5 things to know about the 2012 Niche schedule

There are required elements for 2012

Because we had such success this year with companywide news and advertising initiatives for Salute to Nurses, Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the 2012 Auto Guide, we're doing those again next year, as well as some others that we think will generate lots of ad dollars:

• Six UPickem contests based on sporting events such as March Madness and high school and NFL football, entertainment awards such as the Grammys and Oscars, and local contests such as Readers Choice and Cutest Babies.
• A Readers Choice guide.
• A Real Estate tab.
• A College Prep tab.

There are new offerings for 2012

In addition to adding college prep and real estate tabs, you'll find in 2012:

• More tax time pages (out for January).
• Monthly 2012 presidential election issues pages beginning in February.
• A TV guide and broadsheet pages for July's Summer Olympics.

Also different in 2012, RadarFrog page content will reflect monthly campaigns, such as Valentine's Day (February) and Easter (April). We have discontinued the monthly RadarFrog coupon book due to low use.

Finally, full-page ROPs with holiday and seasonal content, such as for the Super Bowl and St. Patrick's Day, have become quarter-page layouts with business-card-size ad spaces.

What's new in reader callouts

First, we've added a few new callout themes: County fair and vacation Bible school photos, 2012 New Year's resolutions, Veterans Day "thank yous" and Thanksgiving recipes.

Secondly, look for two interactive callouts, for Valentine's Day and winter holiday greeting cards. GateHouse News & Interactive
will set up a tool on all sites that will allow users to send cards to friends and family. Readers will be able to choose from different card designs and write personalized messages inside.

Finally, News & Interactive will syndicate all callouts to sites in 2012. Sites will be able to approve and reject their local submissions, and new callouts will be posted monthly.

What isn't changing?

In 2012, continue to look for:

-- Tab and broadsheet products in Quark 4, 6 and 7, InDesign CS, CS2 and CS3 versions, as well as PDFs. Callout ads will still be available in 5x2, 4x3 and 1x2 sizes, and we are making them airier so sizing them for smaller pages doesn’t require much work locally.

-- Weekly broadsheets for:

• NASCAR (Mondays in season)

• Health (Mondays)

• Auto (half-page, Mondays)

• Food (Tuesdays)

• Home (Wednesdays)

• Pro Football Weekly (Wednesdays in season)

• KidzBuzz/NIE (Fridays during the school year)

-- Free Sudoku puzzles, reduced-rate comics pages from United Media and Tribune Media Services, Morning Minutes, lifestyle columns and features, opinion columns and cartoons, editorials, 5 Things to Do This Weekend and other features as we did last year.

What's next?

Lots more information and training. After Thanksgiving we'll have a webinar on the 2012 schedule and required products, and look for pages and promo ads on GHNS at least six weeks before their suggested publication dates, sooner for required products.

If you have questions in the meantime, please contact GHNS editor Lisa Glowinski at lglowinski@corp.gatehousemedia.com or 630-348-3350.