Friday, December 05, 2008
News, "Stop the Presses"

The Sunday Paper announces expansion into new markets

Sunday Paper Publishing, LLC plans to expand The Sunday Paper and Half Off Depot into the Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa, Fla., markets by May of 2009

Sunday Paper Publishing, LLC plans to expand The Sunday Paper and Half Off Depot into the Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa, Fla., markets by May of 2009.

Market expansion has been a part of Sunday Paper Publishing’s long-term plans since the company’s inception, but the economy’s decline in late 2007 delayed the move.

So why now? One major factor is Creative Loafing’s filing for bankruptcy protection in September of this year. “While we planned to go to both of these markets in the next few years, the troubles of the parent company of the major newsweeklies in both cities have convinced us to accelerate our plans,” says Sunday Paper Publisher Patrick Best. “While we have a great deal of respect and admiration for the staff of the Creative Loafing newspapers in these markets, we don’t believe their parent company can provide them with the resources to be successful in the current economic climate. And we have the funding, the experience, the talent and the products to quickly be successful in these markets.”

One principal source of that funding is Brian Conley, owner of real estate development firm Cardinal Enterprises and the advertising agency Apollo Creative Group, both based in Knoxville, Tenn. Conley became a shareholder of Sunday Paper Publishing in 2007, the same year he sold the Knoxville newsweekly Metro Pulse and Knoxville magazine to the E.W. Scripps media company.

“When I initially invested in The Sunday Paper, it was because I recognized the great job Patrick and his partners were doing building a strong brand in the Atlanta market,” Conley says. “And it was always our intention to expand the paper into other markets. For a number of reasons, we identified Charlotte and Tampa/St. Petersburg as our initial focus for expansion. Due to recent events, we feel strongly that the time has come for that expansion.”

While Sunday Paper Publishing has felt the effects of the current economic situation as much as any print media enterprise, Best says that The Sunday Paper, with its different approach to the traditional newsweekly model, continues to grow. The April-May 2008 report from Media Audit (an independent media research firm) showed that 533,500 people in Atlanta read one of the last four editions of The Sunday Paper.

Half Off Depot, a Web site that sells half-price gift certificates for restaurants and retailers, as well as event tickets, has enjoyed major growth since its humble beginnings in April of this year. “We have gone from 10-15 gift card sales per week in April to more than 200 per week in November,” Best says. “The success of this project has given us even more confidence that market expansion is smart for our company.”

Best feels that the two products, which have already proven successful, are uniquely poised to repeat that success in new markets even in the current economy.

“We certainly believe both cities will welcome our publications,” he says. “The industry is changing, and we believe we have the team, and the stable of products, to be successful in any market we enter. We have proven The Sunday Paper model can be successful in the Atlanta market, and we believe the same can be accomplished in these two great cities.”

Conley, who bought the money-losing Metro Pulse in 2003 and by 2007 had turned it into the most profitable (percentage to gross revenue) member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, stresses that Sunday Paper Publishing’s expansion plans do not involve taking on debt.

“When papers lose their focus, and when a company’s debt exceeds its revenue, well, we just feel it’s an untenable situation,” Conley says. “That’s why we plan on expanding rapidly into these markets with equity rather than debt.”

Sunday Paper Publishing, LLC launched The Sunday Paper in Atlanta in September 2004. The company was founded by Patrick Best, Howard Landsman, Jeff Kremer and Danny Apple, all former Creative Loafing-Atlanta employees. The team boasts a combined 60-plus years of newspaper sales and publishing experience.

Best previously owned the weekly Atlanta newspaper Poets, Artists & Madmen (later Atlanta Press) from 1994 to 2000. Best served as publisher-at-large for CL, working alongside publishers and ad directors throughout the company, including those in Charlotte and Tampa, before being appointed ad director of the Atlanta property.

“‘The Sunday Paper’ is the newspaper industry’s strongest brand,” Best says. “When you refer to the Sunday edition of the Charlotte Observer or the St. Pete Times, you refer to it as the Sunday Paper. We’re taking advantage of the good will and recognition of this product name, and delivering in a way that attracts young, educated readers—something the daily industry just can’t do anymore. We’re confident that moving into these markets will greatly strengthen The Sunday Paper and our online products—especially Half Off Depot—and put us on our way toward making both national players.” SP 

Kevin Forest Moreau is Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Paper.