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Media News at a GlanceNote: Please see the graphs mentioned in this section in the print or PDF versions.
Beyond Today Web Site Shows GrowthThe first 14 months of activity at the Beyond Today Web site, www.beyondtoday.tv, went very well. We are averaging 30,000 visitors per month, with a peak of 36,800 in August of 2006. Please see the monthly Web visitor graph. It'll be interesting to see how our 2007 calendar year compares! Peter Eddington [ back to top ] Additional Radio Stations Airing Beyond TodayOn Feb. 4, 2007, news/talk radio station WSAI 1360 AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, was added to our radio lineup. This 5,000-watt station now broadcasts audio tracks of Beyond Today programs every Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. Out of 276 media markets in the United States, Cincinnati is the 26th largest, having a metropolitan population of over 2.6 million people. Marvin Staggs, a member in the Cincinnati East congregation, has volunteered to monitor each broadcast. Also, 5,000-watt news/talk radio station WOKV 690 AM in Jacksonville, Florida, began broadcasting Beyond Today on Feb. 18. The station also simulcasts its programming on 106.5 FM. The Jacksonville market is the country's 51st largest, and WOKV is the flagship station of the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars. The 912,000 residents of the metropolitan area now have the opportunity to hear Beyond Today every Sunday at 7 a.m., monitored by Matthew Lucas of the Jacksonville congregation. John LaBissoniere [ back to top ] The Good News Heading for Half MillionThe accompanying graphic shows the number of subscribers on our U.S. Good News file for March of the past seven years. We have 335,000 U.S. subscribers on file presently, and the number will grow more as our newest advertising gets underway. For the remainder of the fiscal year we are working to raise The Good News magazine circulation back to around 500,000 copies worldwide. Our March/April 2007 print run was 433,200 copies. With several advertising opportunities planned for the next six months, in particular with the new funds made available, we anticipate reaching this goal of 500,000. Peter Eddington [ back to top ] U.S. Members, Youth and Associated Statistics DisplayedThe number of people on the U.S. file who say they are "members" of United, "youth" with United or "associated" with United, are shown here for the month of January for the past seven years. The current figure is 16,625. We saw a decline in this figure a year ago, but it appears to have leveled off now. Sometimes when church pastors are periodically asked to update their congregation listings we see this happen. Peter Eddington [ back to top ] "Fantastic Increases" for InternetThere are some very encouraging increases on our various Web sites! Please compare the January 2007 entries to previous years—some fantastic increases! Peter Eddington [ back to top ] Donors Up 19 Percent; Coworkers Up 14As can be seen from the accompanying graph, the Church's base of coworkers and donors continues to rise at a nice pace. As of January 2007 we have 8,826 donors on file (19 percent increase over last January) and 3,495 coworkers (14 percent increase). As in years past, our donors and coworkers play an increasing role in the financial stability of the Church. It is important that we continue to reach out to our readers to encourage them to be involved in what we're doing. Our coworkers receive four letters a year from the president, letting them know what the Church is doing and how their donations are being carefully used. Peter Eddington [ back to top ] January Total Mail Takes Big JumpTake a look at the total amount of incoming mail processed in January 2007 compared to previous years (74,290 pieces)! We had an increase of 96 percent over January of 2006 and an increase of 44 percent over January of 2005, our previous high! Much thanks goes to the men and women who process our incoming and outgoing mail on a daily basis. It has been a heavy workload of late! Peter Eddington [ back to top ] Good News Subscription Brochure Program Seeks More VolunteersIn 2006 more than 125 brethren and congregations in the United States participated in the Good News subscription brochure program. Members distributed over 71,000 brochures on 786 acrylic display units For many years, the "take one" distribution program has been a cost-effective way of reaching new people with the gospel. Brochures cost under 4 cents each to print and distribute. In recent years, subscriber response has reached an excellent 2.6 percent at only $1.36 cost per response. Currently we have 62,000 subscription brochures in inventory awaiting distribution in the United States. We encourage additional brethren to become involved in the program. To request a supply of materials, please write to John LaBissoniere at john_labissoniere@ucg.org or call him toll-free at (888) 369-9940. John LaBissoniere [ back to top ] Beyond Today Commentary Offered on Web SitesYou may have noticed a new feature on the home pages of several of the Church's Web sites. This feature is the new Beyond Today video commentary. The video commentaries will focus on a variety of topics influencing your world today. These videos were originally posted to online video sites such as Google and Yahoo video and the popular YouTube Web site. We are now making these informative and helpful commentaries available to our Web site visitors each Friday. Each weekly video offers a link to download that commentary or access related resources on the topic. Over 32,000 video views have occurred in the first two weeks since this new feature has been added to the Web sites. The commentary on Valentine's Day itself generated nearly 20,000 video views in one week. This is shaping up to be a very popular addition to the Church's Web presence. Aaron Booth [ back to top ] New Print Ads TestedA vital element in our ongoing print advertising efforts is to regularly test new promotional themes. During the past six years we have designed no less than 27 new ad ideas, offering a variety of biblical and family-living topics to potential subscribers. For instance, during this fiscal year alone, six new themes are being tested through our supermarket "take one" advertising campaign now underway in locations across the United States. These themes include the United States and Britain in prophecy, holidays/Holy Days, the Middle East, heaven/hell, marriage and family and managing finances. In just a three-year period, including this fiscal year, various new topics have been or will be offered to over 27 million households through card packs, "take one" brochures and direct mail co-op packages. Our objective in testing different subjects is not only to advertise varied aspects of the gospel message, but to determine which of them generates the highest response. After discovering this, we often return again and again to marketing particular subjects in order to get the most from our promotional budget. For example, over the years we have found the themes of "enduring peace" and "what happens after death?" have outperformed many of our other promotions. These subjects are again being advertised this fiscal year to nearly 9 million households through card packs and through 100,000 subscription brochures being distributed by Church brethren. (Interested brethren in the United States can contact John LaBissoniere at john_labissoniere@ucg.org or by toll-free phone at 888-369-9940 for more information about participating in this program.) John LaBissoniere
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