My 7-year-old was playing on her iPad the other day, some game where she dresses up horses or something.
She was bee-boppin’ along, humming a little tune as happy as a lark when the unthinkable happened.
“UGH!” she groaned loudly. “I wish there we no ads!”
Me too, girl, me too. Yet, as much as she despises ads, she will do well to respect them. After all, advertising is what funded the purchase of her iPad in the first place.
Advertising is everywhere, from signs on the roads to commercials on TV to popups online to “sponsored” content on social media feeds.
Sometimes, if you talk about a certain product enough, the powers that be will place an ad for said item right in front of your face. For months while my wife was pregnant with our youngest daughter, all my social media was full of ads for diapers and baby toys. It seems no matter how I try to battle the tracking, the Internet finds a way to know what you want before you want it.
I had never paid much attention to advertising to be honest. I’m the guy who has an adblocker installed on all his browsers, making only one main exception — www.cassville-democrat.com.
My experience in the news industry is 99.9 percent on the news content side, so I’ve always had the luxury of skimming past even our own ads in print.
Since buying the paper, my focus has somewhat shifted.
I am still over all news and sports content, but now, I am also dipping my toes into ad design and formulating campaigns and pricing.
I’m considering things like what a business would like to advertise and when. The last two weeks, for instance, we have run an ad I built for Carey’s Cassville Florist. Around Valentine’s Day is a prime opportunity to put that business’ name in front of as many eyes as possible, especially those belonging to husbands.
Over the last couple weeks, we’ve been putting together our annual Trout Times magazine. This offers a prime opportunity for resort owners, bait and tackle shops, tourist attractions and the like to get their names in front of eyes at Roaring River.
As the year goes on, just about every business will have a prime time to advertise — and we aim to cater to that.
Advertisements in print are our bread and butter, but we are also looking to expand. Our print product is second-to-none, but our website offers more than meets the eye.
After the change to the site last year and our purchase of the business, we are working to get more local businesses featured on our website, reaching the people who get news more digitally than in paper form.
We also hope to provide more advertising opportunities to you — our readers.
How might that look, you ask? We ran a few last week for Valentine’s Day (including a shameless one of my own gaggle of girls), and we have more plans in the works.
In May, parents will have the chance to place an ad for their graduates, and in August, a change to wish their little tykes luck on the first day of school.
In November, people may wish to salute a veteran who has had an impact on their life. At any time of the year, you can wish someone a happy birthday in our paper — a clipping that costs little and lasts more than a lifetime.
Our pages are truly a community forum, and we want your voices to be heard.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014. In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
