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Star Tribune Prepares its Largest Edition of 2018 for Thanksgiving Day
MINNEAPOLIS – Nov. 19, 2018 – Driven by massive consumer interest and strong investments from local and national advertisers, Star Tribune Media Co., Minnesota’s largest media company, today announced it will publish its largest edition of 2018—and one of the largest in Star Tribune history—on Thanksgiving morning. The highly sought Nov. 22, 2018, newspaper, expected to span nearly 100 broadsheet pages, will feature display advertising and inserts from 120 retailers as stores and shoppers alike gear up for Black Friday and the official start of the holiday shopping season.
Minneapolis–St. Paul remains the No. 1 large market in the country for newspaper readership, and this Thanksgiving, an extra 74,000 Sunday Star Tribune subscribers have requested special home delivery of the Thursday newspaper. The company will also print and distribute an extra 80,000 copies in addition to its normal Thursday distribution for sale at retailers like Cub Foods, Kwik Trip, and Walgreen’s.
A beloved Thanksgiving tradition: Oh, You Turkey coloring contest
Another reason for the popularity of the Thanksgiving Day Star Tribune: the Variety section will feature the 40th annual “Oh, You Turkey” coloring contest—a tradition that generates thousands of entries to the Star Tribune, where judges sort and review every one. The winners will be published online and in the Saturday, Dec. 15, print edition of the Star Tribune.
Although contest entries are open to children 12 and under, the coloring tradition is often a highlight at family gatherings for people of all ages. A panel of outside judges usually helps Star Tribune staffers review the large volume of entries. Assisting this year are employees of Olive & Company, a Minneapolis-based design, branding and marketing-strategy agency.
A manufacturing and logistical achievement
Over the last several years, the Thanksgiving Day Star Tribune has averaged 4.5 pounds, larger by far than even a typical Sunday newspaper. That makes printing, assembling, bundling and delivery to homes and retail locations a particularly challenging proposition, even for a sophisticated operation that delivers hundreds of thousands of units across the state every day of the year.
“Coming on the heels of the election, Thanksgiving marks the second time in two weeks our team will have put forth a monumental effort to meet our print readers’ high expectations,” said Steve Yaeger, chief marketing officer. “On Nov. 7, our newsroom delivered 20 full pages of election coverage. This week, our advertising, production and distribution teams are working overtime to deliver the largest newspaper our readers will see this year, a paper stuffed with holiday shopping ideas and deals. In one sense it’s an extraordinary effort, but in another, it’s all in a day’s work. After all, this is what we do: deliver the best, most-trusted combination of news and advertising in the region—all day, every day.”
About Star Tribune Media Company
Star Tribune Media Company LLC is a locally owned, award-winning media company serving Minnesota and the upper Midwest. With the fifth-largest Sunday and seventh-largest daily circulation newspaper in the U.S., the most-visited local website, a range of home-delivered advertising solutions, a popular arts/entertainment publication and mobile app, and a growing portfolio of events, Star Tribune reaches more consumers than any other Minnesota media brand. For more information, visit www.startribunecompany.com
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Media contact:
Steve Yaeger
612-673-4256 (office)
651-357-3036 (mobile)
steve.yaeger@startribune.com
