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Best Obituary Strategies

Best Overall Strategy, Most Improved Obituaries,

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Best Obituary Strategy 

Best Overall Strategy

Company: Bay Area News Group (BANG)

Market: Bay Area News Group - San Francisco, CA

Population: 7.44 million

Liz Photo.jpg

Key executive: Liz Naughton, Director of Community Sales and Information 

Judges take: This company tripled obituary revenues over the past several years. There were a variety of great entries which made  big 2014 gains by automating online entry and partnering with funeral homes, BANG pulls out all the stops. It has the best obituary planning guide, partnerships with 87% of area funeral homes to place orders online, best of breed memorial sites, and the Legacy upgrade.

* LMI story: How Bay Area News Group tripled obituary revenues

Most Improved Obituaries 

Company: Villages Daily Sun

Market: The Villages - Sumter County, FL

Population: 51,442

Circulation: 38,000

Key executive: Dan Sprung, Advertising Director

Judges take: Can you take an obituary section that has been historically free and start charging online? Kudos to this small newspaper for saying “Yes we can”. Their caveat: “We didn’t do it soon enough.”

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obits, obituaries, the villages, daily sun, bay area news group, bang