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NEWS FROM JUNE 27, 2006
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Website nominated for national Knight Award
East County Sports.com
BETHESDA, Md. (6-27-06) – East County Sports.com, which has operated since February 2000 and quickly became the No. 1 source for news and information on high school and community college athletics in the Metro-East portion of San Diego County, will soon be competing for a national award.
ECS has been placed in the mix for the inaugural Knight Public Service Award, the newest of nine major award categories conducted by the Online News Association as part of its Online Journalism Awards, a comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in English-language Web journalism.
The Knight Award judges websites
which, according to its posted
rules, "performs a public
service through compelling coverage
of a vital community issue or
event" and that "the
impact of the coverage on the
community will be a major factor
in the judging."
The new award is funded by
the John S. and James L. Knight
Foundation. The Online Journalism
Awards are conducted in cooperation
with the Annenberg School for
Communication at the University
of Southern California.
"As more Americans receive
their news and information online,
it remains critical that online
journalism be held to the highest
standards of the profession,"
said Michael Parks, director
of the Annenberg School of Journalism
at USC. "We are delighted
that Knight Foundation continues
to support outstanding journalism
and look forward to using this
award to spotlight the best
online journalism that serves
its readers and the public at
large."
The Online News Association
is an organization composed
largely of professional online
journalists. It has more than
800 professional members, whose
principal livelihood involves
gathering or producing news
for digital presentation, as
well as academic members and
others interested in the development
of online journalism. For further
information, visit:www.journalists.org.
The submission for the Knight
Award is another in a series
of milestones for East County
Sports. Most recently, in
2005, one of our writers was
recognized with an excellence
in community service award by
the San Diego County Fair Association.
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We offer MORE
than all the other East County news services
combined:
– MORE
stories, composed by award-winning writers;
– MORE
daily coverage and updates (compared to
their weekly and bi-weekly coverage);
– MORE
photographs (many by award-winning photographers);
– MORE
features stories; MORE
accurate statistics, schedules and standings;
– and much, much MORE,
including our exclusive All-East County™
team selections.
Indeed, "we are" East County
Sports!
The Grossmont Unified High School District
even recognized one of our founders for
his more than 30 years in covering the athletics
programs of its 11 member schools with a
Lifetime Achievement Award. Plus, the GUHSD
is a supporting partner in East County Sports.com’s
continuing coverage of its schools and sports
activities, covering more than 350,000 people
in our region of the county.
COVERAGE
AREA
Schools Covered – We cover
all 11 public high schools in the GUHSD,
including El Capitan, Monte Vista, Mount
Miguel, Santana and El Cajon Valley of the
Grossmont Valley League; plus Valhalla,
Granite Hills, Grossmont, Helix, Steele
Canyon and West Hills of the Grossmont Hills
League. In addition, we cover Christian
High, a private high school which plays
in the San Diego City Conference, plus smaller
Citrus Conference schools in Foothills Christian
High of La Mesa and River Valley Charter
School in Lakeside.
We also cover – Grossmont and
Cuyamaca community colleges of the 9-member
Pacific Coast Conference, and San Diego
Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage
College) of the NAIA Golden State Athletic
Conference. In addition, we cover several
City Conference schools (in selected sports).
And there is also our new "In The Community"
section, which covers other items of interest
, like the Lakeside BMX rider who qualified
for the Olympics, a local visit by Heisman
Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow, and
much, much more.
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VISITING COUNTRIES
(75)
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American Samoa, Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China,
Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic,
Egypt, England, Finland, France,
Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guatemala,
Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iran,
Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania,
Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro,
Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nigeria, North Korea, Norway,
Pakistan, The Philippines,
Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico,
Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia,
South Africa, South Korea,
Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland,
Taiwan (Taipei), Thailand, Turkey,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (Dubai),
U.S. Virgin Islands and Yemen.
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These
are visitors since
our website redesign
in October 2005
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Coverage Area – The website
was created to serve the student-athletes,
families and residents in all of our communities,
including El Cajon, Fletcher Hills, Lemon
Grove, Spring Valley, La Mesa, Jamul, Rancho
San Diego, Casa de Oro, Mount Helix, Granite
Hills, Alpine, Lakeside, Santee, Crest and
many, many others. In addition, since our
website re-design in October 2005, we have
welcomed readers from all 50 states, Washington,
D.C., all U.S. territories, and more than
70 foreign countires.
ADVERTISERS'
BENEFITS
To our advertisers, we offer an attractive
audience to our sponsors and advertisers,
including:
More than 3,000 readers per day –
that’s upwards of 100,000 readers per
month! – wider circulation than the
three local weekly newspapers combined!
Plus, these readers are high-volume, repeat
traffic by local customers interested in
coverage of local events – and the
local businesses that support one of the
fastest-growing websites in the West! For
the 2006-07 school year, we generated 1,019,000
hits! In 2007-08, it was well over 1.1 million
hits! And in 2008-09 through 2013-14, it
was 1.2 million hits! – we're
still growing while newspaper circulation
continues to tumble.
Our service is fully available and
utilized – by the East County community,
as the website is presently averaging 3,600
hits per day during the school year (more
than 6,000 on many recent CIF playoff dates)
– That’s wider circulation than
the local weekly newspapers! – Simply
by word-of-mouth promotion. With more
than ONE MILLION hits over the past nine
school-years alone, East County Sports.com
has now registered more than 9.0 million
hits in our last nine full seasons of service.
These statistics are verified by FastClick.com
and StatCounter.com
Cost Effective – Reach your
customer effectively by target marketing
at a fraction of what it costs to advertise
in print, on radio, or television. With
East County Sports, you enjoy peace of mind
knowing that your advertising dollars are
reaching 100% of consumers who demand our
service – all at a reasonable cost.
Great Demographics – Our clientele
are high-end consumers who own and utilize
personal computers in their homes, or computer-savvy
students using computers at their schools.
Our hit rate between men and women is almost
equal, and we reach all age categories,
with readers in all 50 states and 75 foreign
countries, including five countries in the
Middle East – our U.S. troops reading
about their sons and daughters, brothers
and sisters.
The Names You Know – We are
locally owned and operated by people you
know, and have cultivated long-time relationships
with our schools' coaches, administrators
and athletes. Our core of charter staff
writers possess more than 100 years of combined
experience covering East County – our
track record is unmatched!
Media Partners – East County
Sports has gained media partners, including
the San Diego Hall of Champions and the
Online News Association, ensuring an expanding
base of readers to the website and other
collateral activities, such as our annual
East County All-Star Basketball Game, serving
as voting panel members to the San Diego
Hall of Champions/ Breitbard Athletic Association's
All-County CIF selection committee, and
our participation in a variety of high school
sports polls for the San Diego Sportswriters-Sportscasters
Association. Our writers also contribute
to The San Diego Union Tribune, North
County Times, Imperial Valley Press, Cal-Hi
Sports, MaxPreps, Team USA.org, and
many others.
Indeed, "we are" East County
Sports!
Did you or your parents save newspaper
clippings from your days as an outstanding
high school athlete? Do these articles bring
back great memories of your achievements
on the playing field? Please join us in
our mission to give our children something
to remember as remarkable athletes of the
21st Century.
Please contact our sales staff at: ramon@EastCountySports.com
PUBLICATION
SCHEDULE
East County Sports.com receives
"hits" (or visits to our website)
throughout the week thanks to a publication
schedule that encourages our readers to
return often. Here is a sample of a typical
publication schedule during the high school
football season:
| Weekends |
Game Coverage, including
stories and photos |
| Mon./Tue.
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Updated East County statistics;
East County players of the week |
| Tue./Wed. |
New SD County weekly poll
released |
| Thurs./Fri. |
Previews of upcoming games
from our "Fearless Forecaster" |
| Anytime |
Breaking news and interest
stories, including exclusives published
on our website long before any of the
major metro newspapers or radio/television
stations run it (Yes, the PPR copies
us!) |
And that’s just prep football. Don’t
forget about our exclusive coverage of Grossmont
College, the 2005 J.C. Grid-Wire
National Champions of community college
football, going on to win 41 of 43 regular
season games and a national-best eight playoff
games from 2002 to 2006.
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And Remember...
unlike a newspaper, people are motivated
to visit our website
because they want to read it. They
need to go to their computer, get
online and logon
to our website – and they do!...
ADVERTISE TODAY!
So even though our
hit total may be equivalent to the
listed circulation claims of the local
weekly newspapers, how many of their
readers choose to read sports? A half,
a quarter or even much less?
With East County
Sports.com, 100 percent of our
readers want and desire the coverage
we provide year-round on high school
and community college sports in our
community, 100 percent of the time
– and it’s the exact target
audience you also want to reach, too!
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EAST
COUNTY SPORTS.COM vs. The Local Newspapers
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The Differences
Between
EAST COUNTY SPORTS.COM and The Local
Newspapers
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EAST COUNTY SPORTS.COM
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Local Weekly
Newspapers
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| Readership |
East County Sports.com
is accessed by people who go out of
their way to read about East County
sports activities; including high
school, community college and other
sporting events, teams and participants
from our region.
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The newspapers have
a passive following, with readers
holding interest in various sections
of the paper. Thus, they may not be
interested in sports at all, or only
marginally.
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| What we cover |
High school and
community college on a full-time basis
– that’s all we do!
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High school and
other sports on a sporadic basis.
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| Media Association
Memberships |
San Diego Hall of
Champions/Breitbard Assn. Online News
Association
San Diego Sportswriters/Sportscasters
Assn.
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NO,
NO,
NO!
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Sponsorships
& Community |
We sponsor East
County Senior All-Star Games
in basketball, and many other events
–
Ask about our latest opportunities!
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None
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| All-East County™ |
We’ve been
making selections for our exclusive
All-East County™ teams for more
than 30 years.
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None
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| Local Ownership |
We were founded
and operated by people you know, award-winning
writers who possess more than 80 years
of combined experience covering sports
in the East County.
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The new weekly newspaper,
which replaced us, is now on its fourth
ownership group since
The Daily Californian folded
in January 2000.
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| News &
Updates |
We are updated almost
daily, with breaking news as it’s
happening. Plus, we have the space
to dedicate to sports, so we are not
limited to a 12-inch story due to
space; we can write as needed.
Additionally, we offer
scores, standings and statistics for
many sports, including updates on
newly established records and milestones.
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The weekly papers
are updated on a weekly basis but
due to deadlines, may be behind by
as much as 7-12 days at a time –
not very timely.
Plus, due to space
limitations, only a handful of sports
are covered at any one time.
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| COMPETITIVE RATES |
(ASK ABOUT DISCOUNTS FOR FIRST-TIME ADVERTISERS)
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| ANNUAL
RATES (as of July 2014) |
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HOW WE ARRIVED
AT THESE RATES
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FRONT PAGE – $ 2,000/year
(you get 12 consecutive calendar months).
INSIDE PAGE – $ 350 for
any single-sport page; $100 for each
additional page.
INSIDE PAGE – $ 600 for
specalty pages, like "Athletes
of the Week" or the Alumni section,
receive banner ad near top of the
page (600 pixels wide x 100 pixels
tall).
CORPORATE SPONSORS –
Negotiable (minimum $3,000/month for
10 months),
Regular 1x1 Space (150 pixels
wide x 100 pixels tall; each can link
to another page with larger ad or
to your own website... or both!):
The width of a banner ad depends on
placement and page layouts.
OTHER: Contact a sales rep
for Sponsorship Opportunities, including
our annual East County All-Star Games,
and much more. We also accept full
and partial tradeouts with approval.
We also accept monthly payments to
aid your cash flow.
We charge half the amount than
the local newspapers, yet your ad
is: A) viewed daily instead of weekly;
B) your ad can be on the front page;
and C) you get the results the newspapers
promise but rarely delivery.
Plus, we offer promotional opportunities,
like East County Athletes of the Week,
All-Star Games and more. And your
ad on East County Sports.com
can be linked to your own website
or email address at no additional
charge – newspapers can't do
that.
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METHODOLOGY No.
1 —
A) The typical 2x3 ad in the local
weekly newspapers is $150 per week.
With multi-purchase, it could go as
low as $110 per week.
B) Take that $110, times 39 weeks
of the school year (although, we do
publish during the summer) and you’d
spend $4,390.
WE CHARGE LESS!
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METHODOLOGY No.
2 —
A) The typical ad in the local school
game-program is at least $100.
B) $100 at 16 East County schools
= $1,600... times three seasons (fall-football,
winter-basketball/soccer, spring-baseball/softball)
= $4,800.
WE CHARGE LESS!
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Remember –
We are a local company dealing
with local businesses,
so we will work with you.
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| YOU
WANT: |
OUR RESPONSE:
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| Monthly payments to assist
with cash flow |
YES!
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| Your ad linked to your
website |
YES!
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| To avoid complicated contracts,
lawyers, and legalize |
YES!
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| Assistance for simple
layout and design of your ad |
YES!
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SIGN
UP TODAY! Please join us and support our
local student-athletes. Thank you!
(Cut and Paste into
your email browser)
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Company |
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Person |
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| City/State/ZIP |
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| Phone |
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| FAX |
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| Email |
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| Ad Space/Size |
Basic (1 x 1) is: 150
pixels wide x 100 pixels tall. |
| Location
on ECS.com |
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| Duration |
Basic plans run annually
thru Aug. 10th. |
| Other |
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| Price |
See above chart. Tradeouts
are okay with approval. |
| Payment
Plan |
Pay in full or make monthly
payments. |
| Other |
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| Event
Sponsorship |
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| Details |
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| Signature/Date |
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