Quarterly Newsletter - Q4 2012

December 2012 

A Look Back at 2012

Remembering Some of the Most Memorable Lives Lost this Year 

 

As the year comes to a close, we're looking back at some of the most visited Guest Books of 2012. For each, we've selected a condolence message that represents the common themes among the thousands of messages we received.

   

"Grew up with your angelic voice. As a teenager, you always made me sing along, dance along, even feel the pain you were going through. God called you home for a reason, maybe just to sing with angels. Just know I cried when I heard of your passing. I wish I could hear your precious voice live just one more time. May God keep you in His loving arms and just rest my idol of joy. You blessed all who were able to hear your voice, a treasure that no one can ever take away..." (Condolence message for Whitney Houston, singer and actress who died on February 11, 2012 at age 48.)

  

 "I wanted to live in Mayberry. I wanted you to be my dad. You taught me more life lessons as 'Andy Taylor' than any other person I ever had contact with. You were on the top of my list of famous people to meet. When I needed a lawyer I looked for a Matlock. When I wanted to keep my childhood friends I thought of you and Don Knotts and how blessed you both were to share so many years and memories together. You were "America" to me showing the best of what the human race could be. Thank you for sharing your life, talent and love."  (Condolence message for Andy Griffith, star of the "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock," who died on July 3, 2012 at age 86.) 

    

 "Oh Dear Mr Dick Clark, how you will be missed. The drop of the ball to bring in the New Year will never be the same without seeing you their to count down. You made American Bandstand what it was. Go home now and ROCK AND ROLL in HEAVEN keep those people that have left us way too early young. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES." 

(Condolence message for Dick Clark, "World's Oldest Teenager" and host of "American Bandstand," died on April 18, 2012 at age 82.) 

 

 

"I grew up like millions of other girls with pictures of Davy covering my walls and listening to the Monkees! I had a huge crush on Davy and would have loved to have seen him in concert! I am now 54 and when I heard the news of his sudden death, my heart was broken! It didn't seem possible for him to be gone! My prayers go out to his family! He always brought a smile to my face and will be remembered forever not only by me, but all of the hearts he touched!" (Condolence message for Davy Jones, musician and singer with the Monkees, who died February 29, 2012 at age 66.)

 

 "Rest in Peace MCD. You will be terribly missed. Such a fine actor and human being. Deepest sympathies to his family, friends and all who loved him. I will always thank you for making The Green Mile one of my all time favorite movies. The world of Hollywood has lost another GREAT actor. God Bless you Mr. Duncan." (Condolence message for Michael Clarke Duncan, actor in "The Green Mile" and other movies, who died on September 3, 2012 at age 54.)   

  

 "My prayers and heart go out to all who lost their lives to this tragedy. My condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones or have loved ones who were injured and forever changed by this event. I pray for strength for the police, doctors, the community and all the emergency responders dealing with this tragedy." (Condolence message for the 12 victims of a shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012.) 

 

"To the families mourning these poor babies, I cannot fathom the anguish you are having to endure. For the families of the adults also senselessly lost in this tragedy...they did all they could to try saving these children. They died as a result of their efforts. You should be very proud of their fight..we all are. We are not walking in your shoes, but we are all grieving with you." (Condolence message for the 26 adults and children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.)

   

We pay tribute to these lives lost, as well as the millions of others who were memorialized in obituary Guest Books in 2012

Turn to Legacy.com for Content Support 
Online Resources During Times of Tragedy and Loss  

          

In the wake of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, we want to continue to communicate with our media partners about the resources Legacy.com has available. When stories of loss make national headlines, we work hard to provide content to our media partners.  This includes Memorial Sites with profiles and Guest Books for individual victims and a group Guest Book for all victims; obituaries and photos; and grief support resources like articles from our team of grief experts.   

  

We've received more than 25,000 condolence messages for the victims of Sandy Hook to date: during peak hours, that's almost one condolence message every four seconds. The group Guest Book alone has received more than 10,000 messages from all over the world. Our team has worked around the clock to keep these resources updated. You are welcome to link or use any of our content in your coverage. See the links below for examples of the resources available to you.  

 

Memorial Site 

Guest Book 

Grief Resources   

 

If you have any questions about our Sandy Hook resources or any in the future,  please contact us at:  [email protected]

Leading Obituary Industry in Social Media
Stay in Touch with our Latest Social Media Initiatives 
 

Social media is a critical part of Legacy.com's overall strategy.  We understand the importance of social media and are dedicated to continuing to bring the most advanced products to our media partners.  Legacy.com's Facebook application, My Memorials, is the most widely used social network application for remembering the loss of a loved one.   My Memorials was created to ensure that people can follow the most up-to-date information on the loss of their loved one and share that information with friends and family.  My Memorials has proven to be an important way to drive traffic and boost engagement to our media partners' website.  To date, My Memorials has provided our media partners with more than 25 million Facebook referrals.

 

Today, My Memorials users on desktop or mobile can:

  • Follow an obituary and Guest Book
  • Receive notifications
  • View memorials followed by friends
  • View most shared obits
  • View recent updates feed
  • Create custom memorials

The Legacy.com team is committed to continuing to provide the best social media products for sharing memories of loved ones.  Slated for early 2013 are feature enhancements to My Memorials including the ability to search, set reminders and be alerted on important dates connected to a loss - providing more opportunities to return to the newspaper obituary and guest book. 

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IN THIS ISSUE
A Look Back at 2012
Online Resources
Social Media
Coming Soon
Eppy Award
New Gadzoo Tool
Quick Links

 

 COMING SOON  

             

Defining the Next Generation of Online Obituaries   

 

Twelve months ago, Legacy.com challenged its team to reimagine its product offerings.  We asked ourselves: "How can we best  position our  media partners for the future?  How could we innovate the category and continue to make it engaging and relevant?"  Our goal, is to help our media partners elevate their game in the obituary category.

 

Coming in 2013, we introduce  a dynamic new online obituary product designed to: 

  • Honor the Deceased
  • Strengthen Funeral Home Relationships
  • Connect and Engage Consumers
  • Create New Strategic Value

 Legacy.com is currently putting the finishing touches on this new, progressive product.  We look forward to making it available to you in early 2013. 

 

For more information, contact your Affiliate Manager or [email protected] . 

  

 

Legacy.com Wins
EPPY Award
  

Legacy.com is pleased to announce we've been honored with an EPPY Award, naming us 2012's Best Classified Website.

  

What is an EPPY?  The EPPY Awards are presented by

Editor & Publisher  magazine, the longstanding authority on the newspaper industry. Annually for the past 17 years, they've awarded EPPYs to media websites in 31 diverse categories.

 

2012 isn't the first year Legacy.com has won; we were honored with the same award two years ago. And for the third year in a row, Legacy.com has received an honorable mention in the Best Community Service category for our grief support network, LegacyConnect

 

 

   INCREASE REVENUE     

        

Local Spotlight 

    Obituary     

 

Introducing a new product that delivers significant value for funeral homes and $100,000+ incremental revenue for the newspaper - in addition to giving families a special way to remember a loved one. The Local Spotlight for Funeral Homes program offers funeral homes a unique opportunity to feature their newspaper obituaries prominently in the Local Spotlight on the obituary home page.   

   

 Through the Local Spotlight for Funeral Homes, funeral homes receive several benefits they've asked for over the years: no display ads on the obit, significant funeral home branding, revenue from flower sales, and traffic to the funeral home website.  Families receive an obituary with editorial-style features including prominent display on the home page of the newspaper's online obituary section.  Plus,  our newspaper partners receive a significant new revenue stream.

 

For more information including collateral  

CLICK HERE

 

 To get started, contact your Affiliate Manager or [email protected].


INTRODUCING

 NEW Gadzoo Admin Tool 

  

We're rolling out a new Gadzoo administrative tool.  With this new add/edit tool, affiliates can add Gadzoo advertisements and edit existing advertisements, including editing photos and regenerating an enhancement email for the customer.

 

This tool is now available to all affiliates.  For login, passwords, and instructions, please contact [email protected]

 

  QUICK LINKS    

  

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