Lessons Learned from 'Confessions of a S.O.B.'

Many years ago, I read the book, “Confessions of a S.O.B.,” by Al Neuharth. In it, he chronicled his first publications — his rise within the Gannett publishing company and ultimately the launch of USA Today.

The book was fascinating. Neuharth was truly ahead of his time in many ways. I came away with an idea for the Minden Press-Herald, the newspaper I was publishing at the time. I wanted to revamp the design, incorporating some of the elements I saw in USA Today — especially the “Flag” which is newspaper jargon for the nameplate of the newspaper on the front page.

USA Today had a light blue box with white type on its front. The design was easily recognized from the road (not to mention the cool newsstands they had). It was unique and I loved it.

For the next two years, the Minden Press-Herald had a dark blue box with white type as it’s flag.
Unlike USA Today, the box was on the left side of the page and quite a bit larger.

The design itself was not all that great, and we opted to go back to a more traditional design.

After we switched back, my dad told me that he hated the USA Today inspired design. But admitted,
“I knew our paper wherever I went, because of that blue box.”

The experiment taught me a lot about marketing. The right logo can make a difference in your visibility and recognition.

I never forgot that lesson.

Last year, we looked at our local newspaper, the Bossier Press-Tribune. We reviewed the newspaper’s purpose, its audience and the market at large.

Bossier Press-Tribune is a community newspaper. It’s roots are in Bossier Parish and it’s content has always reflected the people of Bossier — their lives and their community.

As a group, the staff of the newspaper sat down and determined the best ways to do what we do. We went from a 5-day printed publication to a 3-day, giving our newsroom more time (and more news space) to cover the community better.

We expanded our online coverage to more of a 24/7 format. Posting news as soon as it happens to further benefit our readers in a more immediate way. We integrated our online coverage with our social media to reach our readers where they live, work and worship.

We also redesigned the printed product to reflect this new depth of coverage. That’s when the lesson from my past came back to my memory.

We agreed the new Bossier Press-Tribune had to look unique. We also wanted easy recognition in the marketplace. As a result, the “purple box logo” was born.

Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that you remember it. One glance at our front page, and you immediately know it the Bossier Press-Tribune.

The logo is taking a prominent position on all of our marketing materials. You see a purple box, you think Bossier Press-Tribune.

If you haven’t thought about the marketing of your brand/business, you should. October is a great month to plan your marketing for the upcoming year. These plans will go a long way helping you achieve your 2013 goals.

Until Next Time...