Switching “Free Community Paper Month” to the month of July for the
first time this year and replacing “Free Paper Week,” which had been
held during the Month of March, has generated a great deal of new
excitement.
The committee held a contest during the month of July for readers and
member papers. Throughout the nation our community papers and readers
were able to learn about the vibrancy of our industry and had a chance
to win a $500 gift certificate to a local merchant from their immediate
area.
In addition to the contest for readers, the member papers were asked to
publish a Free Community Paper Month advertisement during the month of
July and submit a tearsheet to the committee for their chance to win up
to $2,000 in advertising reimbursement. This encouraged our members to
roll the dice and really make a splash with the Free Community Paper
Month promotion. Many publishers really thought outside the box and were
very creative with their promotional activity.
As a result, the 2013 contest brought in 1,702 reader entries to the web
site, and 64 PaperChain members submitted tearsheets for entry into the
contest. Clearly every Free Community Paper who participated was a
winner.
By chance — and this was a computer generated random pick — both winners
were from the great state of Wisconsin. Laura Shepard avid reader of
the Advertiser Community News in Seymour, Wisconsin who reads about
everything happening in our small town community was the winner of $500
from PaperChain.
Also a winner of $500 was Laura’s favorite Free Community Paper the Advertiser Community News, in Seymour.
Our member winner who won the full $2,000 reimbursement for running ads
valued at more than this amount was, The Great Dane Shopping News from
Verona, Wisconsin. Woodward Community Media Group Publisher Steve Fisher
states, “We are very happy to receive this prize! The marketing and
promotional support provided by PaperChain is key to helping each
individual member keep the value of our products top of mind to our
readers, advertisers and employees. Kudos to PaperChain.”
Committee members would like to thank everyone who participated and ask
that you look for an even bigger and better Free Community Paper Month
in July 2014. We encourage you to lend your support and ideas to our
committee. We hear a lot these days about how great other mediums are
and we also hear about the mediums that are not doing so well. If we
don’t tell our story with enthusiasm, no one will. So spread the word,
lift your voices and let’s make sure to pave the way for future
successes.
