WHO WE ARE — "WE ARE" EAST
COUNTY SPORTS
Founded Feb. 1, 2000 — Now in our
10th Big Year!
OVERVIEW
/ HISTORY
We are East County Sports.com.
We were created by the sports staffwriters
from the 110-year old local newspaper,
The Daily Californian. After the newspaper
folded on January 31, 2000, the sportswriters
recognized there was a distinct need for
continuing coverage of high school and community
college sports in Metro-East area of San
Diego County, so we started this website,
which is now in our 10th Big Year of operation.
(Please note: Since that time, another party
purchased the name "Californian"
and started a weekly newspaper – this is
NOT us).
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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 (np) 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 ValleyLeague; 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. Future plans under consideration
include Patrick Henry High of the City Conference.
We also have covered other East County venues
and events, like the Del Mar and Lakeside
rodeos, Gillespie Field Air Show and more.
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VISITING COUNTRIES
(61)
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American Samoa, Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Croatia,
Dominican Republic, Egypt, England,
Finland, France, Germany, Ghana,
Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary,
India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jamaica,
Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lithuania,
Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, The Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan,
The Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia,
South Africa, South Korea, Spain,
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
we posted 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 61 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, 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 three
school-years alone, East County Sports.com
has now registered more than 5.0 million
hits in our last four full seasons of service.
These statistics are verified by www.FastClick.com
and www.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 cliental
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 61 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.
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: info@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
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New Weekly SD County poll
released |
| Thurs/Fri |
Previews of this week's
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. So they
have to go to their computer, turn
it on,
get online and go to our website –
and they do!
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
there 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,
Rarely
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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 paper is 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 Sept. 8, 2009) |
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HOW WE ARRIVED
AT THESE RATES
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CORPORATE SPONSORS – Negotiable
(minimum $1,000/month for 12 months),
receive banner ad near top of the
Front Page (800 pixels wide x 100
pixels tall).
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!):
FRONT PAGE – $ 2,200/year (12
consecutive calendar months).
INSIDE PAGE – $ 800/school
year for all major sports (ads gets
rotated from football in fall, to
basketball-soccer in winter, to baseball-softball
in spring).
INSIDE PAGE – $ 300/Single-sport
page, or community colleges, or speciaity
page, like "Clips & Quips"
or "4-Year Standouts."
OTHER: Contact a sales rep
for Sponsorship Opportunities, including
Player of the Week awards, 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 HALF THIS RATE!
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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 HALF THIS RATE!
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Remember –
We are a local company dealing
with local businesses,
so we work with you.
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| YOU
WANT: |
OUR
RESPONSE: |
| Monthly payments to assist
with cash flow |
YES |
| Your ad linked to your
website |
YES, for FREE |
| To avoid complicated contracts,
lawyers, and legalize |
YES |
| Assistance for simple
layout and design of your ad |
YES, for FREE |
SIGN
UP TODAY! Please join us and support our
local student-athletes. Thank you!
(Cut and Paste into
your email browser)
| Your
Company |
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| Contact
Person |
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| Address |
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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 thru Aug.
10, 2009. |
| 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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