1. Jared Launius and Hojong Kim with RJI fellow Peter Meng

2. It starts with a problem…
Newspapers have lost an estimated $16 billion in classified ad revenues since the advent of Craigslist 15 years ago
Fact: this has helped contribute to the closing of several newspapers
Opinion: as a side-effect, it has impacted the quality of news, particularly local news

3. …and it’s difficult to address
Craigslist leaves approximately $6 billion on the table every year
Fact: It would take an estimated $1 billion in advertising to take them head on
Opinion: that is a lot of money

4. AdFreeq: an introduction
A white-label site operated and branded through local online publications, primarily newspapers
Cloud-based – operates and updates in real time using ads in system, on social media
Offers free and low-cost ads to sellers
Offers reliable, instant products to buyers

6. So, back to that problem…
Isn’t a 1 vs. 1 battle
“Instead of David vs. Goliath, it’s thousands of Davids vs. one Goliath.”
Ads can bring in revenues for publications
Users have access to system they can trust

7. Our involvement
Goals revolved around getting product ready for the market
Conduct research on both host and consumer markets
Discover best way to organize ad categories
Work with potential clients
Produce and develop content to market the product

8. Research …of potential users …of potential hosts
What we wanted to know
How receptive are users to using a classified system that charges? How much will they pay?
Do users already use social media to buy and sell products?
Does it matter to them who’s running the system?
What we wanted to know
What’s their current system? Proprietary? Custom? Free? Paid-for?
What are their levels of satisfaction with their current models?
What social media does the publication already integrate to push content?

9. Survey of potential users
Conducted on SurveyMonkey
308 respondents
67 percent were female
94 percent were college age
Disseminated over J-school ListServ and over social media

10. What we learned from users

11. What we learned from users

12. What we learned from users

13. What we learned from potential hosts
Survey was conducted thanks to help from RJI
Sent nine-question survey to over 5,000 publications
285 took survey
50% were rural publications and 50% were weeklies

14. What we learned from hosts

15. What we learned from hosts
What is the average price per week to post a classified ad in your publication?
Also, please indicate whether you offer free classified ad postings.
$35 for 35 words or 7 lines for 2 insertion in English or Punjabi papers / Classified Display ad $45 for B&W and $ 55 for Color per insertion of 3.25"(W) x 2" (H).
$15.00 plus tax plus free on our web site.
$37.50 and yes we do off FREE classified ads on Tue, Wed, and Thur.
$15.36 for a 20 word ad free lost and found ads free ads for giveaways.
$19.95 line ad $ x1 classified display for two issues.
$50 is the average. We offer a free ad for private party merchandise items valued under $ per month allowed. The ad size is a 1/4" depth (we have a 4 column format).
$50.96 for a 4-line ad. We do offer a Grandma's Attic feature for articles selling for under $500. The price of ad is based on the asking price of the item. $25 and under are FREE.
We offer free private party ads. Paid private party ads start at $5/week. Commercial classified ads start at $15.70 per week.
Average price $20 However, we do offer some free classifieds.
Depends on the category Merchandise- $ Auto-$ Real Estate-$ Pets/Announcements/ -$39.50.
That is a difficult question to answer as we have some private party ads that cost as little a $10 on and then employment ads that are very expensive. No FREE ads –
The cost great depends on what type of advertising you are doing. There are different rates for private party vs. commercial businesses vs. recruitment.

16. What we learned from hosts

17. What we learned from hosts

19. Classified taxonomies
Studied and analyzed taxonomies from some 15 different classified sites
Used that research to build a list of our own that could potentially be used as a model for AdFreeq to organize its items

20. Involvement with clients
Originally planned to work with and manage clients in test markets
Were able to make several connections via survey

21. Supporting content
Developed a substantial amount of content for Peter to use at fairs, presentations, etc.
Made site mock-ups, research summaries, infographics based on our research, animations and posters

22. Supporting Content

23. Supporting Content

24. What we learned