Also in this report:

* Headline news services must fight for share p.28

* Sportscasters seek sponsor balance p.29

* Shift to news-radio format accelerating: Flexible format appeals to time-pressured MOPEs, who want information when they need it p.29

* Local broadcasters leverage Web p.30

What kinds of guidelines do major Canadian dailies have when it comes to advertising in their upfront news sections?

Obviously, the A section represents attractive real estate from an advertiser’s point of view. But those pages are also sacred ground as far as editorial types are concerned.

Increased demand from an expanding range of advertisers for upfront placement has depleted A-section inventory at many dailies. Newspapers have responded, in turn, with the introduction of special sections and other premium, custom-tailored properties as alternatives to the news pages.

For this report, Strategy asked a number of Canadian dailies how they balance the need to offer attractive opportunities for advertisers with the need to preserve the integrity of their news sections.

The Toronto Star

Frank Bourjot, director of advertising at The Star, says the paper’s guidelines include a strict ban on advertising on the front page of section A – although banner ads do appear on each of the other section fronts.

These restrictions aside, Bourjot says The Star has generally become more proactive in working with advertisers, offering innovative new opportunities such as flex-form advertising, gatefolds and even Post-it notes on home-delivered copies, to draw reader attention to an ad or section inside the paper.

The flexibility of The Star’s current press facility – which is capable of producing a 40-page A section – has helped the paper accommodate the increased demand for front section ad placement, he says.

Because the editorial and advertising departments work together well, Bourjot says, and because both sides will compromise if needed, maintaining a balance between advertiser demands and editorial integrity has not proved a serious challenge.

Some further enhancements to the news pages will be announced shortly, Bourjot says. ‘That’s going to be positive, because it means giving the readers what they want. And when you’ve got the readers, the advertisers want to be there.’

The Ottawa Citizen

The Citizen launched a redesign on March 3 of this year. While the new version, like its predecessor, features a premium 10-column by 30-line banner ad on the front page, the rest of the front section now has more editorial than advertising.

Kevin Bent, advertising sales manager, says that although the front section of The Citizen was expanded in the March 3 relaunch, the decision was made to devote most of that space increase to editorial rather than advertising, with more national and international news, an expanded opinion, editorial and letters section, and a stronger city section.

He says the move hasn’t hurt advertising sales – in fact, advertising lineage has gone up considerably since the redesign.

‘There have been trade-offs made between the departments, and I think we work much better now with the newsroom than we did pre-March 3,’ he says. ‘They are much more accommodating now in giving us space in other parts of the paper, and we’ve done some things to help their cause in the front section.’

Bent says a number of new advertising opportunities were launched with the redesign, including banner advertising on the bottom of the op-ed page, larger-sized advertising on the front page of the sports section and an expanded business section. Ear lugs have been restricted to the fronts of special sections.

The Chronicle-Herald and The Mail-Star

Mike Foran, sales development manager for the two Halifax-based papers, says that while they try to maintain a balance of advertising throughout, there is inevitably a strong demand on the part of local clients to be in the front sections – particularly pages three through nine.

There is also a long waiting list for the five prime positions on the front page – three two-column by 30-line anchor ads, and two ear lugs – which sell out consistently to advertisers ranging from travel companies and car dealerships to insurance firms and home electronics retailers.

Foran says the papers have put increasing emphasis on special sections and section fronts as a means of giving every advertiser the opportunity for premium positioning.

‘I think sectioning is something that has benefited them greatly in the last three to five years,’ he says. ‘They’re able to be in a non-competitive environment, with editorial that is targeted towards their customers.’

The Calgary Herald

Francesca Briggs, vice-president of advertising sales for The Calgary Herald, says that advertisers – especially those in saturated categories – are constantly looking for differentiation, and for new ways of making newspaper advertising work.

With the growth in advertising lineage, she says, the real challenge is to help each stand apart, without creating too much clutter.

Briggs says the advertising department strives to accommodate clients with flex-forms, wraps and gatefold ads, as well as more customized vehicles.

In addition, the ad and editorial departments work closely together to develop opportunities with the potential to benefit both. Out of such collaboration has come a number of non-traditional products.

‘We have a belief here that an advertiser’s needs and a reader’s needs do not have to be mutually exclusive,’ Briggs says. ‘There are times when reader needs, editorial and advertising needs mesh very well.’

Cooperation between editorial and advertising has resulted, for example, in a larger, enhanced weather page that is designed to provide space for more comprehensive coverage, while also creating the opportunity for daily sponsorship through a banner ad.

Another recent addition, made in response to reader demand, is a sponsored daily television-listing grid, accompanied by light editorial, programming highlights and news.

The paper has also introduced a broadsheet magazine called Discover Calgary – the product of discussions with the Calgary Airport Authority. The publication, which comes out four times a year, is distributed with the newspaper as well as at the airport.