Mitchell Republic, Forum Communications renew investments to modernize advertising division

Aug. 18—MITCHELL — When Lorie Hansen first started working for the Mitchell Republic, the advertising department looked quite different than it does today.

"Twenty five years ago, we didn't even have computers in the advertising department," Hansen said with a laugh during a recent interview. "Talk about changes!"

The digital revolution of the last 30 years has spawned changes in virtually every aspect of every industry on the planet, and the news and advertising business is no exception. While readers for years were used to receiving their daily news and advertising strictly in print form, the internet age has expanded the reach of both far into the online realm.

Forum Communications, which owns the Mitchell Republic and other newspapers and news outlets across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, recently unveiled a renewed investment into people, tools, technology and resources to modernize the company's advertising division.

The move includes a shift in advertising leadership at the corporate level, with Forum Communication employees Stephanie Schroeder taking the role of chief revenue officer, Amy Fredrickson moving into the vice president of marketing role for the company and Bill Morehouse assuming the role of director of digital marketing. Along with a new vice president of advertising sales, the three will work with a team of more than 80 advertising employees across news markets in the Forum Communications network.

At the local level, Hansen and staff also say they are ready to use all the tools in the wider Forum Communications system, along with the five million users who visit the FCC network each month, to benefit their advertisers.

Hansen, who serves as advertising director at the Mitchell Republic, and her team of advertising multimedia consultants have embraced the new initiative as they work daily to help area businesses connect with their customer base through a number of modern advertising approaches and platforms.

"It's our job to work with clients to design campaigns and present the different strategies we offer," Hansen said. "For so long people thought of advertising with the Mitchell Republic as putting an ad in the paper, but we offer so much more than that. There are so many platforms and different ways that we can reach people. It could be commercial print projects and brochures, it could be digital display and retargeting ads, it could be livestreaming, it could be podcasts. We work with our advertisers to establish and reach the audience that want to, and we use the different platforms that we have to achieve that."

Once only delivered in hard copy form either to readers' front doors or at newsstands, the Mitchell Republic has for years embraced and expanded its online reach. It is now available as a news website, featuring news and sports stories that cover the Mitchell area and beyond.

It also has a presence through its e-edition, a six-time-a-week digital reproduction of the physical newspaper that is available online, through its social media accounts on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, through directly emailed newsletters and through the twice-weekly physical print edition that still visits reader mailboxes just like it always did.

Because of that expansion, advertising options for clients have moved beyond traditional display advertising and classified ads.

"What sets us apart is that we can be that one-stop shop. If they are printing brochures or flyers, we can design, print, and deliver them. If they need print ads in the paper, we can obviously help them with that. Or if they prefer digital ads, we have a ton of options to help them with that as well. We also have video and audio options. There are all kinds of tools that we have available," Hansen said.

Using modern online advertising techniques, Hansen and her staff can target ads to specific demographics, connecting advertisers to particular sets of readers. They can geographically target ads to readers within a certain distance of a business. They can develop audio ads to accompany one of the company's 29 podcasts, such as the Mitchell Republic Minute, a twice-weekly podcast featuring a roundup of Mitchell area news and sports.

Hansen said the Mitchell Republic can not only offer more advertising options, but more eyes to deliver to those ads. Between the print edition, e-edition, social media and website, Hansen said there are many different kinds of readers across different platforms. The advertising team's job is to take advantage of those options in delivering effective advertising on any budget.

With modern technology, Hansen's staff can also put the power of information in the hands of their advertisers. Clients can access feedback on who is reading their ads and when and where they are reading them. That information can help advertisers make confident, informed decisions on how to approach their advertising while working with Hansen and her staff to effectively implement those ideas.

It's all to help clients make the best, most effective choices for their advertising.

"Part of our work is knowing our advertisers and working with them to come up with a strategic plan to reach clients. If they aren't successful, we aren't," Hansen said. "We just want to work with them to come up with the best possible package to deliver results."

The Mitchell Republic boasts a robust local news reporting team that covers local news, government and sports. The advertising team, which also includes Laura Fosness and Tom Stevens, also boasts a local, seasoned team of advertising professionals.

Hansen is a Mitchell native and has worked for the Mitchell Republic for 25 years. Stevens and Fosness are both longtime Mitchell residents who are highly familiar with the community and its business world. They are an experienced team who care about their community and their clients.

They care about their work, and it shows. The team has regularly been recognized by the South Dakota Newspaper Association for its creative and effective advertising at the annual Better Newspapers Awards,

often bringing home first-place awards in the highest circulation category,

where they compete with professionals from the other largest newspapers in the state.

"We take a lot of pride in what we do and come up with good solid ads that will get a response," Hansen said.

Being a division of a trusted news organization like the Mitchell Republic — and Forum Communications in general — lends credence and validity to the overall endeavor. The Mitchell Republic news team earlier this year took home the General Excellence and Sweepstakes awards at the same newspaper contest.

Readers look to the Mitchell Republic as a reliable news source, and when they show up to read the news, they also get a look at advertising that features local and regional businesses and organizations, often specifically tailored to the tastes of the reader.

"Readers can get news anywhere, but it's that localized news that our readers and our advertisers are interested in. You can't get that on CNN or Fox. Our advertisers really like that," Hansen said.

Schoeder, in an interview with Forum Communications, agreed.

"Advertisers want their ad in a place where the content that surrounds it is credible and vetted. When you place your ad in a newspaper or on one of our digital websites or a broadcast commercial, you can ensure that your ad is only being seen amongst other credible local content," Schroeder said.

As part of the larger Forum Communications family, the Mitchell Republic team can offer local advertisers access to the resources of its parent company.

Specialists with Forum Communications are available to help advertisers place their ads either in digital or print format in the company's news markets or anywhere on the internet. Also at advertiser's disposal are the services of Click Content Studios, which is Forum Communications' video production team, and Modulist, which allows consumers to place classified ads or personal announcements in Forum Communications news publications. Commercial printing services are also available.

Forum Communications has also expanded its footprint in South Dakota, recently launching Sioux Falls Live, a Sioux Falls-based newsroom focused on issues of the state's largest city and South Dakota in general. That's another in-state market that can be targeted through the Mitchell Republic's advertising department.

Whether it be a simple display ad in the Saturday print edition or a wider-ranging advertising plan that embraces all the power, reach and flexibility of digital advertising, Hansen, Fosness and Stevens are all ready to sit down and discuss it with both their long-established clientele and newcomers alike. No two advertisers are alike, each having its own needs, but every one of them gets the same attention to detail by working with Hansen and her staff.

They're ready to help connect customers to businesses.

"We'd love to sit down and visit with them about their business, because we want to help them grow their business. Who are you trying to reach? Where are you trying to reach?" Hansen said. "We have a vested interest in our clients and helping them succeed and providing them with the things we have. I really feel the advertiser is an individual and all have different needs and budgets. We're here to help them put something together that will work for them."