USA Today SWOT

MBAK 6895
CASE #1: USA Today
1. Conduct a SWOT analysis for USA Today using the facts presented in the
case. Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For each
characteristic you list, provide a 1-2 sentence explanation why you
categorized the issue or trait as you did.
Internal - Strengths
Well-known name
Clearly USA Today has a commonly known brand name. In 2013, it was
ranked third in circulation (1), and has over 5.3 Million daily readers (2).
Highly trafficked website

As per the article, USA Today.com has 116,000 digital subscriptions and
24,000,000 unique visitors a month (2).
Wide range of publication (is in lots of places)

USA Today is available at newsstands, in airports, often its used as added
value - hotels, motels and airlines purchase them in quantity as a free perk
to their customers(2).
Brand Extensions including retail shops and USA Today Live

USA Today has retail locations as well as other specific publications such
as Sports Weekly. USA Today Live created from a partnership with fuse
has gotten the into TV programming (2)
Largest print circulation
USA Todays print circulation is far and away number one in the US. Its
next closest competitor the Wall Street Journal is almost 2,000,000 lower
(3)
Internal - Weaknesses
Most of USA Today print customers are older demographic

Median age of USA Today print customer is 50, compared to online
customer median age of 30.
Declining revenues
As the Internet has taken away customer from newspapers, newspaper ad
revenues have fallen dramatically. Digital ad revenue is not making up for
it. (4)
Print product is nearly obsolete; continuous print subscription decline

across the board.
Many people are eschewing a paid newspaper in favor of online options.
Print subscriptions are down across the industry nearly every year since
2004. (5)
Low uptick on digital/online product

USA Today has struggled to get users to subscribe to their online content,
compared to The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. In addition
its questionable whether or not paywalls even work (6)
Huge amount of archive content that is currently locked up

USA Today has a large amount of content from years past to several
months ago locked behind a paywall.
External - Opportunities
Huge audiences available online

Obviously, the Internet has a huge audience. Billions of people use it
every day.
Competitors paywalls more expensive

Paywalls, while not the permanent answer can help stem the losses.
Other competing paywalls are more expensive than USA Todays current
paywall is.
Customers moving to online options

Customers want their news online. Smartphones and tablets have made
this all the more relevant. They want it in a timely manner an in a format
they can choose.
External - Threats
Many competing sources of news; mostly free

Threats are everywhere plenty of websites provide 24 hour news
coverage completely free of charge.
Paywalls are not a permanent solution to loss of revenue

Paywalls can stem the flood, but they are not a permanent solution. New
sources of revenue are needed and to build those websites need to
provide something users find valuable; something they cannot get
elsewhere.
Competing source for ad dollars

The decline in ad revenue has hit newspapers the hardest. There are
many other options for businesses these days.
High cost of newsprint

The cost of newsprint continues to increase. This is alleviated somewhat
by a decline in demand for the print version.
News aggregators
News aggregators block all articles together and make it difficult for any
given source to stand out.
Declining revenues across the industry

This is listed in both Internal and External its not just USA Today thats
losing revenue its virtually all newspapers.
2. Based on your evaluation of case facts, which strengths or opportunities

can USA Today leverage as it looks for a competitive advantage in the
distribution of news and information? (Be sure to explain/support your
view).
Information is virtually ubiquitous these days. It is available everywhere on the

Internet and most of it is free. Newspapers recognized how important the
Internet could be early on; USA Today launched its first news website in 1995. It
started off as a paid subscription but quickly went to a free model. Its archive site
while a fantastic idea is currently locked behind a paywall. For instance, if I want
to read an article I read last year I have to pay for it. But once I pay I cant share
that article without violating copyright law.
I believe USA Today needs to utilize its primary strengths of audience, name
recognition, and huge numbers of page views to test opportunities to build
revenue outlets. First, the idea that a paywall is the solution should be dumped.
People want to share news and paywalls prevent sharing. paywalls wont get
rid of a declining revenue problem. (8) USA Today needs to figure out how to
give people something they will pay for; not lock up content that can be found
anywhere on the Internet behind paywalls. Dropping the paywall on the archives
can allow social media and other users to share articles from yesterday, last year
or 20 years ago, all without violating copyright permissions. This will drive
additional traffic to the site.
Second, newspapers need to provide a way for their users and possibly writers to
interact. The Internet has become as much user driven as content driven.
Providing a means for the readers to interact with the writers would be a possible
way to get people to plunk down cash for access. Via Techdirt (9): Access to the
actual content creators is a real scarcity and one that can often be used to make
money in ways that make fans quite happy. USA Today already has a heavily
trafficked website. Some slight changes to it could easily allow for just such a
system.
Lastly, the older generation will be around for a long time as will a demand for
print media. USA Today could leverage its experience in the magazine industry
to perhaps going all news magazine. Many magazines are still turning profits as
demand for full color glossy articles has not waned as dramatically as demand
for newspapers has (11).
In conclusion, USA Today has a great deal going for it; its certainly not hurting
like many newspapers are. But its only a matter of time if they dont continue
innovating they will end up being left behind.
References
(1) Ap. "Top 10 Newspapers By Circulation: Wall Street Journal Leads Weekday Circulation." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/newspaper-circulation-top-10_n_3188612.html>.
(2) Ferrell, O.C., and Michael D. Hartline. Marketing Strategy. Sixth Edition. United States:
Cengage Learning, 2013.
(3) Yu, Roger. "USA TODAY, WSJ, NYT Are Top Three Papers in Circulation." USA Today.
Gannett, 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/10/28/aam-circulation-dataseptember/18057983/>.
(4) Weissmann, Jordan. "The Decline of Newspapers Hits a Stunning Milestone." Slate. The Slate
Group, 28 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/04/28/decline_of_newspapers_hits_a_milestone_pri
nt_revenue_is_lowest_since_1950.html>.
(5) BARTHEL, MICHAEL. "Newspapers: Fact Sheet." Pew Research Centers Journalism Project
RSS. Pew Research Center, 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.journalism.org/2015/04/29/newspapers-fact-sheet/>.
(6) Unknown. "Newspapers' Ongoing Search for Subscription Revenue: From Paywalls to
Micropayments." The Conversation. The Conversation, 21 May 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<http://theconversation.com/newspapers-ongoing-search-for-subscription-revenue-from-paywallsto-micropayments-40726>.
(7) Kingsley, Patrick. "The German Newspaper Saved by Its Readers." The Guardian. Guardian
News and Media, 01 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/01/german-newspaper-saved-readers>.
(8) Ingram, Mathew. "Why Pushing for a Paywall at the Washington Post Completely Misses the
Point." Gigaom. Gigaom, 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<https://gigaom.com/2012/11/26/why-pushing-for-a-paywall-at-the-washington-post-completelymisses-the-point/>.
(9) Carab, Marcus. "Ten Good Reasons To Buy: The Newspaper Edition | Techdirt." Techdirt.
Floor64, 5 Feb. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100201/0354087988.shtml>.
(10) Jarvis, Jeff, and Chris Tolles. "The Print Media Are Doomed." Bloomberg Business Week.
Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
(11) Unknown. "Consumer Demand for Magazines Up 10%, Study Shows." <i>Freeport
Press</i>. Freeport Press, 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.freeportpress.com/consumer-demand-for-magazines-up-10-study-shows/>.

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MBAK 6895

CASE #1: USA Today

Highly trafficked website

Wide range of publication (is in lots of places)

Brand Extensions including retail shops and USA Today Live

Largest print circulation

Most of USA Today print customers are older demographic

Print product is nearly obsolete; continuous print subscription decline

Low uptick on digital/online product

Huge amount of archive content that is currently locked up

Huge audiences available online

Competitors paywalls more expensive

Customers moving to online options

Many competing sources of news; mostly free

Paywalls are not a permanent solution to loss of revenue

Competing source for ad dollars

High cost of newsprint

Declining revenues across the industry

2. Based on your evaluation of case facts, which strengths or opportunities

Information is virtually ubiquitous these days. It is available everywhere on the

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