News America Marketing Explained

News America Marketing
Type:subsidiary of News Corp
Industry:Marketing
Foundation:New York, United States (1988)
Location City:1185 Avenue of the Americas
New York City, NY 10036
Location Country:U.S.
Area Served:United States
Canada
Products:Home delivered, in-store and online consumer marketing services
Num Employees:900 Full Time, 4,000 Part Time
Parent:News Corp

News America Marketing, often referred to as just News America, was a marketing business previously owned by News Corp. It publishes SmartSource Magazine, a weekly consumer-branded newspaper insert offering advertising and coupon promotions, delivered in over 1,600 newspapers in the U.S.[1] and is one of three companies in the United States (the other two are Valassis Communications and Insignia Systems, Inc.) that control almost all the in-store ads and grocery coupons in the United States.[2]

One major division of the company is SmartSource iGroup, formed in 2000 from acquisitions and investments and runs the company's online couponing site, www.smartsource.com, in addition to other interactive consumer businesses like sampling and direct mail.[3] The SmartSource brand began in 1998.[4]

History

The News America FSI was formed when News Corporation purchased the marketing divisions of two Free Standing Insert (FSI) business competitors: Quad/Marketing Inc. and Product Movers Inc., in 1988.[5] In 1997, News America purchased Actmedia, an In-Store marketing and promotions company that operated out of Connecticut, and the company changed its name to News America Marketing.[6]

Products

News America Marketing has three categories of products: Home-Delivered network, In-Store network, and Online-Savings network.

The Home-Delivered network contains the free standing SmartSource Magazine, door hangers, direct mail promotions, and home-delivered samples.

The In-Store products include at-shelf messaging, coupon dispensers, cart advertisements, large format entrance ads, Shelfvision video, floor messaging, and in-store sampling.

The Online Savings network includes SmartSource.com. In 2011, SmartSource began printing QR codes on its online printable coupons in order to prevent coupon fraud.[7] The company released a free couponing application for iPad titled SmartSource Xpress in March 2012.[8] [9] SmartSource Xpress for iPhone was released in 2013.[10] [11]

On July 24, 2015, News America Marketing purchased the Canadian company Checkout 51[12] for an undisclosed price. Checkout 51 provides consumers with a digital means of performing coupon redemptions through smart phone enabled receipt scanning technology.[13]

News Marketing Canada

News Marketing Canada was created in 1995 through the merger of two separate Canadian FSI companies and today publishes the coupon inserts, SmartSource Magazine and UtiliSource, the French-language version. Since News America Marketing's 1997 purchase of Act Media, News Marketing Canada has offered in-store advertising and promotional products as well. In September 2011, it launched SmartSource.ca, a coupon website for Canadian shoppers.[14]

Philanthropy

News America Marketing has published two Children's Miracle Network Hospitals-themed issues of their SmartSource coupon insert every year for more than 20 years, generating funds and media value for the organization.[15] [16] [17] SmartSource Magazine has also featured an annual issue of an Easter Seals-themed insert. Over the course of 15 years, the Easter Seals-themed SmartSource Magazine has helped generate more than $3.3 million for Easter Seals.[18] News America Marketing has also supported Volunteers of America's "Toys for the Holidays" program.[19]

Since 2009, News America Marketing has sponsored an all-expense-paid trip to the Super Bowl each year for two Marines and a guest.[20] [21] [22] [23]

Each November since 2011, News America Marketing has published a special edition of SmartSource Magazine featuring Wounded Warrior Project's "Believe in Heroes" campaign.[24] [25] In addition, the organization has held fundraisers in its individual offices for the Wounded Warrior Project as well as Operation Gratitude.[26]

Operations

In the fiscal year ending June 2005, the company had 28% operating margins, the highest of all News Corporation businesses. Its annual revenues were $1.1 billion, an increase of 9% from the prior year.[27] As of 2007, News America produced the majority of revenues for News Corporation's magazines and inserts division, and it controlled an estimated 50% to 60% of the insert market and as much as 90% of the in-store business.[28]

Legal cases

In 2005, Theme Promotions, a merchandising firm, won a $6.8 million jury verdict against News America.[28] The California jury found News America guilty of violating civil antitrust and unfair-competition laws.[27]

In 2006, the state of Minnesota accused News America of engaging in unfair trade practices. The company settled in 2008 by agreeing to pay costs and not to falsely disparage its competitors.[29]

In March 2006, a News America Marketing coupon insert competitor, Valassis Communications, settled FTC charges that it had attempted to induce News America Marketing to collude on pricing by signing a consent decree that barred Valassis from engaging in, or attempting to engage in, future anticompetitive behavior. The FTC made no charges against News America Marketing in connection with its investigation. Shortly after the decree was signed, Valassis sued News America Marketing.[30] [31]

Between 2009 and 2011, the News Corporation paid out about $655 million to settle charges of corporate espionage and anticompetitive behavior by News America.[32]

In late 2011, the District Court of Atlanta granted a permanent injunction prohibiting Robert Emmel, a former News America Marketing executive, from sharing News America Marketing's confidential information and found that Emmel was not a whistleblower and was therefore not entitled to whistleblower protection under the Dodd-Frank Act, as he had claimed. In the court's ruling, it stated that far from harassing, or acting in a retaliatory manner towards him, News America Marketing “actually assisted Emmel in obtaining new employment after it terminated him.”[44]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Our Products – SmartSource Magazine . News America Marketing . 2011-07-18.
  2. Web site: BNET (CBS). Why News Corp.'s Settlement With Insignia Creates a Grocery Ad Cartel . Jim Edwards . February 9, 2011 . 2011-07-18.
  3. Web site: News America Marketing Forms E-Business Unit . May 3, 2000 . Direct Marketing News . 2011-07-19.
  4. News: News America Makes Move to Branded Coupons . Direct Marketing News . Theresa Howard . April 16, 1998 .
  5. News: THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Murdoch Sets Marketing Acquisitions . August 16, 1988 . New York Times .
  6. Web site: More High-Tech, Still High-Touch . July 1, 1998 . PROMO Magazine . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061118140207/http://promomagazine.com/mag/marketing_hightech_hightouch/ . November 18, 2006 .
  7. Web site: SmartSource.com Adds QR Codes To Its Printable Coupons . June 6, 2011 . Business Insider .
  8. Web site: SmartSource Hits the iPad . February 21, 2012 . Path to Purchase .
  9. Web site: News America Marketing Debuts iPad Coupon App . March 19, 2012 . MediaPost .
  10. Web site: The future of savings thanks to Apple . March 22, 2013 . Retailing Today .
  11. Web site: News America Marketing Launches SmartSource Xpress for iPhone . March 22, 2013 . Progressive Grocer .
  12. Web site: News America Marketing acquires Checkout 51. July 24, 2015. PR News Wire.
  13. Web site: Checkout 51 Website.
  14. News: News Marketing Canada Announces New SmartSource.ca Couponing Site . September 26, 2011 . Yahoo! Finance .
  15. Web site: News America Marketing Partners With Children's Miracle Network Hospitals To Support Upcoming 'EPIC' Campaign . Children's Miracle Network Hospitals .
  16. News: Toys for the Holidays 2011 a huge success! . The Wall Street Journal .
  17. Web site: Children's Miracle Network Hospital Sponsors . Children's Miracle Network Hospitals .
  18. Web site: Easter Seals National Corporate Sponsors . Easter Seals .
  19. Web site: Toys for the Holidays 2011 a huge success! . Volunteers of America .
  20. News: MILITARY: Two Pendleton Marines chosen for trip to Super Bowl . January 31, 2012 . North County Times .
  21. Web site: SmartSource Coupon Publisher News America Marketing to Send Two Marines to Super Bowl XLVI . January 30, 2012 . MarketWatch .
  22. Web site: News America Marketing Continues Tradition Of Sending Marines To Super Bowl . January 30, 2013 . MarketWatch .
  23. Web site: Wounded Warrior is Super Bowl-bound . 10 News .
  24. Web site: SmartSource Magazine Marks Veterans Day By Supporting Wounded Warrior Project With Special Coupon Insert This Sunday . November 2, 2012 . MarketWatch .
  25. Web site: Believe in Heroes Campaign Raises $16 Million for Wounded Warrior Project . Grocery Headquarters .
  26. Web site: News America Marketing Supports Believe in Heroes(TM) Campaign This Veterans Day . November 4, 2011 . MarketWatch .
  27. News: Forbes . Marketing With Muscle . Peter Lattman . October 31, 2005 .
  28. News: CNN . News Corp.'s trouble in aisle three . Jennifer Reingold . July 20, 2007 . 2011-07-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022180101/http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/19/news/companies/newsamerica.fortune/ . October 22, 2012 .
  29. News: Valassis-News America Deal Raises History of FTC Antitrust Issues . Jim Edwards . February 3, 2010 . BNET (CBS) . 2011-07-18.
  30. Web site: DOCKET NO. C-4160 . April 19, 2006 . FTC .
  31. Web site: FTC CONSENT ORDER PROTECTS COMPETITION IN THE MARKET FOR FREE-STANDING NEWSPAPER INSERTS . March 16, 2006 . FTC .
  32. News: New York Times . Troubles That Money Can't Dispel . July 18, 2011 . David Carr .
  33. David Glovin, News Corp. Response to Hacking Was ‘Deficient,’ Expert Said, Bloomberg News, July 21, 2011
  34. http://federal-circuits.vlex.com/vid/floorgraphics-inc-news-america-stor-272373787 Floorgraphics Inc. v. News America Marketing In-Stor, (3rd Cir. 2011)
  35. http://federal-circuits.vlex.com/vid/news-america-marketing-robert-emmel-281721847 News America Marketing v. Robert T. Emmel, (11th Cir. 2011)
  36. Ed Pilkington, A life unravelled … whistleblower who incurred wrath of the Murdoch empire, The Guardian, profile of Robert Emmel, August 16, 2011
  37. http://lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=333557 Sen. Lautenberg Letter
  38. Michael Isikoff, US looks into alleged hacking by News Corp.'s ad arm, NBC News, July 21, 2011
  39. Web site: Valassis Could Win $3B From News America in Court, Analyst Says . Jim Edwards . January 29, 2010 . BNET (CBS) . 2011-07-18.
  40. Web site: Why FTC Should Examine Valassis and News America's $500M Settlement . Jim Edwards . January 31, 2010 . BNET (CBS) . 2011-07-18.
  41. News: News Corp.'s $600M Dirty Tricks Trial Starts Monday… Unless It Settles . Jim Edwards . February 4, 2011 . BNET (CBS) . 2011-07-18.
  42. News: St. Paul Pioneer Press . Marketeers locked in legal dispute. August 15, 2000 .
  43. Web site: Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal . Benno Groeneveld . November 7, 2003 . 2011-07-19 . Insignia sued by Murdoch-owned competitor.
  44. Web site: News America Marketing In-Store, LLC vs. Robert T. Emmel, 343 GA 5-6 . 2011 . UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION .

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