Politics pays off for Lexington Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com

Rufus Friday, president and publisher of the Lexington Herald-Leader, will address SNPA's News Industry Summit in October with a more detailed look at how the newspaper and McClatchy are ramping up to be even more successful in the 2016 political races.

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Woods and Osborne said the strategy relied on communication, the assignment of ad reps with experience in political advertising and the variety of advertising they offered.

"I think the key to our success was the wide variety of products we offered: spadeas, direct mail, ROP, lots of digital advertising, election guides on Sundays," said Osborne.

Here's how it worked.

Two people were assigned to handle all political advertising, one for print and multi-media, and one for digital. They contacted all the county clerks and created a master list of candidates, Woods said.

They sent direct mail pieces and email blasts to all candidates describing services and asking for a meeting, then followed up with phone calls offering to set up needs analyses.

A multi-media solution campaign was tailored for each candidate based on his or her needs and goals.

Splitting sales between two politically experienced people help ensure fair treatment of all candidates even when things turned ugly in the U.S. Senate race, Woods said. She said it was important for opponents to know they were getting equal treatment in contacts, placement and price.

"Communication is key in keeping them engaged throughout the process," Woods said. "I think it's important that you have a specialist in the political field."

Despite the significance of congressional races, Woods said reaching the decision-makers on the national level and identifying "all these super-PACS that had the money," proved more difficult than explaining to local candidates the advertising options available. McClatchy's national advertising task force became involved.

Osborne said selling digital advertising to local candidates proved to be easier because they were more willing to listen to advice.

"They want to trust that somebody is going to help them," she said. "Kentucky.com is the most popular site in the state digitally."

An early, organized start in a heavy campaign year reduces the chances of confusion or inadvertent unfair treatment, Osborne said. "You don't want to be doing this on the fly."

Speaking of early, this year's ballot is light. But last year's losing Senate candidate is already reserving Front Page Spadeas and the sticky notes on the front page for later this year for her new race for a statewide office.

For more information, contact Kim Woods at kwoods@herald-leader.com or Tammy Osborne at tosborne@herald-leader.com.

Jane Nicholes

Jane Nicholes, a regular contributor to the eBulletin, is a freelance writer and editor based in coastal Alabama. She is an award-winning veteran of more than 30 years in the newspaper business. Reach her at jbnicholes@att.net. Suggestions for future stories and comments on this piece are welcomed.