Best Overall Strategy
Company: Bay Area News Group (BANG)
Market: Bay Area News Group - San Francisco, CA
Population: 7.44 million
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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