Slide 1

Jared Launius and Hojong Kim with RJI fellow Peter Meng

It starts with a problemNewspapers have lost an estimated $16 billion in classified ad revenues since the advent of Craigslist 15 years agoFact: this has helped contribute to the closing of several newspapersOpinion: as a side-effect, it has impacted the quality of news, particularly local news2and its difficult to addressCraigslist leaves approximately $6 billion on the table every yearFact: It would take an estimated $1 billion in advertising to take them head onOpinion: that is a lot of money

3AdFreeq: an introductionA white-label site operated and branded through local online publications, primarily newspapersCloud-based operates and updates in real time using ads in system, on social mediaOffers free and low-cost ads to sellersOffers reliable, instant products to buyers4

So, back to that problemIsnt a 1 vs. 1 battleInstead of David vs. Goliath, its thousands of Davids vs. one Goliath.Ads can bring in revenues for publicationsUsers have access to system they can trust

6Our involvementGoals revolved around getting product ready for the marketConduct research on both host and consumer marketsDiscover best way to organize ad categoriesWork with potential clients Produce and develop content to market the product

7Researchof potential usersWhat we wanted to knowHow receptive are users to using a classified system that charges? How much will they pay?Do users already use social media to buy and sell products?Does it matter to them whos running the system?

of potential hostsWhat we wanted to knowWhats their current system? Proprietary? Custom? Free? Paid-for?What are their levels of satisfaction with their current models? What social media does the publication already integrate to push content?Survey of potential usersConducted on SurveyMonkey308 respondents67 percent were female94 percent were college ageDisseminated over J-school ListServ and over social media

9What we learned from users10What we learned from users11What we learned from users 12What we learned from potential hostsSurvey was conducted thanks to help from RJISent nine-question survey to over 5,000 publications 285 took survey 50% were rural publications and 50% were weeklies13What we learned from hosts14What is the average price per week to post a classified ad in your publication? Also, please indicate whether you offer free classified ad postings.$35 for 35 words or 7 lines for 2 insertion in English or Punjabi papers / Classified Display ad $45 for B&W and $ 55 for Color per insertion of 3.25"(W) x 2" (H).$15.00 plus tax plus free on our web site.$37.50 and yes we do off FREE classified ads on Tue, Wed, and Thur.$15.36 for a 20 word ad free lost and found ads free ads for giveaways.$19.95 line ad $37.45 1x1 classified display for two issues.$50 is the average. We offer a free ad for private party merchandise items valued under $500. 1 per month allowed. The ad size is a 1/4" depth (we have a 4 column format).$50.96 for a 4-line ad. We do offer a Grandma's Attic feature for articles selling for under $500. The price of ad is based on the asking price of the item. $25 and under are FREE.We offer free private party ads. Paid private party ads start at $5/week. Commercial classified ads start at $15.70 per week.Average price $20 However, we do offer some free classifieds.Depends on the category Merchandise- $22.50 Auto-$39.50 Real Estate-$59.50 Pets/Announcements/ -$39.50.That is a difficult question to answer as we have some private party ads that cost as little a $10 on and then employment ads that are very expensive. No FREE ads The cost great depends on what type of advertising you are doing. There are different rates for private party vs. commercial businesses vs. recruitment.What we learned from hosts15What we learned from hosts16What we learned from hosts17

Classified taxonomiesStudied and analyzed taxonomies from some 15 different classified sitesUsed that research to build a list of our own that could potentially be used as a model for AdFreeq to organize its items

19Involvement with clientsOriginally planned to work with and manage clients in test marketsWere able to make several connections via survey

20Supporting contentDeveloped a substantial amount of content for Peter to use at fairs, presentations, etc. Made site mock-ups, research summaries, infographics based on our research, animations and posters

21Supporting Content

22Supporting Content

23What we learned

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