Compiled by John Kelly

Wednesday October 26, 2016

REI Makes Bold Black Friday Decision Second Year in a Row

While many retailers still struggle with how to leverage the Black Friday sales frenzy, REI has other plans in mind.

For the second year, REI will remain closed on both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the

year. “Instead of feeding the Black Friday frenzy, we're closing our 149 stores and giving our 12,287 employees a paid day

off,” REI’s website reported.

While shoppers visiting REI’s online store will be able to add merchandise into their carts, no orders will be processed until

Saturday, Nov. 26.

The decision coincides with its #OptOutside campaign that encourages its “6 million co-op members to choose the outdoors

over fighting it out in the aisles,” according to a company statement.

“The moment we announced our decision last year, people who build their lives around the outdoors really embraced the

idea of reclaiming Black Friday,” said the company’s CEO Jerry Stritzke. “It took on a life of its own and became about much

more than REI.”

Shoppers participating in the #OptOutside campaign are encouraged to upload photos, share through social media, use the

social hub to discover nearby trails and parks, and connect with non-profits that steward the outdoors.

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/rei-makes-bold-black-friday-decision-second-year-row

Newsonomics: Here are 10 storylines We’ll be Talking About into 2017

It’s been a remarkable year for the nation, and its press. Transfixed by the Trump phenomenon, election anxiety has all but

consumed us. But soon, what has felt like a national colonoscopy will soon be over, and the press will march (or at least

step) forward. As we consider the most newsworthy U.S. press happenings of this year, let’s start projecting forward to

2017. Tronc may well disappear early into it, but in a sons-also-rise scenario, the Murdochs and the Sulzbergers maintain

center stage, and the future of Gannett and GateHouse — two companies that collectively own almost one in five U.S.

dailies — becomes even more important. Let’s take 10 storylines of 2016 and extend them into the year ahead.

1. The next Gannett

How big will Gannett become? CEO Bob Dickey has set a 130-property-plus goal for his company. And with a buy of Tronc

(the former Tribune Publishing), he’d be within buying distance of that goal. As Gannett gets bigger though, it also gets

smaller. Expect the company’s announcement of a “significant” headcount reduction, perhaps as soon as next week, several

confidential sources tell me. Like its peer companies, Gannett won’t have great performance to announce on its third-quarter

earnings call Thursday. Revenues — driven by mid- to high-single digit print ad revenue declines — will be down. We’ll see

what the company can announce in profit, given this year’s prior cost reductions.

Investors have driven Gannett’s share price down more than 30 percent since it announced its Tronc pursuit, a bigger loss

of value than its peers. For them, the question is, as always, “what will you do for me tomorrow.” So expect Gannett to

announce its pledge to move more quickly to reduce costs in 2017. Newsroom staffing won’t receive a reprieve, with one

editor reporting a coming 10 percent newsroom cost cut; other papers, I’m told, may see cuts in the 5 percent range.

As to Gannett’s acquisition of Tronc, that deal, which I was told was “imminent” at the start of October, should still happen.

Let’s now go with “soon,” given the hangups those close to the action describe. We know that final due diligence — the

review of contractual obligations receivable and payable, for instance — is underway. Lawyers are being blamed for the

slow action. As I noted earlier, one explanation could be a strategy straight out of Monday Night Football: running out the

clock. Tronc chairman Michael Ferro’s ownership group, Merrick Media, formally took its stake in the company in early

February. If one year ticks by before it sells that stake, its tax hit on a sizable payday is reduced.

2. The House of Murdoch in transition

This peculiar chapter in U.S. history will include, as a footnote most likely, the dalliance between the houses of Murdoch and

Trump. Rupert tweeted and signaled various approvals early on, and then saw his prize Fox News Channel riven by

Gretchen Carlson’s successful challenge to Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment. That Ailes has gone on to advise Trump

(though they’re apparently taking a break) only further reinforced the unique politicization of media that Murdoch imported

into the U.S. from the U.K.

We know that 2017 will mark a year of transition for Fox News, as it strategizes around the various challenges of Clinton II,

an older audience, and digital disruption. But the Murdoch in direct charge of how the channel will now position itself isn’t

Rupert. Sons James and Lachlan have emerged. Applying some of the lessons of the family’s last crisis, Hackgate, the duo

moved quickly to push out Ailes and create a through-the-election interim plan. Now, it’s onto the long-term plan. As

Murdochs fils plot, they’ll see whether the potential monster competitor that they helped enable, a would-be Trump-fronted

DNN (Deplorables News Network) actually takes shape, post Nov. 8. (Fox: “Hey, those are our deplorables!”) Regardless,

the younger Murdochs know they’ve got to deal with the oldest demographics in an old-viewing business, and where Fox

News fits into a new zeitgeist that no one can yet grok.

Yet, the billion-dollar profitable FNC is only one of the Murdoch’s challenges. It’s hard to say this has been a good year for

The Wall Street Journal. In a political year that has redefined the American press, it’s been largely missing in action, to the

chagrin of many of its industry-leading journalists, a Trump Slump. While a couple of its editorialists have decried Donald

Trump’s fake conservatism, the institution hasn’t known how to deal with the phenomenon. Then on Wednesday, Dow Jones

CEO Will Lewis announced a Wall Street Journal “2020 Review” to “trigger a transformation program designed to modernize

the newsroom.”

Modernization is one thing; announcements of such modernizations at a newspaper company do seem like really old news

at this point. The bad ad market is another. Just two years ago, Lewis, who brought the Journal back to sanity from the

catastrophic regime of Lex Fenwick, made a major point of his company reaching the 3 million subscriber level. By one

count, the Journal — with Dow Jones’ Barrons included — has reached the 2.5 million mark, but that’s an increase of just

200,000 in two years, well short of the target. While the Journal has innovated smartly with several B2B niche products, its

consumer product development still seems profoundly stuck. In the innovation game, it continues to fall farther behind its

rival New York Times.

If New York, with the forever financially failing New York Post, is tough for Murdochs, the U.K. is tougher. Across the board,

papers there are suffering 15 percent losses in print advertising — almost double the dismal loss U.S. dailies are seeing.

There remains one bright twinkle in Murdoch eyes. Hackgate seemed to foreclose the family’s ability — through 21st

Century Fox — to gain majority control of prized Sky, in which it holds a minority 39 percent interest. As Brexit and more

fuzz up British memories, the Murdochs are readying a new bid for Sky, as James Murdoch once again becomes chairman.

One thing about the Murdochs: Their stamina out-distances almost everyone else in industry. Must be in the genes.

3. The Sulzberger handoff

It may sound like a tricky football play. The New York Times wrote the long-rumored next chapter of its family saga this

week, as A.G. Sulzberger, son of publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., was appointed deputy publisher. “Deputy” as in heir highly

apparent, given the Times’ practice/policy of ending tenures around the age of 65, Arthur’s age.

If we think of proud families, we talk of the Murdochs, Sulzbergers…and Corleones. Yes, I know different business, and now

far less lucrative. But recall Vito Corleone telling son Michael he’d hoped to transition the family’s business more fully be fore

turning it over to him — but that he couldn’t get there. That’s the Times today, as it transitions and transitions. The truth is

that the Times has weathered the Internet’s disruptions relatively well. But it still must find at least one more good trick to

make it through to a sustainable, digital-centric future. Even today, only a third or so of the Times’ revenue is driven by

digital (though that’s among the highest in the industry). A.G.’s task, working with CEO Mark Thompson on the company’s

own 2020 plan, will be to find that trick. Previous generations came up with two key tricks that transformed the Times into

the powerhouse global outlet it is today. First, came national distribution, and second came its innovation of the paywall,

which now helps the Times lead the industry with almost $6 of every $10 in revenue coming from readers. In 2016, the

Times has contemplated a number of third-revolution ideas — but it’s not yet close to finding one that it knows will work.

4. The year of living courageously

Donald Trump has wrought a little revolution in the U.S. press. New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet summed up

succinctly in my Lab interview a few weeks back: “I think that [Trump] challenged our language. He will have changed

journalism, he really will have…We didn’t know how to write the paragraph that said, ‘This is just false.’ We struggle with

that. I think that Trump has ended that struggle.”

It’s not only the Times that deserves plaudits for stepping up to this unprecedented challenge. The Washington Post and

CNN both have found new voices, ones with greater assurance and authority to cut through the he said/she said that has

afflicted the news business (calling Jay Rosen) for at least a half century. These companies have found a bit of swagger,

and while the line between swagger and arrogance can be thin, some swagger is better than none at all. Just as Rupert

Murdoch politicized U.S. news when he brought his Brit tabloid sensibility to TV with Fox News, the Times and the Post now

seem to resemble The Guardian, if only to some degree. It’s totally unpredictable how readers — and potential readers —

will find this new attitude post-election, but it may signal a profound change in the American press. Similarly, we’ll have to try

to gauge the impact of conservative editorial pages across the country — at The Dallas Morning News, the Houston

Chronicle, The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Arizona Republic among them — on the election with their endorsements of

Hillary Clinton. If big local journalism operations are to survive — and that jury is profoundly out — my sense is that their

products must speak more honestly and less equivocally to their audience. Otherwise, no new business model may save

them. Clearly, the Trump and Sanders phenomena display a wide passion for dealing differently with a stuck status quo, and

not just in Washington. That’s a big opening for local media that can use its talents appropriately.

5. What SNL has — and hasn’t — wrought

Even as the phrase Trump has gone “full Baldwin” moves gloriously into the language, Malcolm Gladwell challenges us with

what we believe is the power of political satire. In the final episode, The Satire Paradox, of this season’s highly popular

Revisionist History, Gladwell described the work of academic Heather LaMarre and writer Jonathan Coe (“Sinking Giggling

Into the Sea”). The bottom line: Surprisingly, conservatives saw an entirely different Colbert Report than progressives did,

both seeing in their laughter the affirmation of their own beliefs.

The research and the thinking does challenge our sense of the importance of such shows, though I’m more interested in

what we can call the journalist/comic continuum. In 2008, it was Katie Couric and Tina Fey, in some strange combination,

that alerted the nation to the utter strangeness of Sarah Palin. In 2016, it may be the Megan Twohey (of The New York

Times) and David Fahrenthold (of The Washington Post) and Alec Baldwin that capture the essence of Trump. Jon Stewart

— the ultimate I’m-not-a journalist-I’m-a-comic tweener — deserves credit here as a godfather. His spawn, especially John

Oliver — with one of the best journalism-like shops behind him — and Samantha Bee, have newly (and hilariously, and

effectively) further blurred the lines.

6. Now that’s a public/private partnership

Many have already forgotten the story of Sheldon Adelson’s takeover of Nevada’s biggest daily, the Las Vegas Review-

Journal, even though it only happened last December. One big question: How would Adelson use his influence?

Last week, the country got a peek at his newfound power, a sense that those of us who don’t live in Nevada don’t get

regularly get. In a special session of the Nevada legislature, called by Gov. Brian Sandoval, the state committed $750 million

in taxpayer funds to make Las Vegas a proud NFL — Las Vegas Raiders — city. Who brokered the deal? Adelson,

according to the Wall Street Journal, was square in the middle of it, and will invest $650 million in the project. Stadium

construction, a profoundly uneconomical use of taxpayer monies, is particularly egregious in states like Nevada (ahead of

only Mississippi, Arizona, Utah, Oklahoma, and Idaho in per-pupil education spending). But it’s great for Adelson’s big

business, gaming. We’ll soon see how Nevada, one of the purplest states, moves in the election. As Democrat Catherine

Cortez Masto contests Republican Joe Heck, strongly endorsed Wednesday by the R-J, for Harry Reid’s open Senate sat,

the fate of Senate control could lie in the vote.

7. GateHouse gets its house in order

Adelson’s purchase of Nevada’s most influential daily was concerning. But so was GateHouse Media being willing to sell it

to him — self-inflicted damage. Literally making a highly profitable quick buck with a devil of a buyer, GateHouse never

adequately explained how it ordered up journalistic malpractice on a judge presiding over a case involving Adelson. It was

an embarrassment beyond embarrassment for any self-respecting journalism company. Then, late last month, the company

finally moved to fix the wound. It appointed Bill Church, a well respected top editor at its Sarasota Herald-Tribune (and

recent Nieman Knight Visiting Fellow), as its first senior vice-president of news. It’s a doubly welcome sign. Church served

as a significant player in that bizarre judge-investigating disaster; he’s the GateHouse editor who said no when asked to take

it on, from 2,500 miles away. Further, while we don’t know what kind of sway Church will really have in the corporate offices

of the fast-changing, consolidation-focused GateHouse, the appointment itself is a small sign that the company understands

that is more than a vehicle for funder Fortress Investments to wring profits out of a declining industry. GateHouse Media,

let’s remember, operates more dailies than other company in the country. As the newspaper industry continues more rapid

consolidation, both the “new Gatehouse” and the “new Gannett” are worth watching.

8. Declaring Independence from print

With those deep print ad losses in the U.K., all the press is reeling. Except, apparently, the new digital-only Independent,

which reels newsprint off presses no more. The paper dropped print six months ago, and Monday announced its first profit in

20 years of operation.

Of course, digital-only “papers” can be profitable; the question is how large — and good — a newsroom they can support.

Remember the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that made that transition in 2009. In that case, the digital-only publication still

exists, but as a shadow of its former self, and not a major player in Seattle.

In 2017, publishers will be looking whether The Independent establishes new ground. Maybe it will, but it’s fairly unique

ground. As a national newspaper in Britain, where the national press is disproportionately dominant in a relatively small

geography, it can draw on much bigger potential audiences than a regional publication. Its new numbers are intriguing, and

we’d like to know more about “profitability,” with disclosure of deeper numbers. But even assuming it’s a real profit, we see a

big tradeoff. In the transition, The Independent cut half of its newsroom staff, including much of its experienced (and higher

paid) staff. The old Independent, indeed an independent-streaked pub that broke early on with some journalistic orthodoxies,

is gone. From afar, it’s tough to see the impact of that, but observers report a different experience. And that’s the crux of the

issue here for other publishers: Can they make such a switch and still retain the essence of what they are, have been, and

want to be to their readers? That’s an identity question now that will confront more publishers soon.

Finally, the vagaries of dependence on digital advertising remain worrisome. With Google and Facebook ever more

dominant, claiming 85 to 90 percent of all new digital spending, The Independent has made itself more dependent on digital

advertising, while many of its peers believe (rightly, I think) the best route to sustaining the newsrooms and editorial spir it is

reader revenue.

9. Time Incs., new and old

How many lives can Time Inc. live? As both CEO Joe Ripp (who left last month) and CFO Jeff Bairstow (who exited

unexpectedly this week) exit, the former lion of American magazine publishing is in for yet another strategic rethink, as new

CEO Rich Battista promises an entrepreneurial restart. Consider the Time Inc. model, one that worked so well for so many

years: Assemble a broad group of titles serving different audiences (and often differing advertisers) under a single corporate

structure, achieving the synergies of both mass and niche. In print magazines, for Time, Condé Nast, Hearst, and Meredith,

it worked remarkably well for so long.

As Jim Bankoff and Marty Moe invented Vox Media, they borrowed that Time Inc. metaphor for digital startups, as did Nick

Denton in building Gawker Media. Now as we watch industry stalwart Raju Narisetti shape the new Gizmodo Media Group

— the former Gawker properties now owned by Univision — we’ll see how much the old Time Inc. model works in this new

Google/Facebook-dominated digital era. “Synergy” is the holy grail, but parsing its new meaning in these fast-changing

times usually proves easier on a whiteboard than in real life.

10. 2017’s must-reads

Okay, confess: How many times a day do you check The New York Times’ Upshot, or Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, or The

Huffington Post’s Poll of Polls to see the Clinton/Trump odds? You’re not alone. Yes, these are anxiety-driven must-reads,

but they’re far more effective than the old daily newspaper could be. In that world, the most v iews a news company could

count from a customer was one. So, there’s a challenge: What is it in readers’ daily lives that could encourage similar — if

not as similarly manic — behavior. National or local. Remember, it doesn’t have to be just “news.” Whoever figures out

similarly addicting behavior post-election gets bragging rights at reinventing the essentiality that can propel a next

generation of sustainable news companies.

http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/10/newsonomics-here-are-10-storylines-well-be-talking-about-into-2017/

Canadian Retailer to Enter U.S. with ‘Disruptive’ Concept Spence Diamonds is dropping anchor in the United States with an innovative store concept and unique product offering. The diamond retailer will open a store in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 7, followed by a location in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 10. A store in Scottsdale, Arizona is planned for first quarter 2017, with additional markets to be announced soon. The Spence concept is unique in that it features “artisan created diamonds,” which are identical to mined diamonds in every way, but created in a plasma chamber instead of being dug out of the ground. These diamonds are physically, optically, and chemically identical to the finest diamonds mined from the earth, but they are substantially larger than mined diamonds at any given price point, according to the company. (Spence stores carry both the artisan diamonds and traditional mined diamonds.) At Spence, customers can watch as diamonds are created right in front of their eyes. Jewelry is displayed in open cases and customers are free to take items out of the case for try on. JGA, Southfield, Mich., is serving as design firm for the company’s Austin store. “Before Spence Diamonds came along, the jewelry business hadn’t seen much change since jewelers began moving into suburban malls fifty years ago,” said Jim Schneider, president of Spence Diamonds. “Our inventory-on-demand process is innovative and our store experience is experiential, informative, and entertaining. We have reimagined the experience of the diamond business by creating an environment that is open, bright and transparent. Watching a diamond being created from a ball of plasma while exploring jewelry in open cases without the traditional barriers is a refreshing concept. At Spence Diamonds, the customer can immediately see the price and quality of each diamond and never worry about their selection.” Spence is vertically integrated with offices and design studios in Antwerp, Belgium, and Vancouver, Canada. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/canadian-retailer-enter-us-disruptive-concept

Gannett to Reduce Workforce by About 2% to Help Manage Costs Gannett, which owns USA TODAY and more than 100 local news properties, said Monday that it is reducing its workforce by

“about 2%” to help manage costs in a difficult environment for print and digital advertising.

The cutbacks come as other media companies take similar actions. Last week, The Wall Street Journal said it is offering

buyouts to a “substantial number of employees” in an effort to limit the number of involuntary layoffs and an email from the

top editor of Dow Jones’ weekly magazine Barron’s mistakenly sent to Journal employees revealed that layoffs there were

imminent. Both the Journal and Barron’s are owned by News Corp. In July, The New York Times reported that about 80

employees took voluntary buyout packages.

The reductions at Gannett will affect workers across the company, including at its headquarters in McLean, Va. The majority

of affected employees will be notified by Tuesday and reductions will be completed by the end of this week, President and

CEO Bob Dickey said in a letter to employees.

“Actions like these are difficult, but I remain steadfastly committed to reinvesting in our employees and the capabilities

required to sustain and grow our company so that we may continue to serve our customers with excellence,” Dickey said.

Gannett’s transformation into a national digital media company has met challenges also faced by the broader industry. In the

second quarter, net income fell 77% to $12.3 million as the company had one-time expenses related to severance and

acquisition costs, and advertising revenue came in flat at $409.8 million. Adjusted earnings, before interest, taxes and

amortization, a measure that removes certain one-time items that the investment community uses to evaluate companies,

was $89.7 million, down 7.6%.

National digital advertising revenue rose 22.4%, but similar to other companies with a legacy steeped in newspaper

publishing, digital revenue and traffic haven’t risen fast enough to offset weakness in print. Gannett is set to report third-

quarter financial results Thursday.

Across the industry, U.S. newspaper advertising revenue, excluding digital, fell 8% in 2015 and is expected to decline

another 8% in 2016, according to research firm eMarketer. Digital advertising revenue for all media rose more than 20% in

2015 and is expected to grow at similar levels in 2016.

Gannett has been buying local newspapers and their affiliated digital properties in a strategy designed to consolidate the

local news business and gain digital marketing prowess that can be pitched to corporate clients and small-business owners.

The company last December announced the creation of the USA TODAY NETWORK, uniting its national and local news

properties and its roster of journalists across the country.

In an effort to expand the reach of the network, Gannett this year purchased Journal Media Group, which owned the

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis and 13 other daily newspapers as well as assets of the

North Jersey Media Group. Gannett reportedly remains in talks to purchase Tronc, the publisher formerly known as Tribune

Publishing, which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and nine other dailies. And in August it completed the

acquisition of ReachLocal, an online marketing company that helps local businesses manage sales leads and grow revenue.

“Over the next 18 months, we will continue to build our scale and invest in important digital capabilities and experiences —

such as critical e-commerce infrastructure and significant upgrades to our digital content platforms,” Dickey said in the letter

to employees.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/10/24/gannett-reduce-workforce-2-help-manage-costs/92673912/

Amazon is About to Become the Biggest Clothing Retailer in the US Amazon is expected to surpass Macy's to become the biggest apparel seller in the US next year, according to a new 58-

page report from Cowen & Co.

The shift would represent a huge shake-up for the apparel industry, which has long been dominated by department stores

like Macy's, Nordstrom, and JCPenney, as well as big-box retailers including Walmart and Target.

Amazon is a relative newcomer to the fashion world, and it has made a swift rise to the top.

The company's clothing and accessory sales are expected to grow nearly 30% next year, to $28 billion, according to the

Cowen analysts. Macy's apparel sales, by comparison, are expected to drop 4%, to $22 billion, in the period.

As Amazon's sales grow, so will its share of the apparel market in the US.

Amazon currently claims about 6.6% of the market. That share is expected to increase to 8.2% by next year and further

expand to 16.2% within five years, according to Cowen analysts.

By 2021, Cowen expects Amazon to generate $62 billion in annual apparel sales. TJ Maxx is expected to be the No. 2

clothing seller, with $26 billion in sales, and Macy's is expected to claim the No. 3 spot, with $23 billion in sales.

Over the past couple of years, Amazon has ramped up its investment in fashion by launching its own private-label clothing

brands and sponsoring the first New York men's fashion week.

The company has also hired executives from luxury fashion companies, such as Julie Gilhart, the Barneys New York fashion

director whom Amazon reportedly hired as a consultant, and Vogue editor Caroline Palmer.

Also in the past few years, Amazon has started to shift its fashion strategy toward offering more high-end designer names

such as Zac Posen and Stuart Weitzman.

That shift has had some industry experts scratching their heads. Luxury fashion websites are typically well merchandised

and highly curated — not things for which Amazon is necessarily known.

Amazon's weaknesses with curation were highlighted in a shopper survey conducted in July by Cowen & Co.

"Amazon Fashion got a very lukewarm review for site personalization and ease of use," Cowen analyst John Kernan said in

a conference call on Tuesday. Shoppers said it "wasn't particularly easy to browse."

Amazon also has the disadvantage of having no brick-and-mortar stores where shoppers can try on items or return

purchases, he said.

So why do people choose to shop on Amazon for clothes?

Amazon Prime is the biggest lure for customers, according to Cowen & Co.

Shoppers cited the convenience and free two-day shipping as the biggest advantage of shopping for clothes on Amazon.

They also praised Amazon's customer service and breadth of product reviews. http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-becomes-the-biggest-clothing-retailer-in-the-us-2016-10

Target Plays up Value for Holiday Season

From a Broadway-style marketing campaign to more exclusive toys, Target wants to lure shoppers during the final critical

months of the year. More importantly, though, it needs to convince shoppers that it’s the place for deals.

The Minneapolis-based retailer is heading into holidays a little bruised after seeing drops in customer traffic and a key

revenue measure, and acknowledging that it didn’t push the second part of its “Expect More, Pay Less” slogan. It hopes

emphasizing value and some of the promotions that have worked in the past will win back customers.

Since becoming CEO two years ago, Brian Cornell has been trying to reinvigorate Target’s cheap-chic status and focusing

on categories like fashion, home furnishings and wellness items. But it stumbled with groceries and basics, and the trick for

the holidays will be striking the right balance.

Despite the contentious presidential race, Cornell believes shoppers are more upbeat about their financial situation, given

low unemployment, less-expensive foods and cheaper gas.

“I think there is a very positive mindset as we enter the holiday season,” Cornell said Tuesday. “That being the case, we

think we’ve got to win through experience. We’ve got to have great product. We’ve got to make it really simple from a

promotional stand point and make it easy to shop at Target.”

Here’s some of what shoppers will see:

About 60 percent of Target’s marketing messages this holiday season will be about value, up about 20 percent from last

year. The retailer will repeat some of last year’s promotions like 10 Days of Deals, which offer distinct deals each day.

Beginning in mid-November, customers also can save $10 off a $50 purchase of grocery and home items, clothing,

accessories and toys. In December, customers can save $25 on purchases of $100 or more. Target executives believe that

broader promotions will help bring shoppers to the stores more often.

Target is unveiling Wondershop, which will offer about 2,000 tree decorations for under $3, and will have more signs

highlighting prices on product displays. It has also extended its free shipping promotion by a week, waiving the shipping fee

for all digital orders from Tuesday through Jan. 1.

Target is increasing the number of items shoppers will find only at its stores. Among them: 1,800 new or exclusive toys,

about 15 percent more than last year.

Another exclusive is a 10-disc box set from singer Garth Brooks, which includes his new album and features the 25th

anniversary edition of “Friends in Low Places.” The box set is available for pre-order now online and will be in Target stores

Nov. 11, two weeks before the new album is available elsewhere.

Starting Nov. 1, 1,106 Target stores will ship directly to online shoppers. That’s double from the current number that direct ly

ship online orders to shoppers. That should speed up delivery, and Target will be able to fulfill more orders. Online shoppers

also can pick up their orders at all of Target’s stores. The company expects 35 percent of all online orders this holiday

season will be collected at stores.

The big marketing focus will be “The Toycracker,” Target’s interpretation of the classic “The Nutcracker,” in which characters

from its holiday toy list come to life through computer-generated animation. The eight-minute musical will air in two four-

minute segments during the network broadcast premiere of Disney’s “Frozen” on Dec. 11. The theme will also be highlighted

in the stores and online.

While 55 percent of its holiday ad spending will derive from digital, Target says it’s increasing its holiday spending on TV by

more than 20 percent because that offers better engagement with shoppers, and is decreasing its spending on digital. Some

35 percent of spending will go toward TV. The rest is on other sources. http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/retail/2016/10/25/target/92735322/

Political Advertising Could Be Poisoning Your Brand

When a brand ad runs after a political ad -- even one with a positive message -- it's perceived as less effective and

appealing, according to a study by J. Walter Thompson.

The online study, conducted in partnership with Forethought, looked at Survey Sampling International responses from 3,600

people ages 18 and older in September. Twelve recent spots from presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

were used in the research. Half of the ads were "positive," or did not denigrate either opponent, and the rest were

"negative," or attack ads. The brand ad used in the study was a 30-second Extra gum spot called "The Story of Sarah and

Juan."

One of the key findings from the survey was that political advertising, regardless of whether or not it is positive or negative,

stimulates negative emotions from consumers. Participants who viewed the brand ad after a political ad perceived the brand

spot as 32% less relevant, 29% less entertaining and 27% less appealing, the study shows.

"What's really interesting is that the negative response to the brand ad wasn't limited to the ad itself; there was a negative

response to the brand overall," said Mark Truss, global director of brand intelligence at J. Walter Thompson.

Not only did Extra's brand reputation drop 34% by survey participants who saw the spot following a positive or negative

political ad from either candidate, the brand's product value declined 32% and perceived product quality decreased 24%.

The research doesn't yet reveal the length of time that political advertising's negative "hangover effect" will last has on how

people view subsequent ads, but Mr. Truss said it should get marketers thinking more about the context in which they place

ads. "Context really matters and it's not all about size and classification of audiences, but the context in which one places

their ads across digital, print and TV matters a great deal," he added.

Ken Roberts, CEO of Forethought, said "emotion is everywhere," so even though the study focused on political ads, the

same negative emotion about brand advertising could be elicited by consumers after seeing upsetting news coverage. http://adage.com/article/agency-news/brand-ads-run-political-ads-drop-effectiveness/306433/

Where Do You Look When You Look At An Ad?

Marketers want people to look at their ads. People would rather look elsewhere. That existential struggle drives commerce,

as marketers look for ever more clever ways of getting your attention.

MediaBrix is trying to figure out how all this works on the small screen. The New York-based firm recently studied how

people interact with their smart phones when an ad appears. Perhaps the most important finding is the way the ad is

presented. If the ad was presented as an “opt in,” it got a lot of attention. If it was an “annoying pop up”, people looked for

the exit.

“There was no research out there that quantified this” until the MediaBrix study, explained Richard Kosinski, President and

Chief Revenue Officer at MediaBrix. “In marketing today, the stakes for a Chief Marketing Officer and his team are quite

high,” he said. “Our gut tells us [a pop-up ad] can be a bad experience. The data proves that out.”

Reading Minds

So how did they get the data? MediaBrix relied on a match-up of technology and inquiry.

Sixty-four test subjects were each given a handheld to play a game of “Scattergories”, which requires some active thinking

to play. Each session took about 15 minutes per subject. In the middle of the game, an ad would appear on the little screen.

If the ad is just a “pop up” (interstitial), the player got annoyed and after about nine seconds looked for the X button to get

out of the ad. If the ad was some kind of “embedded opt in”, the viewer became engaged and spent about 40 seconds with

the ad. It could be as simple as offering the player some help if they got stuck on the game, brought to you by the sponsor.

How MediaBrix acquired the data is just as interesting as its findings.

First, subjects had to wear a portable MRI on their heads. The device measured brain activity, but more importantly,

measured which parts of the brain were activated when the user interacted with the on-screen game and the ad.

Second, subjects also wore special eyeglasses that tracked eyeball movement. That information noted where on the small

screen they were looking. This was cross-indexed with the brain mapping charted by the head-worn MRI.

Finally, subjects were asked questions to develop survey information on their impressions.

The combination of neuro-scientific and biometric data might offer some insight as to how people process information

subconsciously, Kosinksi explained. “About 90 percent of all decisions are made subconsciously.” Yet trying to get some

insight as to how the mind processes information can lend some understanding on motivation.

Numbers

So what did all this measurement reveal?

Ninety percent of the subjects watched an entire 30-second ad if it was presented as an embedded opt-in. Only 25 percent

did the same with the interstitial ad. That implies 75 percent of the viewers found the pop-up ads annoying.

Here, the brain mapping of the MRI revealed something. While viewers eyes were scanning the small screen for the X-

button to make the ad end, a portion of the brain that regulates the “flight or fight” response was being stimulated.

Interstitial ads were twice as likely to trigger a negative response in this part of the brain, Kosinski noted. Hence viewers

were quick to bag the annoying pop up as soon as they could find X. That left viewers spending only nine seconds with the

pop-up (minus two seconds in contextual time, leaving seven seconds for fixation), compared to 40 seconds of brand time

for the embedded opt-in (minus 19 seconds of contextual time, leaving 21 seconds on fixation).

Going by the numbers, the annoying pop-up ad is doomed. Kosinksi pointed out the the number of ad blockers that have

been downloaded in the past 12-18 months: about 420 million. “Users are voting with their fingers. They are revolting

against the disruptive ad experience.” he said. http://www.dmnews.com/mobile-marketing/where-do-you-look-when-you-look-at-an-ad/article/567663/?DCMP=EMC-

DMN_iMktingNewsDaily&cpn=&spMailingID=15732049&spUserID=MzEzOTgxOTcwNjcyS0&spJobID=881906345&s

Google Launches Home Delivery Service in 13 More States

Google is expanding the reach of its online delivery service.

Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 25, Google Express is now available in another 13 states, according to USA Today. Shoppers

access the online marketplace via Google’s web site or through an app. Deliveries, which are made by third party delivery

companies, arrive within two days.

Shoppers can choose from a $95 yearly membership, or pay $4.99 for every order.

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/google-launches-home-delivery-service-1-more-states

Digital Services And The Opportunity For Weekly Newspapers

There’s no doubt that almost every daily newspaper has deployed a digital services program and they’re already seeing the

benefits of such a program in terms of expanding their active account base and incremental revenue. From Gannett to

Gatehouse and everyone in between, digital advertising revenue is at the top of the list of priorities in 2016 and it continues

to become a larger part of the total advertising revenue picture. With global spending on newspaper print ads expected to

decline 8.7% in 2016 (according to estimates from GroupM, the ad-buying firm owned by WPP PLC), it’s easy to understand

why digital must be an essential component of every media company’s offerings. Yes, digital ad revenues aren’t growing fast

enough to offset declines in print, but we have to push forward in expanding our offerings to our current customers and

prospects. These programs do work for our customers and the incremental revenue created can grow quickly.

However, there are many weekly newspapers that haven’t taken advantage of this opportunity for themselves and their

advertisers. In conversations with several weekly newspapers, I’ve heard some of the same reasons for not pushing this

program forward in smaller/weekly markets:

We’re small and don’t have the resources to make it work.

The market isn’t large enough. Not enough prospects.

Our reps know print and won’t/can’t make the transition.

The mindset of the sales team isn’t where it should be about adding a more expansive digital product line.

While it might be more challenging, weekly newspapers can take advantage of this account growth/revenue opportunity

more easily than one might think. The opportunity this product line creates is not bound by your print frequency or your core

market.

I know this because I’m in the process of helping a very reputable media company (comprised of weekly newspapers)

launch a digital services program from the ground up. They are excited about the opportunity this product line creates to

better serve their customers.

Here are the highlights of what you need to know:

From the signing of the agreement with a digital services provider, your sales team can be selling digital services to current,

former and never customers within approximately 45 days. Some companies can launch quicker, some take longer.

There are usually setup charges from the digital services provider along with a monthly fee, but the payback on these

charges is quickly recovered with incremental sales once the program is launched. With many companies, regular monthly

fees do not kick in until the program is actually launched and there is some flexibility in when the setup charges can be paid.

Training looks to be comprehensive and complete. The digital services provider I’m working with is walking side by side with

the team in the development of an excellent training program. From product knowledge training to in-person sales calls to

refresher training, sales executives will get the tools they need to sell. Training is actually split into two on-site visits. First,

the team gets trained and then they go into the field to use what they learned. The second training session is designed to

identify challenges the sales team encountered in the field and work through them.

By working with the team, product bundles will developed that make the most sense for your market and for our team to sell.

With so many products available, this process takes all the options and packages the right ones together. Single product

options are also available.

Questions and concerned are addressed quickly. As you can imagine, starting at zero and building this program within any

organization creates many questions. Since the success of the digital services partner is tied directly to yours, response

rates (at least with the company I’m working with) and support have been excellent. Any team will need this, especially in the

beginning.

Even though the process of launching any new product line is challenging, this very important one is one of the easier ones

(and I’ve been involved in some pretty complicated ones over the years) and grows revenue for you and new customers for

your advertisers. In discussions with our digital services provider/partner, the average amount of incremental revenue per

new account averages between $350-$750 per month. Even at the low end of this range, you can see the potential. You

know your market better than anyone and if you do the math, you’ll see rolling out a digital services strategy is worth

overcoming any questions or concerns you might have.

Last thing, someone in your market is going to take digital solutions to your client base. It should be you. https://digitalfirstnewspapers.com/2016/10/25/digital-services-and-the-opportunity-for-weekly-newspapers/

Daily News Braces for ‘Deep Cuts’—Will Gannett and Tronc Make it to the Altar?

Could the deal that secures Gannett’s acquisition of the company formerly known as Tribune Publishing be unraveling?

Since we initially reported a deal for Gannett to buy Tronc was imminent (http://politi.co/2els2Vw), some analysts are asking

what the hold-up is, and getting skeptical. Morning Media was chatting yesterday with Doug Arthur of Huber Research

Partners, and he offered the following take: “I’m skeptical. Every week that goes by, with these stories bubbling, that a dea l

is not signed, it raises my suspicion that it’s not gonna happen. … I just know that when these things don’t get done right

away, history has told me they don’t always get done.”

Reasons to be skeptical? “Price is always a sticking point, plus the role of tronc executives, specifically [chairman] Michael

Ferro. What role they’re going to want to play, if any, is probably a sticking point. Gannett is pretty straight-shooting in the

sense that they have a formula and they stick to it. Whether these people who have put their blood and spit into reviving the

Tribune brands are going to be amenable to just getting put on the sidelines, that remains to be seen.”

WHAT WILL THE NEW YORK TIMES DO with Wirecutter, the product-review site it just bought for $30 M.? Peter Sterne

has the details: “We have instruction-like guides on Cooking that help people learn how to cook and among those guides,

are guides to, you know, sharpen people’s knife skills,” New York Times “Beta Group” head Ben French tells POLITICO.

“And the Sweethome has great knife recommendations. We feel like if you’re on that page, it makes perfect sense to provide

that kind of information to readers. So that’s just one very small example. You can imagine Cooking or the Food desk doing

a big grilling special and imagine them working closely with The Wirecutter and Sweethome to make sure that they’ve got

the latest updated recommendations that are relevant.”

http://www.politico.com/media/tipsheets/morning-media/2016/10/daily-news-braces-for-deep-cutswill-gannett-and-tronc-

make-it-to-the-altar-trump-tv-talk-001142