NDX, home to the nation’s largest, most comprehensive and up-to-date database of newspaper preprint product and distribution information available to ad buyers, hosted its second meeting of the newly formed Advertiser Advisory Board. The group gathered in Chicago recently to provide input from principals in advertising in both agency and large retailer settings.
“To be able to gather and share insights, ideas and suggestions to strengthen the relationships between publishers and advertisers has been invaluable to NDX and our client
base,” said Michael Lombardo, co-founder and president of NDX. “Guidance and suggestions from key industry leaders helps us continually develop and improve NDX’s unique data services, which in turn will help increase revenues and profitability for advertisers and publishers in a rapidly evolving marketplace.”
During this second meeting of the NDX Advertiser Advisory Board (AAB), the company announced that it has surpassed several milestones and achieved multiple successes in the program and plan to provide comprehensive, timely, reliable newspaper publisher data information services to the U.S. advertising industry.
The NDX AAB meets on a semi- annual basis, with subsequent thought leadership produced by NDX capturing the insights, intuitions, ideas and perceptions of the industry leaders. Members of the AAB include Amir Asar (Global Media Group), Merle Davidson (ACGMedia), Isaac Ferreira (Mediaspace Solutions), Bill Gilbertson (Sports Authority), Matt Gunderson (Kohl's), Barry Haselden (Valassis) Lisa Knight (Mansi Media), and Michelle Wolf (Novus Media Inc.). In attendance at the recent meeting was Mark Wachowicz, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) and NDX senior executive, marketing and operations staff.
“The platform and standardized data from NDX’s central source has been really efficient on both the retailer and newspaper sides. The high quality of the data and NDX’s commitment to exceed its rigorous quality assurance program is a big factor for us,” said Isaac Ferreira, Operations and Technology Director at Mediaspace Solutions. “Through the Advertiser Advisory Board we can discuss best practices and collaborate through NDX with publishers for ongoing improvement in the data collection.”
In addition to the Advertiser Advisory Board, NDX also hosts a Publisher Advisory Board that acts as a crucial forum for universal issues and concerns facing the publishing industry regarding critical revenue streams from advertisers, particularly those affected by pre-print inserts that are still in clear demand.
AAB Meeting Highlights
NDX now employs over 30 associates in various business functions, and has grown its client list as new agencies and retailers subscribe to the service. Source®, NDX’s proprietary database of newspaper publisher information, has reached critical mass with more than 95 percent U.S. household penetration, and the company has updated its brand and marketing strategy. The IT and Data Operations groups of NDX have finalized a significant Quality Assurance Model, resulting in almost 100 percent publisher compliance and current data. Over 90 percent of Source data has been updated in the last three months, and circulation and business rule alerts have dramatically decreased.
Through its achievements in operational excellence, NDX is in the midst of driving a collection of Thanksgiving projections for 2013. Ultimately, with year-over-year statistics, NDX will provide current and updated information and analysis for an event that is historically challenging for advertisers. Strategically, NDX has also identified an executive need to have a data set that tells an entire story. An Index, with outward facing metrics derived from a sample set of publications, could provide valuable analysis for the advertising and publishing industries.
In response to client and market feedback, NDX plans to have two waves of product feature updates with Snapshot℠ in 2013. The first wave, planned to be completed by the end of the third quarter, addresses clients’ growing reliance on product tools and overall functionality. The second planned wave, to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter, provides a platform for multiple touch points at all times between advertisers, newspapers and publishers.
About NDX:
NDX is the standard-bearer of newspaper product and distribution information for the US advertising industry. NDX products are driven by a proprietary Source® database and provide a standardized format of the country’s largest, most current and most comprehensive publisher data. With a national network of data management resources and advisors from both the Advertising and Publishing industries, NDX is a single source of the knowledge needed to maximize preprint advertising investments. Visit us at http://www.NDXus.com to learn more.
