If newspapers are going to grow much needed ad revenue they need far less ‘woe is me’ commentary and much more understanding of their threats and opportunities.

I read an article in the Guardian this morning. Or more accurately I caught a notification on my lock screen of an email from Nuzzel, the social media aggregate tool, with an interesting headline, clicked on it and read the article on the Guardian mobile site. Continue reading and you’ll get why I make the distinction but it annoyed me hugely.

The article is called ‘Can newspapers do anything to stop the advertising exodus?’ and it revolves around all the same themes that we've been hearing for ages; ‘The numbers across all platforms and brands are still huge, print is great at building brands, the shiny new world of digital taking budget away, everyone is using an ad blocker. Etc, etc.’

If they want to continue to feel sorry for themselves then that is fine. What I object to however is the fact that they blame everyone else, except themselves. ‘Media agencies have turned their backs on us. People don’t understand good journalism costs money. Outsourced sales houses only care about profit. Advertisers only care about fame building and shiny new channels. The industry is obsessed with the young. Everyone is making crap digital ads so ad blockers are ruining our business.’ I know there are elements of truth to most of these but turning half the story into insurmountable problems and playing the pity card is just lazy.

For a start, newspaper brands and their industry bodies should think carefully about this:

1. Stop banging on about how big your audience is. This is a massive red herring. Planners don’t care that newspaper brands reach more people a month than Google (46m according to newsworks). For the vast majority of the day your readers are doing something else. There are a multitude of ways advertisers can target them. And no, it isn't always going to be be with an intrusive mobile ad. Advertisers are not missing out on your audience just because they are not advertising with you.
2. Talking about being a trusted source of news and information is fine but it’s far less powerful than you think when you talk about it in isolation. Not every communications approach lives or dies by this. You need to be clear on the bigger campaign picture of your advertisers. If you’re not getting it, demand it.
3. Media agencies have not turned their back on you. The thought that agencies are only interested in lining their own pockets by forcing clients in to their most profitable solutions is simply naive. Effectiveness still rules the roost. As always, marketers want a return on their investment and agencies work hard to deliver this. Newspapers need to stop shouting about their stats and prove their effectiveness in the context of all other channels. Independent studies are never going to be enough.

Whilst I certainly don’t pretend to have the answers, here are a few things that if I were in the commercial hot seat at a newspaper brand I’d be trying right now (and I'm sure some are, these places are not short of smart people):

1. Start getting to grips with the econometrics providers. Large clients run econometric modelling. It tells them what channels return the most to their business. The majority of them are run independently (they don’t want media agency marking their own homework). So get to know them, their business and their model. What sort of data are they inputting? Can it be improved? if you can’t make friends then lobby them. Improving print performance in econometrics results is the best way to unlock more budget and you’ll get no arguments from media agencies.
2. Make friends with the ad servers. If you really view ad blocking as a terminal threat to websites and apps then why is there not a newsworks led initiative to to create a rules based system in the ad server that delivers different file sized ads based on connection speed? If the tech doesn't exist build it. Agencies are too busy figuring out DMPs and the like. Yes the ultimate solution is for everyone to make (much) better ads but there are too many cowboys making too much money for that to be anything but a long term play. It is your inventory that is premium, but only if it gives people the experience they expect. Work with the right people to find the right tech solution.
3. Don’t just dabble with new platforms and technology, commit to them. Get ahead of the curve. Facebook Instant Articles and Google Accelerated Mobile Pages are a no brainer. Commit to them, put them at the centre of your publishing strategy and push the for the best possible ad products. How much would you save if you pulled development on all your apps and just focused on Instant articles and mobile web through AMP? Native apps are not the future, we all know it, so take the leap now. That is just the start. How are you going to integrate with Facebook Messenger or Slack? How are you going to build thin, smart interfaces on top of the massive platforms that dominate attention?

Newspapers in the UK are some of the oldest and most important brands we have. I hugely value the expertise and opinion but reading the sort of thing I did this morning frustrates me hugely. Come on newspaper brands, get on the front foot and do your utmost to secure your future.