McClatchy Newspapers Shout Yahoo!

It took over 10 years for the newspaper industry to acknowledge the old adage "when you can't beat them, join them!" For years print newspapers have watched ad revenue drop and have struggled to acclimate themselves to the new reader trends.

Finally McClatchy has formed an alliance with Yahoo to provide content to Yahoo News. For years Yahoo has been a primary source of news on the web with 36.2 million visitors in February of this year alone.

"Yahoo expects McClatchy's content to help satisfy reader appetite, particularly by providing perspective on the news beyond breaking-news coverage from wire services, now the backbone of its "World News" section, " said Neil Budde, editor in chief of Yahoo news, finance, and sports. "World News is consistently among the site's three most-visited categories," he said.

IMHO - print news needs to focus local and not be afraid to put it all "online" while working toward more partnerships in the national news market. The web is for the world, my local newspaper is where I look for information that won't be readily available across the www.

Saw it Off!

So I went on vacation for a week to KC where I did something I rarely do... picked up a copy of USA Today. Right on the front page was an interesting article about the Texas A & M students wearing tee shirts that have the UT logo with sawed off horns.

Of course this was yet another opportunity for attorneys to make a living but the basis for the case raises an interesting question. Is it copyright or trademark infringement to alter the logo of another company?

There have been many times that a logo is used as part of a parody. In fact here's a site dedicated to it... (click). So where does it cross the line? And doesn't using a logo parody, in effect, verify the brand recognition and reinforce the brand?

In the case of Texas A & M there is more to it than just sawing off horns. Apparently the rivalry between the two teams has gone back for eons - this may just amount to hurt feelings. Still... be careful when using the logo of others!

Don't Let the Competitor In

I saw something the other day that just really surprised me. I thought people had gotten wise to this but apparently not.

There was a company vehicle with the name, phone etc. Great. But then on the side of the truck was an ad to "see us in the Fiest" which is old (Yellow Book bought Feist a couple of years ago), but that's beside the point.

The point is that why would you tell people to look for your company in the phone book - right next to all your competitors? The idea is to get people to think that your company is the only choice. Letting them get a look at competitors will send your prospective customer shopping around.

The same thing happens with online ads. We often see companies advertise that we can see them on other directory websites, like yellowpages online. The same principle applies.

Keep your prospective customers as a captive audience. Don't refer them to phone books, online directories, magazines or any place your potential customer can find other choices.

You know why your company is the only choice! Keep it that way!

Web Sales v. Brick & Mortar

This article posted today on CNN poses an interesting question: What are the legalities of offering special offers online but not for in store purchases?

The story states that when consumers went to Best Buy in person expecting the same low price as the internet were denied the savings when the employee of Best Buy pulled up what appeared to be the same site and showed a higher price.

As it turns out, Best Buy has a "secret website". The real purpose behind the website is unclear. It appears however, that the customer has the burden of proof and the insider website used by employees serves to refute any internet specials.

And this is not the first time Best Buy has been in trouble. New Jersey and Ohio have both cited Best Buy for decptive sales practices, failing to give rebates and refunds.

Still, what is the obligation of the merchant when a special is advertised "internet only" and a consumer requests the same price in person?

The Attorney General in Conneticut is still investigating the Best Buy incidents and has yet to make formal charges, A. G. Richard Blumenthal stated that "Best Buy officials have yet to formally talk with the attorney general's investigators, instead opting to send "a written communication."

"That communication was less than explicit'" Blumenthal said, "Their responses seem to raise as many questions as they answer. Their answers are less than crystal clear."

The outcome of this issue could give firm guidelines as to the differences between internet and in store pricing.

Local Search

I often get questions from companies about local search: Do people really use the internet to search locally?

The answer is a resounding yes! And those types of searches are getting more and more common. In July of 2006 there were 109 million people (US)who used the search engines to find local products and services.

Where do they search - if you said Google you are right. Thirty percent of all local searches start at Google.

Google and Yahoo both have local search directories and if you aren't listed - be there! Those are the listings that generally come up first when you look for a specific product or service in your city. Usually you get a map in Google with little pins in it showing the locations.

There are many different places you can list your "local" business on the internet. Often times it's free. Do a search for your company name in quotes with the city and you'll see a list of directories your company may be listed in... then just go check the listing to make sure its right.

You can even upgrade listings to bold, top of the heap etc. for small monthly fees.

More to come on this topic . . .stay tuned!