Ad Ideas On Tap Session

2025 – Ideas on Tap – 2025

Each year at the Minnesota Newspaper Association Convention, advertising and other revenue professionals from all corners of Minnesota come together to share their best ideas. This year’s list, complete with contact information in case you have more questions, is ready to help make you successful in 2025! 

  1. Paid fill ads – Rock County Star Herald – Heather Johnson heatherj@star-herald.com Pool of paid fill ads that we can pull from at a discounted price
  2. Puzzle Page – Park Rapids Enterprise – Kelly Hoeke khoeke@parkrapidsenterprise.com Puzzle page on Wednesdays, January-March, $60/ad, color. A gold star is hiden in an ad changed each week. $540/week, $2,160/month with 9 ads.
  3. Advertising Preplanner – Grant County Herald – Ashton Hagen ashton@grantcountyherald.com We updated our preplanner a year ago that is delivered or mailed to existing clients. This year I sent them out to all past customers. Can mail in or scan a QR code to sign up. Many signed up for specials who haven’t run in years. $2,000-$3,000 so far.
  4. AdMessenger – Matt Moulton moulton@optimum.media Mobile strategy – your local markets, current customers, targeted mobile delivery, $10 million
  5. Santa Hunt – Tracy Area Headlight Herald – Tara Brandl tara@headlightherald.com Santa hunt in local businesses – page from metro, 10 businesses pay $50 each/$500 for promotion. Sold out in 2 hours, to first 10 businesses it was presented to.
  6. Future Designers – Bemidji Pioneer – Christine Olson colson@bemidjipioneer.com Customers sign up to buy an ad, empty ads with customer logos are given to 4th/5th graders in town. They design the ad. Customer chooses best ad and it prints in the paper. Top 2 ads chosen for $100 gift card. 1/8 is $150, $9,000 revenue.
  7. Church advertorial type page – Carter Johnson – ppinfo@presspubs.com Full page with a church photo at the top and small button ads. $400 Full page rate, 12 churches, $33/month. 1 church featured per month.
  8. Lighted Christmas Cruise Map – Clarissa Blake clarissa@ortonvilleindependent.com, $1500 plus web views plus community involvement
  9. Video – Rock County Star Herald – Heather Johnson heather@star-herald.com Video, interviews with locals. Advertisers – featured in video intro and ending. Examples: Sports talk – on location with coaches; live stream debates; February is heart month – community launched campaign. Pepsi sponsors all sports videos and has a banner. We have a bottle of Pepsi or Gatorade on camera during interview
  10. Pet/owner lookalike contest. Tina McMillan – MNA – idea that used to be done – matching business owners with pets, could be done online. tina@mna.org
  11. Real Estate Magazine – Brainerd Dispatch – Rylie Weber weber@brainerddispatch.com – Focus on real estate agent profiles versus the listing, sell support ads relevant to the home-buying process
  12. Small town/neighborhood news page – White Bear Press – Victoria Orlando wbpressad2@presspubs.com Twice per month we run a news page specific to Mahtomedi/Willernie. $2800/month over two issues
  13. Voters Guide – Pine Knot News – Ivan Hohnstadt ads@pineknotnews.com Voters Guide inserted into the paper. Mailed to every address in the county about a month prior to the election. Revenue approximately $20,000
  14. Going to the same businesses – Don’t take no, keep going back. Eventually they will if you’re putting the time in. Example of an electric bike guy that moved locations and now needs to advertise.
  15. Supplement of Creative Writing – The Bark, U of M Duluth – Madison Richards richg013@d.umn.edu Creative writing booklet partnering with high school English teacher and college course for content, ads to movie theater, those focused on students, $600 revenue
  16. Smile a Dial – Cherry Road Media – Terry Alvarez talvarez@cherryroad.com Buy one get one free, 2 groups, print only, incremental revenue
  17. Work smarter, not harder – Susie Alters alters@brainerddispatch.com, work smarter not harder with limited resources looking at sponsorships to pay costs ex. Podcast production, photography
  18. Coloring contests around holiday season – Pine Knot News – Ivan Hohnstadt ads@pineknotnews.com 6-9 2×2 ads @ $75-$100 each with a discount for a second run. Run contest 3 weeks before the holiday and publish the winners the issue prior to the holiday $1200-$1800 per contest $4800-$7200
  19. Spotlight page – St. Cloud LIVE – Jason Roering jroering@stcloudlive.com Spotlight page focusing on specific city in service area (downtown).
  20. Announcer Coupon Club – Rock County Star Herald/Luverne Announcer – Heather Johnson heatherj@star-hearld.com monthly email with area coupons – all digital – $25/month, 6 months and yearly rates
  21. Grant County Living Magazine – Grant County Herald – Ashton Hagen ashton@grantcountyherald.com Moving our business card directory into more of a resources magazine that customers will hang on to. A lot of community programs didn’t advertise but are this year with a half of page content to go along with their program.
  22. Ice Out – Patty Steele – Press Publications – $4,000 for full page – guess when the ice will come out of the lake
  23. Birding page – Tina McMillan – what kind of birds can you find in your area? How to attract them, sell sponsorship from the local businesses like local hardware, building bird houses, parks. tina@mna.org
  24. Logo drop on recipes – Carter Johnson – White Bear Lake  – Fill recipes that are used in special editions with logos from businesses for a special rate
  25. Sports all area section – Herald Journal Publishing – Jason Blashack blashack@greatermn.net Top performers in each sport for each season. $5,000 per season
  26. Senior Living – Crystal Miller – Albert Lea Tribune – Taking something that was successful and instead of selling it twice a year, sell it every other month
  27. Monthly lecture series – Mankato Free Press – Steve Jameson sjameson@mankatofreepress.com Talk on a specific topic. 50-60 community members come to Free Press for cookies, bottle of water and discussion. People that attend became an advertiser, $500/month
  28. Podcasts – Mankato Free Press – local community musicians $300 per podcasts – $3600 so far
  29. Super Bowl Ad contest – Citizen Publishing – Rahn Larson rahnl@windomnews.com 18 business card sized ads, people guess who wins coin toss, who leads at half, etc. Ads also online $1500
  30. Banquet for athletes of the year – Mankato Free Press – Steve Jameson sjameson@mankatofreepress.com invite all high school sports athletes of the week to a banquet to choose an athlete of the year for each sport. $10,000 plus.
  31. Self care page/mental health page – White Bear Press Victoria Orlando wbpressad2@presspubs.com – Monthly inspiration for all to live a fuller live
  32. Spring Shopping fling and holiday shopping spree – Park Rapids Enterprise – Kelly Hoeke khoeke@parkrapidsenterprise.com 3×3 or 3×5 $90 – $150, runs for 4 weeks. Win a $300 gift card and split in half for 2 stores or all at 1 store
  33. Christmas edition editiorial – Tara Brandl – Tracy Area Headlight Herald tara@headlightherald.com Pull letters to Santa from 40 or 50 years ago and include in Christmas edition to fill content and encourage readers from past
  34. We See You! – Tara Brandl, Tracy Area Headlight Herald  – tara@headlightherald.com Local volunteer edition featuring behind-the-scenes volunteers, $3600 revenue in first year.
  35. Laker – White Bear Press, Matt McMillan matt@presspubs.com – Mailed to lake home owners and those that have a dock and drops around the lake, produced 4 times a year, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Christmas. Information on the lake, $50,000
  36. Community Page – Rock County Star, Herald Heather Johnson –  heatherj@star-hearld.com Full page 1 time a month community info – businesses listed as a sponsor – $46/quarter (we have 40 businesses sponsoring our page) over $7,000/year