The Day launches updated employment section, Readers' Choice awards
In an attempt to connect to readers and expand revenues, The Day will name its 2015 Best of Readers' Choice Awards winners later this month and has announced the launch of a new, comprehensive employment section.
The Readers' Choice Awards balloting, new to The Day this year, offers people in the region the chance to name their favorite businesses and individuals in dozens of categories revolving around shopping, services, arts and entertainment, food and dining and health, fitness and beauty. So far, more than 150,000 votes have been tallied.
"We were looking for a new platform that would drive deeper reader engagement and allow us the opportunity to generate new revenues," said Michael Moses, The Day's marketing director.
Jaclyn Aldrich, marketing manager for The Day, said voting concludes May 22, and the winners will be announced in a special section sometime in June. Nominations — more than 46,000 in all — were accepted over a one-month period earlier this year, and the top five in each category made it to the voting stage available online at www.theday.com.
Many of the categories are those typically found in such contests, Aldrich said, but The Day added several more — such as best waterfront restaurant and best oysters — that might not be appropriate elsewhere. Winners will receive certificates, and the top three vote-getters in each category will be acknowledged in the special section.
"It's something to really be proud of," Aldrich said. "It's a bragging right."
The contest has gained a lot of social-media traction, with businesses reaching out to fans using Facebook, Twitter and other websites to push customers to vote, Aldrich said. She expects to receive 200,000 votes by the end of the contest period.
The Day is using a promotions platform called Second Street to run the contest, which has nearly 1,000 finalists, mostly in and around New London County. The Day allows only one vote for each email address and requires registration to participate in the contest.
Aldrich said The Day is generating new revenue by charging for advertising related to the contest, both in the newspaper and online.
"The engagement we've gotten so far is above our expectation, which is great," Aldrich said. "It's coming organically. It's coming from people in the community."
Community engagement is also one of the main drivers of The Day's new stand-alone Sunday jobs section, which featured colorful display advertisements this week from such employers as Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, Doncasters Precision Castings and Companions & Homemakers.
The section includes a companion website, www.theday.jobs, where jobseekers can access videos and be directed to websites and emails that provide even more information about employment opportunities in the area.
Christine Neves, The Day's solutions manager overseeing the updated section, said the idea is to revive the newspaper's classified advertising focused on jobs. The new section also will include a social-media element she said, noting that the online version contains icons allowing jobs to be shared with friends and acquaintances using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn.
"I think the key is it's local," Neves said. "We're trying to re-establish ourselves as the local place to look for jobs."
l.howard@theday.com
Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow
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