore member of a boy band? That’s bold. Even bolder is claiming to provide fresh batches of innovative media and linking to a page with nothing on it.
Unfortunately people are abandoning traditional means of media consumption for the more flexible and customizable online versions. Advertisers and the old guard revenue source, classifieds, are fleeing to the web faster than the ink can dry on the news print. Check out these three article to see what I mean:
Craigslist Is Devastating Newspapers’ Profitable Classified Ad Business
Florida Times Union struggling
San Francisco Chronicle in trouble
I don’t hate the TU, I find it a very valuable resource for my blog. But denial is not the way to go here. Don’t spend money on a viral ad campaign and gifts to persuade people not believe something they already know is true. Put the money into researching new media and techniques that might actually interest the MySpace and Twitter generation.
tags: jacksonville, media, times union, beware the 26
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Though I did try. Great post.
Craigslist is indeed hammering newspapers of all sorts. Even alternative weeklies like the Chicago Reader (in of course, Chicago) are also feeling the pain.
Locally, I wonder how publications like Folio Weekly are doing lately. Doesn’t seem like they are too exposed to classified sales (but I could be quite wrong), so perhaps they are hanging in there OK. I am guessing though that the days “pre-Craigslist” and pre-internet were a little brighter. Any ideas on this?
Another monster looming on the landscape is Google. Particularly for B2C ad dollars. Google, from what I’ve heard, is getting a lot smarter in this area, to the detriment of local media like radio stations and perhaps local TV. The ability to measure click-through rates, sales dollars and ROI on such internet ads is a pretty powerful value proposition for advertisers. Doesn’t seem to be good time to be in radio world either between iPods, XM/Sirius, and local internet advertising.
Beware the incredibley lame marketing campaign.
And seriously, local news was covering this like it was a real story? Essentially just giving away free advertising by covering commercials on the news? Does that not disgust anyone else? I wanted to verbally berate whoever made that decision.
After the “26″ were revealed, it was a total let-down. Personally I found the entire campaign, when viewed in context with the reveal, to be arrogant. Metro-Jacksonville’s “26″ was far more relevant and news-worthy.
I buy a paper on occasion, and visit the TU website only slightly more frequently. Usually it’s only to check out a specific story. I find the local blogging community to be much more informative, and local bloggers are more apt to give both sides of the story. The TU most decidedly has an agenda. Besides, local bloggers (such as you, Joey) often live in the areas they write about. They have a stake in seeing positive action and progress. Were I not such a horrible procrastinator, I would probably blog more about my beloved downtown instead of the obligatory family pictures and YouTube crap.
As for Folio, it is not a source of “journalism”…it is an opinion piece, plain and simple. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy reading it, but Folio’s political slant is apparent for all to see. They present the liberal viewpoint, and they do it unapologetically.
it’s just silly to expect people to pay to read a newspaper when such better info is online. i read the sports on jacksonville.com, but any news can be found somewhere else.
and folding a newspaper is a pain in the ass.
It was a pretty awful attempt at an ARG/Viral campaign. It’s like this company approached the TU and said “Hey look, the kids are totally into this wacky new thing!” and they totally fell for it. Every advertising schmuck out there is now trying to pitch viral to any uninformed company that’ll listen.
Consumers have become a lot savvier in the past couple of years, shit like the 26 simply doesn’t fly. Look at how much money Sony dumped into their viral campaigns and it blew up in their faces in a horribly funny way. 26 was a major failure, it was a concept that should’ve never been realized. One of the largest goals for a news outlet is earning the trust of their market, this style of viral does anything but that. Just because shows like Heroes and Lost are popular because they feature mysterious clues and hints that spill into other media doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea for a struggling newspaper. Any clod with half a brain would know this. Someone at the TU should be fired.
And yeah, the Folio’s a fun read but it’s not really a reliable news source. To be honest, the only thing I still find of value in the TU are the food columns/reviews, if there was a local foodie blog, I’d probably just read it instead. Erika Burks does a pretty admirable job at reviews though. Following several years of nothing but syurpy-sweet reviews of awful eateries, her first column was brutally honest and actually ended with a suggestion to avoid the place in question.
I ramble. What I’m really trying to say is this: BOO-URNS to the TU for the 26.
The campaign had a lame result, but look at what it achieved: people are talking about it and the TU. To those who subscribe to the maxim, “Any news is good news,” the campaign clearly drew attention to ye olde newspaper, and that is delicious irony.
:)
Completely off topic::
Adam B: didn’t you say you were starting law school soon? If so, where and when, if I might ask?
It was reasonably successful in getting attention no doubt. Were the goals behind that met? I bet it is too early to tell.
Invoking Ogilvy?
Ogilvy would have use a photo of someone reading the Times Union as the main image on the web site. He probably would not have talked down to their target audience by calling them annoying.
He also might have cautioned against any editorials on the same day that strongly endorsed positions on major issues or projects that haven’t been fully researched. Because in essence the campaign is claiming its readers are smarter because they read the paper or the website, every 30 days or more.
Just my thoughts. Thankfully I didn’t get catch the drama until near the end or I probably would have a stronger opinion about it.
i gave up on the times union when I noticed the following things:
1. their stories from Orlando, Tallahassee, Miami, etc. all seemed to be written by somebody not in the employ of the TU ie. the AP or some other paper. I understand not having a bunch of bureaus, but one would think they could at least cover the state themselves.
2. ALL of the non local news was from the wire services.
3. Their opinion page was and is very weak. Even if I don’t like a paper’s editorial stance, I will still take great interest in reading it if they do a good job with it and take strong editorial positions.
4. the final straw was when the Brad Pitt Jennifer Anniston breakup was A1 COLUMN 1 FRONT PAGE NEWS. For that they should be ashamed.
I own a house in Springfield but spend the majority of my time in New Orleans. I didn’t read the New Orleans Times Picayune much before I moved here (a few weeks after the hurricane) so I don’t know how it used to be Pre-K. But I can tell you that Post-K, I have been consistently impressed with what a great paper they put out that really focuses on local news in a meaningful way. I think they are the standard that other small to medium sized cities (ie Jacksonville) should aspire to meet. If anyone is interested, checkout their site at Nola.com.
I would be part of the 74 if only the TU gave me a reason.
One other thought, the last time I was a full time Springfield resident (summer of 05) JAX was the only city in FL unable to receive daily home delivery of the NY Times - I tried and was rebuffed. Maybe that’s why the TU sucks
The 26 site looked like it was made by someone that worked at AOL for maybe five months…
…in billing.
Still does. TU partnering with some ‘agency’ that did this? I didn’t even bother to check who they are. Bandwidth waste, yeah…but enlightening experience that decent reporters from TU need to seek opportunity elsewhere.
I love the paper. Nothing’s better for potty training puppies or wrapping fragile glass when moving out of jacksonhell.
In Central Florida they were good for wrapping fish and commonly referred to as “fish wrappers”.
Fawn: I’m still hearing back from schools, so i’m not completely sure. it’s looking like it’s going to come down to FSU, Florida Coastal, or Seattle (assuming that I can get their public interest scholarship). I’m not a huge fan of tallahassee, so if coastal will give me some money, that’s where i’ll probably go, especially since i really want to be a public defender. coastal grads get hired by the PD’s office and SAO all the time.
Adam, want to be a PD huh? excellent career choice if I might be so bold to say! cheers to you… if you ever find yourself in Shantytown tell Tex to put your beer on my tab!
Tom B: I used to get the NYT delivered to me over in Riverside, back in 2005…maybe they just didn’t deliver to Springfield?
At any rate, the TU sucks, even more than the Orlando paper, which I thought was the absolute worst when I lived there. Between Laura Crapitano, weekly Ann Coulter columns, daily Bible verses, and letters to the editor from the most ignorant/backwards people in Jacksonville, reading it’s a surefire way to make me want to go kick a puppy or punch someone in the face. Ugh.
Of course, I’m a godless liberal who was raised on the St. Pete Times, so my reaction to the TU is pretty natural.
well, i actually work at the state attorney’s office as a paralegal right now (which is why i can be online all the time), and i’d really like to try out the other side once i’m an attorney.
also, i’m at shantytown all the time, so you might be in trouble with that beer offer.
SAO, that is great stuff….I once was on that side too… many years ago….this side kind of suited me better.
No worries here re: that beer, I’m usually up there on Thurs after work.
Free Beer on BIXBY!
adam- cool. good luck with that. when i see you sometime, i will explain why i asked.
that sounds ominous.
The TU should have spent that money on someone to replace David Decamp. (a good young political reporter they lost to the St. Pete Times)…(who have a great florda politics blog here…http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/)
In fact, instead of tooting their own horn and berating the “26″ they could be working to enhance the experience of the rest of us “74″.
far to much space in the TU is devoted to wire stories. the thing about wire stories is that most news junkies have read them long before they open a paper in the morning.
Is it to much to ask that the TU devote its resources to creating quality local content that isnt provided in press releases from the city or developers?
The TU has some good writers, young and old, and it is obviously trying to craft a vision for the future, but I think the apathetic,status quo culture that keeps this city in its ruts has infected the newsroom.
If I remeber correctly, the TU hiring freeze letter linked to in the Folio recently also talked about a cost of living raise freeze. (sorry no link…somebodies got it…a little help)
And yet they blow gobs of money on this “26″ campaign
what do you reckon it cost? enough for a city hall reporter?
Makes for a charming newsroom i bet.
and full of folks who want to get out there and exercise the duty of the 4th estate.