Optimize and monetize

These three online advertising experts -- Bob Benz, formerly of Scripps Newspapers and now a partner in a start-up called Maroon Ventures; Joe Apprendi, CEO, Collective Media; and Mark Rose, the Tribune Co’s director of sales strategy, -- talked about the sad advertising picture, in which the industry took in $3 billion less than the year before, in which the $387 billion spent on online audience was the lowest since 1996.

Their bottom line: High-branded niche content sells. (Which means we are on the right course, folks.)

Mark - We need more product, more higher quality audiences drawn by specific brands and targets. in veriticals like auto and horizontals like women. We have an oversupply of inventory, but not the niche products that can draw those desirable audiences.

Joe - What's needed is audience monetization, strong news brands and an audience-centric strategy.

Bob - Look at competitors as possible allies. (Can they do something you can't do, and how can you take advantage of that?)

What Rob Curley did for content someone needs to do for advertising. "The sales culture of newspapers ... is stil very much mired in old thinking."

Joe - Do everything you can to build out content in high display areas.

Behavioral (ad) targeting is helpful to shoppers. Bob gave example of when he was shopping for a kayak and started noticing kayak ads on yahoo news, even though he'd never looked for a kayak on there.

Newspapers are not getting their share of campaign advertising dollars.

Video advertising is a problem. Studies show people don't like preroll and dislike ads around the video. What to do? One guy suggested advertorials. But Benz countered who really watches that? It's like the car dealer with ads on in the middle of the night, it makes him feel good to see himself out there but who sees it? How effective is it really?

These are smart guys who obviously know their business. But they were too caught up in display advertising. As I see it, the real money for us is going to be in self-service advertising targeting small businesses we can't reach any other way. Also in search and business directories.