Since taking over The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News last year, Brian P. Tierney, a former ad man, has incresed the advertising budget at the papers to $14 million from $300,000. With money and Tierney’s encouragement come ideas.
One idea the paper had was to place a large inflatable honeybee and two large banners to promote the Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger film “Bee Movie,” scheduled for release Nov. 2, on the side of the newspaper group’s landmark building. But the neighbors cried foul.
“You don’t give variances because something’s cute,” said Mary Tracy, executive director of the Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight, or Scrub. “It’s really a beautiful building and a historical landmark.”
Oddly enough, it was largely just the neighbors who were complaining, not the journalists. “The journalists have deferred to me on marketing and growth,” Mr. Tierney said. “I defer to them on the journalism.”
[via The New York Times]
