The 2026 America’s Newspapers MEGA‑Conference brought more than 700 media leaders to Austin for three days of strategy, innovation, and real‑world revenue transformation. As a Gold Sponsor, Second Street showed up with one clear message: engagement becomes revenue when publishers modernize the programs that matter most. 

From our Engagement Cafe booth to a packed breakout session on Best Of modernization, the week was filled with conversations about scaling revenue, simplifying operations, and unlocking new growth across local media groups. 

Table of Contents

1. Now live: Second Street Text‑to‑Vote 

2. The Engagement Café: Where Conversations Turned into Revenue Ideas

3. Session: Next‑Gen Best Of Ideas

4. Continue the Conversation

Now live: Second Street Text‑to‑Vote 

At Mega-Conference, we officially launched Text‑to‑Vote, a new mobile‑first way for publishers to increase audience participation and unlock new advertiser revenue. 
 
Text‑to‑Vote is built for high‑engagement moments like Best Of ballots, making it easier for audiences to vote via SMS while creating premium, sponsor‑ready moments for advertisers. It’s simple to deploy, easy to scale across markets, and designed to deliver immediate revenue impact. Visit our website to learn more.  

The Engagement Café: Where Conversations Turned into Revenue Ideas

Second Street’s booth, our “Engagement Café”, quickly became a hub for publishers, CROs, and digital leaders looking to strengthen their revenue strategies. 

What drew attendees in: 

• Hands‑on demos of modern promotional revenue tools 
• Coffee and conversation with our onsite experts 
• Real examples of how newspapers are transforming audience engagement into seven‑figure revenue engines 

Many visitors told us they came for the caffeine, but stayed for the clarity: practical, scalable ways to grow revenue without adding strain to already‑stretched teams. 

Second Street also put on a fun contest of our own during the conference. We utilized our convenient promotions feed feature to embed six different promotion types, allowing our visitors to test our multiple contests while also entering to win either a brand new iPad or a year supply of Desnudo coffee, a local Austin favorite. 

The winner of the iPad was Megan Smith, who has been with Prescott Newspapers for 14 years, and is currently the Advertising Director.

Jim Normandin, the Florida Regional President at Adams MultiMedia, took home the year supply of Desnudo coffee.

Session: Next‑Gen Best Of Ideas 

On Tuesday afternoon, our breakout session, Next‑Gen Best Of Ideas: Scalable Revenue Programs You Can Implement Now, delivered exactly what publishers came to Mega‑Conference for: proven, repeatable strategies that drive meaningful revenue. 

Moderated by Julie Foley, Senior Customer Success Manager at Second Street, the session featured two industry leaders who shared how modernization is reshaping their Best Of programs. 

Vince Johnson, Osteen Publishing Group 

Discussed how launching ecommerce‑style, self‑serve advertising created: 

• A new always‑on revenue stream 
• Easier participation for local businesses 
• A scalable model that works across multiple markets 

Riley Kneedler, Wick Communications 

Explained how adding text‑to‑vote functionality: 

• Increased audience participation
• Boosted advertiser interest 
• Generated six figures in incremental revenue 

The message was clear: if your Best Of program still looks like it did years ago, you’re leaving revenue on the table. Modernization doesn’t require a full overhaul—just the right levers, applied consistently. 

Attendees left with: 

• Frameworks for scaling Best Of across multiple properties 
• Monetization tactics that don’t burden sales teams 
• Real‑world results they can replicate immediately 

Continue the Conversation 

If you didn’t get a chance to connect with us in Austin, or want to continue the discussion, our team is here to help you turn engagement into revenue all year long. 

Connect with: 

• Julie Foley – Senior Customer Success Manager 
• Nick Certa – VP, Marketing & Sales 
• Tom McLaughlin – Account Executive 
• John Kavaney – Sales Executive