Incentive - May 2008 - (Page 16)

COVER STORY How to Save Times are tough for the media industry. Could better sales incentives be the answer? BY A.E. S M I T H MEDIA ike many of its peers in the media industry, the Augusta Chronicle is rethinking the way it sells advertising. Several years ago, management at the daily newspaper decided the company needed to put more focus on developing its online revenue, a significant break in tradition for a paper that can trace its print lineage back more than 200 years. Today, John Jackson, retail multimedia sales director, coordinates the goals and performance of 25 sales representatives who are charged with selling their clients on the ROI of a multimedia marketing package that might include banner ads, search engines, e-mail campaigns and niche spotlights, as well as the traditional print placement. “It’s more difficult to sell online products,” says Jackson. “There’s a certain level of comfort with print, but when you’re selling the Internet, it’s more like vapor.” To drive those sales, Jackson relies on a robust system of recognition and rewards that target achievement that is in line with the company’s online L strategy. “People can always do more,” he says. “The question is just, ‘Is the return more?’” Over the past five years, online sales at the newspaper have risen from just 5 percent to 17 percent of the company’s revenue. “If you look at our overall growth, it’s coming from online. That’s where our readership is growing too,” says Jackson. “The rewards drive the kind of behavior that we want, not only from individuals, but as a team.” The Bad News The Chronicle’s sales division is rare among newspapers in celebrating the shift of its audience and ad dollars to digital. For most media companies, the news is shrinking circulations, rising costs, disruption from competing technologies, consolidation and layoffs, layoffs, layoffs. Into this maelstrom, Scott Andrews is trying to throw a lifeline. In 2004, the Maritz veteran founded MediaAscent, a third-party incentive house based in The Woodlands, Texas, 16 | Incentive | May 2008 | incentivemag.com Photo: Kelly LaDuke http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - May 2008

Incentive - May 2008
Contents
Editor's Note: Turn to Incentives in Hard Times
In The News: At IMRA Conference, Trade Show Talk; In Utah, Team-Building Trauma
Cover Story: Can Incentives Save the Media Business?
Incentive Interview: Our New Columnist, Christi L. Gibson
Case Study: Architecture Firm WESKetch Builds a Recognition Plan
Incentives in a Recession: Advice on Adjusting Your Plan
Office Bullies: The Scourge of the Workplace Can Be Reined In
Original Research: Incentive Sales IQ Report
Recognition@Work: Stop Driving Your Top People Away
Incentive Primer: Ways to Foster Creativity in Your Organization
Travel News
Puerto Rico: Shining Star's Trendy Makeover
Mexico: Cancun and Cabo Still Have It
Potentials Here and Now
Luggage and Leather Goods
Gift Cards: F&B
Advertiser Index
Last Word: Stanley Bing Gives Wimpy Bosses a Nuggie

Incentive - May 2008