You’ve probably heard the publisher’s cry a hundred times: “We’re not in the printing business; we’re in the information business. Our first obligation is to deliver the news.” And who could argue? A newspaper’s most valuable assets are its intellectual properties - its content. But when you think about it, you realize that such logic has a gaping flaw, because the content is inextricably bound to the delivery mechanism - be it print, pixels, phosphors or earphones.

Without a form the content doesn’t exist. I make the case, therefore, that we are in the delivery business. OK, let’s call it communications so as not to confuse us with FedEx or Brown.

As communicators, our first obligation then is to the “communicatee.” In our case, that would be the reader. And of course we cannot forget the advertiser. How can we communicate better with these audiences, not just to deliver content but also to improve it? How can communications encourage readership and offer advertisers new opportunities? One publisher, North Jersey Media Group, which prints The Record and Herald News among other publications, found answers to these questions by thinking outside the box and inside the envelope.

Turning pain into pleasure

Most people would agree that opening an invoice is akin to a paper cut or an electrical shock, which is probably why we don’t open invoices until absolutely necessary. Unpleasant as it may be, we actually spend more time scrutinizing billing statements (42.5 seconds) than we do reading direct mail (15.2 seconds) or watching a television commercial (19 seconds). North Jersey Media Group took advantage of these stats and turned an unpleasant experience into opportunity.

Working closely with one of its vendors, OSG Billing Services, NJMG developed a campaign to communicate one-to-one with its subscribers about products, services and community events via the invoice. OSG designed the invoice to provide a section where the newspaper could print targeted messages.

OSG’s Dynamic Messaging app enables the targeted communication; the software lets NJMG print messages that are specific to each subscriber. The publisher can also insert graphics to further draw readers’ attention.

Reaping the benefits

In addition to increasing subscriber retention, NJMG gained a number of other benefits from its new system. For example, after the first billing period, payment turnaround time shortened from 34 to 19 days. Amazing what a little one-on-one can do.

To make the experience more rewarding for newspaper, reader and advertiser, NJMG sold extra space on the back of the invoice to advertisers. Smart buyers took advantage. According to the Direct Marketing Association, a direct mail piece has a 42 percent chance of being read, while the invoice has a 99.9 percent chance of gaining a reader’s attention. Plus, subscribers are less likely to throw away an invoice, so the ad and the messages linger.

This also proves that the opportunities to reinvent print - from a slow delivery medium into an exciting experience readers look forward to - can be found at every point in the delivery cycle, even invoicing.

Send me an invoice that points my attention to Bloomingdale’s Private Sale and off I go to spend even more money.

Rosemarie Monaco is the president of Group M Inc., a marketing communications and consulting firm specializing in the graphic arts. Send comments and questions to rmonaco@groupm.org.