WAKE FOREST, North Carolina - Because newspapers not only need to save on improved processes but also profit from improved products, Southern Lithoplate (SLP) announced today that it is expanding the SLP Strategic Alliance platform to address the specific revenue needs and opportunities of newspaper companies. The two newest Alliance members are revenue enhancement specialists Creative Circle Media Solutions in East Providence, Rhode Island, and MWStange, LLC in Dayton, Ohio.

“As budget pressures continue to be a paramount concern, more and more newspapers seek to strengthen their revenue streams, rather than focus exclusively on slashing operational expenses,” said Steve Mattingly, senior vice president for SLP. “We continually look for strategic partners who bring value to our customers and align with our company goals and objectives. Working with these industry leaders gives our customers access to credible, experienced third parties who can identify areas that are not being viewed or targeted as potential revenue sources.”

Creative Circle is a consulting, training, design and software firm with a 30-year track record of helping media companies realize their revenue goals. A consistent innovator, the company has redesigned more than 550 print newspapers and magazines around the country and designed and built about 250 media-related websites. In addition, it has trained thousands of journalists, publishers and advertising staffers in 23 countries on a wide range of topics. Creative Circle’s full line of web software includes a user-oriented dynamic CMS, citizen journalism, classified advertising, hyperlocal, native news and reverse publishing solutions.

“We have been saying ‘Print is not dead’ throughout the past 15 years, and folks are now beginning to listen,” said Bill Ostendorf, president of Creative Circle. “We encourage our clients to do more print, especially glossy local magazines or niche products for business, parenting or events. We have been able to grow print circulation of the newspapers we have redesigned recently by completely redirecting newsrooms to be more user-centric. It is all about story selection, writing style, headline writing and visuals, more than design changes themselves.”

MWStange, founded in 2013 by veteran newspaper advertising director Mark Stange, specializes in newspaper management, advertising sales and sales operations, and new business development. Stange spent 20 of his 35 years in newspaper advertising with Cox Enterprises, Inc., the last five in corporate executive roles. He is a seasoned leader with innovative ideas and the ability to communicate those ideas in an effective and approachable manner.

“I am pleased to join forces with SLP to find unutilized sources of newspaper revenue,” Stange said. “Problems are not new to this industry, but the times raise the need to look at problems differently and come up with new solutions. This partnership will have far-reaching benefits and reach more newspaper companies with our strategic services for enhancing revenues.”

The SLP Strategic Alliance began offering programs to boost newspapers’ revenues in 2009 with the inclusion of Virtanza™ Sales Education and Job Placement (formerly HDS Premier Consulting) in Laguna Niguel, California. Virtanza provides management training, skills development, pricing and market assessment. The aim is teaching teams to sell campaigns tailored to local businesses.