Chapter 2: Make the connection

At the heart of any great local community, you’ll find a newspaper. It is the modern-

day town square, full of news on issues that affect our lives directly, and stories of local

characters and businesses that enhance the enjoyment of where we live. For advertisers,

it is the ultimate in trusted media.

THINK LOCAL

Realise the potential of regional and community

newspaper media

THINK LOCAL : Chapter 2 - The local connection

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3218.0 Regional Population Growth, Australia, April 2014 2 emma, 12 months to September 2014. 3 The Local Newspaper Report, The Newspaper Works and Brand Navigator 2012 (readers of community newspapers).

IntroductionThree out of five Australians live in a city with more than 1 million people: Sydney (4.4 m), Melbourne (4.2 m), Brisbane (2.1 m), Perth (1.9 m) and Adelaide (1.3 m).1 Suburban newspapers reach 4.2 million in the nation’s capital cities.2

These big cities are underpinned by their micro-communities, such as the peninsula of Balmain in inner-western Sydney, or the chic of Fitzroy on the edge of Melbourne’s CBD.

Research shows we love where we live. Some 65 per cent of city residents have not moved home for at least five years, and more than 5.5 million own their own home. Once they’ve settled they want to know what’s going on in the community, and research tells us that local newspapers play an important role in keeping them in touch.

Different newspapers, different needsMetro newspapers deliver impressive reach figures. Two out of three people 14+ in Australia’s five largest capital cities read a national or metro newspaper each week, so an advertiser might question why they should advertise in local newspapers.

The reason is simple: Readers turn to local newspapers for information about what’s going on in their local community: events and activities, important issues, and information about services and businesses where they live.3

Think and act localThis loyalty to a local area is illustrated by the desire to shop locally, especially readers of local newspapers. Some 73 per cent of emma respondents say they prefer to use local services and tradesmen as much as possible; and 76 per cent of those read their local paper – a huge endorsement for classified sections.

Source : emma, 12 months to August 2014.

2

Keeping it local: The top 10 activities in a suburb (ranked on local newspaper readers)

Go shopping at a supermarket

Cook dinner for self / family

Go shopping to a local shopping strip / area

Visit friends or relatives

Listen to recorded music

Go shopping to a large shopping complex / centre

Some form of exercise (running, swimming, gym etc)

Watch a dvd / rented movie / tv series

Do some gardening

Entertain friends or relatives at home

Local readers

97%

90%

85%

85%

78%

76%

70%

65%

67%

57%

Population

96%

88%

80%

83%

80%

72%

71%

68%

62%

55%

THINK LOCAL : Chapter 2 - The local connection

It’s a small worldSome 60 per cent of us like to stay in the neighbourhood to do our shopping instead of driving across the city to a mall, and to engage in in-home activities.4

The common goal of local newspapers is to service the community by providing local news and information on services, amenities and events in the locality. They are generally free and widely distributed, giving them an extensive footprint.

Ads in local newspapers generate high levels of engagement with readers.

The Local Newspaper Report conducted by Brand Navigator for The Newspaper Works reported that 62 per cent of respondents have visited a store as a result of seeing an ad in their suburban paper, while 61 per cent have made a product enquiry after seeing an ad.5

4 emma, 12 months to September 2014. 5 The Local Newspaper Report, The Newspaper Works and Brand Navigator 2012 (readers of community newspapers). 6 emma, 12 months to September 2014.

A special relationshipThe connection to the community that these newspapers have is reflected in the readership numbers, with close to 4.8 million people reading their local paper, including 4.2 million in the metro markets.6

MA

IN

ANTHEA CANNON

AN $80 million overhaul for

Norlane will deliver 320 new

homes over four years and kick

start the revitalisation of the

northern suburbs.

Housing Minister Wendy

Lovell revealed the plan exclus-

ively to the Geelong Advertiser

yesterday.Community leaders hailed

the project as a new beginning

for the north.

‘‘It would have to be one of

the most significant announce-

ments in Geelong’s recent his-

tory,’’ Committee for Geelong’s

Peter Dorling said. ‘‘All signs

are on the up for Norlane.’’ One

hundred and sixty public hous-

ing homes will be built on

vacant land – with families

moving into the first 14 homes

before Christmas.The homes will be a mix of

mainly single storey, two, three,

four and five bedrooms.The vacant and decaying

Yoorlinga apartments will be

bulldozed early next year to

officially end the ghetto era.

In its place a display village

will showcase designs for a

further 160 affordable house-

and-land packages available

throughout the suburb.Only local builders will be

allowed to tender for the build-

ing works. City Hall will remain

the planning authority for the

project, despite last year’s plan

by the Brumby Government to

take control.A community advisory com-

mittee, chaired by Member for

Western Victoria David Koch,

will be a voice for local residents

and industry in the plan.

Ms Lovell said the plan was

about addressing underlying

social disadvantage in the area.

‘‘This will diversify the neigh-

bourhood and, together with

the Work and Learning Centre,

break the cycle to assist people

into work,’’ she said.

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Land plan disputedCONFUSION has reigned over the future of what was the first land granted — or returned — to indigenous Australians. Despite

heritage studies and exhaustive reports on the land’s cultural and historical significance, Blacktown councillors claimed they

did not realise until August this year that the site was about to be developed. Callan Lawrence reports.

‘I am very disappointed

with Blacktown Council for

allowing (the land) to go. I

think the Darug people

deserve an apology.

— Darug leader Sandra

Lee (Above right)

CONTINUED PAGE 5

Doubts arise as Darug site faces being swallowed by development

The ones who lost out: Darug

elders Margaret Williams (left)

and Sandra Lee (right) are

descendants of the first

Aboriginal men to own land in

the colony: Colebee and

Nurragingy.Pictures: Carlos Furtado

MOST of the 12 hectares

granted to Darug men

Colebee and Nurragingy in

1816 will be developed for

housing and roads,

approved by Blacktown

Council when it zoned the

site in 2005.

About half the site — next

to Richmond Road, north of

Hassal Grove and Dean

Park, and running into

Stonecutters Ridge at its

northern end — is owned by

the RTA and the rest by the

Smith Family Trust and

Fatidin Pty Ltd.

The two private owners are

prepared to dedicate three

hectares of the site for con-

servation, if NSW National

Parks and Wildlife accepts

the deal.

That was the offer put to

the council’s historical com-

mittee last week: that or buy

the privately owned half for

$15 million.

Graham Wicks from the

Blacktown and District His-

torical Society said the

council had no excuse for

not knowing the import-

ance of the site or plans for

its future.

‘‘Seven years ago we were

discussing this. We provided

the documents that showed

it was going to be built on,’’

he said.‘‘All this time, we assumed

the council was looking out

for this.’’

The councillors blamed

the developers, first Medal-

list Developments, then

Legacy Property.

State planning laws put

responsibility for assessing

the heritage and archaeology

of the site with developers.

Cr Kathie Collins com-

pared that to ‘‘putting

Dracula in charge of the

blood bank’’.

Former Medallist director

and now director of Legacy

Property, Stewart Nettleton,

said his company com-

pleted an ‘‘exhaustive’’ con-

sultation process with

landowners, Aboriginal

groups and the council.

Mr Nettleton said parks and

street names would be dedic-

ated to the Darug people

when the site was developed.

Consecutive governments

and Blacktown councils

failed to save the land for its

historic and cultural value.

The Darug Tribal Abori-

ginal Organisation and local

historical societies recently

prepared a submission to

have the land put on the

State Heritage Register.

The council deferred a

decision to support the sub-

mission so it could investig-

ate whether it would affect

the development of

Stonecutters Ridge.

Differingviews mean

no one will

be happy

Director of Legacy Property

Stewart Nettleton: ‘‘I was

bemused to listen to councillors

say how important it was (that

the site be protected), when I

had sat there and watched as

three of them signed off on it

(being developed). We were

lauded as one of the first groups

to consult with any of the Abori-

ginal groups.’’

Blacktown Council: ‘‘The

Heritage Council has recog-

nised the development

potential of the land . . . The

status quo will be maintained

as if it were not a heritage item.’’

The Heritage Council: ‘‘We

consider it to be a symbolic

listing marking an important

landmark in the history of black

and white relations in Australia.’’

Darug elder Sandra Lee: ‘‘It

was written at the bottom of the

grant, ‘never to be sold’. I don’t

know how you can sell land that

never had a deed.’’

Historian Jack Brook: ‘‘This is a

sorry day for this city. The virtual

birthplace of Blacktown and its

close association with the Austra-

lian Aborigines has been trashed.’’

Cr Tony Bleasdale: ‘‘We are

outraged about why this

happened.’’

Cr Jacqeline Donaldson: ‘‘It’s a

fait accompli. It seems whenever

one of these historical sites

comes up it’s ‘woops, we can’t do

anything about that’. We need to

be more proactive.’’

V1 - SUBE01Z01MA

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PH 1300 305 191 FAX 8944 9960WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

THINGS HEAT UP FOR FIRIES >> P7LEO STEPS BACK IN TIME >> P5

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT >> P18

AIRPORT TAKES OFF P3

A BIRD IN THE HANDSTORY >> P8

Chickens help GeorgiahHatzigiagkos and Jolina Laylearn how to live in a moreenvironmentally friendly wayat Henbury School.Photo: KATRINA BRIDGEFORD

9 September 1839Darwin Port Corporation recognises the significance of the anniversary

of the arrival of HMS Beagle into the Port of Darwin, and its ongoing

role and achievements as a vital trading port for northern Australia. www.darwinport.nt.gov.au

PORT of DARWINCelebrating175 YEARS

Source : emma, 12 months to August 2014.

3

Community Newspaper Reach By State

NSW/ACT 1.73mVIC 1.39m

SA 405,000

WA 600,000

NT 22,000

QLD 607,000

TOTAL 4.8m

Community Newspaper Reach By City

Sydney 1.57m

Melbourne 1.27m

Brisbane 358,000

Perth 557,000

Adelaide 405,000

THINK LOCAL : Chapter 2 - The local connection

Source : The Local Newspaper Report, The Newspaper Works and Brand Navigator 2012 (readers of community newspapers).

7 The Local Newspaper Report, The Newspaper Works and Brand Navigator 2012 (readers of community newspapers). 8 CEASA, Advertising Expenditure in Main Media, 30 June 2014. 9 The Local Newspaper Report, The Newspaper Works and Brand Navigator 2012 (readers of community newspapers).

The emotional dimensionReaders say they “provide information that is relevant to me” (73%), “is a trusted source of information” (55%), “provides practical information” (63%), and “is an engaging source of information” (50%).

Leveraging powerFor brands with a local footprint, newspapers offer powerful marketing opportunities. Advertisers can take advantage of the high engagement and strong trust readers have in their local titles in two key ways:

1. Drive call-to-action through tactical advertising.

2. Create connections through community focussed brand advertising.

1. Drive store trafficThe Local Newspaper Report provides clear evidence that advertising drives footfall. Readers are: 7

More than three times as likely to visit a store or business because of a newspaper ad compared with one seen on local TV (62% vs 17% for local TV); and

More than 10 times more likely to enquire about a product or service as a result of a newspaper ad compared with outdoor advertising (61% vs 5%).

Key:

• Social media • Catalogues / flyers in letter box • Advice from friends / family

• Websites with local information • Outdoor advertising • Community newspapers

Relevant Trusted Practical & useful Engaging

16%

27% 28%

7%

73%

6%

27%

23%

55%

29% 29%

8%9%

63%

50%

13%

20%

25%

20%22%

30%

4%

14%

32%

4

2. Create connectionsAdvertisers need to look for every advantage they can find in creating connections with consumers because it’s a challenge to cut through the noise. With almost $13 billion was spent on advertising in the last financial year, consumers are bombarded with messages from hundreds of brands.8

Creating positive connections with a community demonstrates how a brand is part of our lives, serving as an effective way to created or reinforce trust.

The data shows that brands can use local newspapers to build their profile in a community. Readers are more than three times as positively disposed towards advertisers in local newspapers than those that advertise via letterbox flyers and catalogues (58% vs. 18% for letterbox flyers/catalogues).9

THINK LOCAL : Chapter 2 - The local connection

10 How Vodafone Australia is earning back trust one conversation at a time. Barbara Messer, ADMA Global Forum, July 2014.

Winning customer confidenceIn the study, How Vodafone Australia is earning back trust one conversation at a time, Barbara Messer outlines the serious network problems faced by Vodafone Australia between 2010 -2012.10

The result of these outages had dire consequences for the brand. Net Promoter Scores over the period fell considerably and the business haemorrhaged 1 million customers in 12 months. Kim Clarke, then Vodafone CMO, said in July 2014: “In essence, we went from being the most to the least trusted telecommunications brand in Australia.”

Case study:Vodafone used

local newspapers to improve brand

sentiment

The bond of trust between local papers and their audiences gives an effective platform for brands to reach consumers. Vodafone capitalised on this when it embarked on a campaign to win back customer trust following several well-publicised network failures.

Love hyper-localVodafone wanted to build on positive customer sentiment in these areas by promoting its newly improved service to win back market share. It invested in a highly-targeted, hyper-local media mix campaign incorporating local newspapers and outdoor advertising in specific localities

The campaigns announced Vodafone’s new 4G service and its additional coverage with clever, localised messaging.

Results The service improvements and subsequent local marketing activities provided strong results.

• 20 percentage point increase in network sentiment

• 10 point increase in trust

• 20 point increase in Net Promoter Scores

• 20 point increase in positive word of mouth

Brand consideration grew 27 per cent over the course of the transformation campaign.

Local newspapers played their role by providing Vodafone with a trusted platform that encouraged readers to reappraise the brand after a difficult period.

The trust factorVodafone launched a three-step brand program designed to rebuild trust.

• Address the root cause

• Know your strengths and leverage them

• Create an inside-out change program

The first step meant extensive improvements had to be made to the network and to the way the company interacted with customers.

Once these improvements were made, Vodafone identified five geographic areas in which service improvements led to significant increases in customer sentiment scores.

5

Connect with us for more insights and news about our industry:

If you have any questions or if you want to know more about how to apply the strategies discussed, please get in touch:

T (02) 9692 6300 | adrianfernandes@thenewspaperworks.com.au | Level 2 60 Union Street Pyrmont, NSW 2009 Australia

The author: Adrian Fernandes is Research & Insights Specialist at The Newspaper Works.

He is an award winning researcher with over a decade of experience in advertising and brand research for leading market research agencies in Europe & Australia.

His previous experience includes 4 years at Fairfax Media as Consumer Insights Manager.