Can you believe it? The competition for the holiday shopping season is heating up - and there's still a week to go before it officially launches.
I have received numerous emails - even from stores I don't frequent - announcing their Black Friday sales. Other stores have been handing out in-store flyers announcing their specials.
In this very competitive retail market where every additional dollar may mean the difference between staying in business or closing down, it is amazing to see all of the early publicity and oneupmanship.
Announcing all of the Black Friday specials used to be reserved for Thanksgiving Day - typically the largest newspaper of the year. Flyer after flyer, tabloids, and full page ads.
With print advertising being what it is in terms of cost and reach, and the need to get the word out as early as possible, retailers are in a take-no-prisoners mode concerning advance publicity.
We have entered a new era of promotion. Add another point to the internet column. No score for the papers.
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I think papers will be dead, except for a handfull, over the next 20 years. I have seen them go from dominant in media, to shadows of themselves, even over the past ten years.
I've noticed the same thing here. I have a buyer who works as a cashier in an upscale department store and she is already frazzled. Says buyers are AWFUL in their demands for discounts, coupons, sale prices, and often ALL of the above for a single item or they get furious. Reminds me of all the home buyers out there with their low ball offers determined to get killer prices and screamin' deals.
Steve,
Papers are a classic example of how failing to anticipate and respond to market demand will steer its direction and possible demise. :)
Steve
Janna,
Good observation and analogy. :)
Steve
Newspapers are almost dead, radio is dying, and tv may be just behind it. I used to work in the media (20 years) and it is a shadow of its former self. Social Media and viral marketing will replace the mass media (or at least dominate) in the future.
I wonder how much more life the newspaper actually has. Here in Denver, we lost the Rocky Mountain News and now it's just the Denver Post.
Tom,
Paper is definitely dying out because it has become obsolete. Radio is fine for many activities, and TV is good for programming other than news (except cable news). The times they are a changing. :)
Steve
Steve -
I do hear that newspapers remain extremely popular within the dinosaur/museum demographic. : )
Joel,
Is that right? :)
Steve
John,
Newspapers could be valuable, they just haven't figured it out. :)
Steve
There is one big flaw in the traditional newspaper model... Immediacy. Online news is immediate. Of course, the newspapers already have all of the elements that they need to succeed... they just need to let go of the press.
Lane,
Newspapers can easily reinvent themselves and survive but they have not shown a lot of interest in doing so. :)
Steve
That is the basic problem. They have almost everything in place to be THE leaders in the online news revolution. But they're resistant to change... most of us are, but that is the problem.
Lane,
Agreed, but they still want to pursue an outmoded model. Too bad. :)
Steve