DTI Solutions

DTI Circulation

WHO THEY ARE: The Kenosha News, a United Communications Corporation property in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is a daily newspaper with a weekly circulation of 25,000 and a Sunday edition that reaches 27,500.

WHAT THEY NEEDED: The Kenosha News wanted to keep up with changes in the newspaper industry. Management realized that to remain competitive in an ever-changing market the newspaper needed to replace its current circulation management system and provide better online customer services. The industry was changing, and the publication's systems could no longer support the needs of its growing business.

Integrating with external sources requires flexibility the database at the Kenosha News could not provide. Unable to ensure, at least efficiently, that the addresses stored in its database were accurate, the paper was failing to reach thousands of potential customers and couldn't mail its TMC product cost effectively. The result was a low rate of return on the paper's marketing investment.

Additionally, to meet customer expectations for efficient services, the Kenosha News wanted to offer an online self-service tool to give its prospects and customers the power to perform simple transactions via the Web. The solution had to not only meet the needs of the publication's business today, but also continue to grow and advance to meet growing and changing demands at the Kenosha News well into the future.

DTI SOLUTIONS: The Kenosha News considered other vendors, but Digital Technology International stood out as the clear leader. DTI Circulation (formerly iServices Subscriber and MediaPlus Circulation) offered the Kenosha News the ability to move its customer service to the Web and added the list-matching and targeted marketing capabilities the paper required.

Now, broader demographics and greater visibility to customers have opened new doors for the paper. Since the Kenosha News implemented DTI Circulation, the paper has scored a substantial increase in new revenue, and significant decreases in required resources and costs related to operations.

"This technology is allowing us greater visibility into who we are and are not reaching in our target markets, and ensuring the dollars we spend are worthwhile," said Jared Thorson, marketing manager, the Kenosha News.

Now customers can perform transactions on the Kenosha News website and have that information automatically updated in the circulation database. This new functionality is saving the paper thousands of dollars annually.

"We chose DTI because we were confident the technology could scale with our needs over time and support our growth strategy by bringing greater efficiency and innovation to our business," explained Thorson. "DTI Circulation has been great. We are one of only four newspapers that reported electronic editions on our last audit report and have more electronic edition subscribers than any newspaper in the state."

Thorson concludes, "With the ability to tap new markets and increase the number of online services we can offer our prospects and customers, we have greatly increased our competitive advantage in this highly aggressive market while simultaneously achieving savings in labor costs through integration and automation."