Format Change Yields Advertising, Loyalty Results
Paris, 22 February, 2006--Newspaper readers like smaller formats. And while the large circulation increases reported by downsized newspapers tend to disappear over time, those newspapers that utilize format change as part of a wider commercial strategy can see gains in reader loyalty and advertising yield.
³Format change was never going to be a panacea. but it is proving to be a worthwhile move, in terms of raising reader satisfaction and providing a foundation for other editorial and commercial developments,² said Jim Chisholm, Strategy Advisor to the World Association of Newspapers, speaking to an audience of senior American newspaper executives on Wednesday.
Among those newspapers that aggressively promote the change, circulation patterns are remarkably consistent. Shortly after the smaller editions are launched, circulations rise between 10 percent and 15 percent. But after a year, few titles are showing circulation gains. ³The end result is, at best, a one percent growth, or for many, stable sales. Many publishers, having been faced with declines, regard this as success enough for their efforts,² said Mr Chisholm.
Mr Chisholm, who directs the WAN Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project, has long cautioned that the rush to reduce the newspaper¹s size was unlikely to provide a dramatic turnaround in a newspaper¹s fortunes. The SFN project has been tracking format change; in the last two years, more than 80 major titles have undertaken a transformation either from broadsheet to tabloid or to the mid-sized Berliner format.
"What is encouraging is the bi-products of the activity,² said Mr Chisholm. For example, one newspaper in Sweden invited readers to use their mobile telephones to order free subscription trials of the new tabloid version: 40,000 people took up the offer and 10,000 subsequently subscribed.
Most significant is the number of publishers who have reported that the greatest value was the encouragement of innovation in the newsroom.
"As one publisher said: 'It's not enough to only change the format, readers expect the newspaper to be new, so the content needs to be refreshing as well,'" Mr Chisholm recounted. "Changing your format does not solve everything, you also have to take the editorial content into consideration to satisfy your readers and advertisers."
This view was also true in the advertising department, where training on price maintenance and demonstration of value, regardless of size, was seen as essential.
Many newspapers chose the format change as the time to move from column centimetre-based pricing to fixed-size, modular pricing. This has proved to be very successful, with publishers able to retain prices, while newsprint consumption has fallen.
Research shows that a tabloid page advertisement is equally as effective as a broadsheet page.
Speaking at the Newspaper Association of America conference in Orlando, Florida, Mr Chisholm concluded: ³On balance, smaller formats are a good idea. Readers undoubtedly prefer them, and any notion that size somehow is a badge of quality or status is demonstrably a myth. While few newspapers are showing material circulation benefits, the anticipated problems in advertising yields and prices have been overcome, and many newspapers are benefiting from improvements in content, and reduced costs.²
The Paris-based World Association of Newspapers, the global organisation for the newspaper industry represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 101 countries, 13 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.
WAN is a leading provider of industry research and analysis through its Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project, which identifies, analyses and publicises all important breakthroughs and opportunities that can benefit newspapers all over the world. SFN provides WAN members with Strategy Reports on these developments, a library of case studies and business ideas, and a wealth of other vital information for all those who need to follow press industry trends. More on the project can be found at http://www.futureofthenewspaper.com.
Mr Chisholm is scheduled to speak at the WAN World Newspaper Advertising Conference & Expo in Paris on Friday: full conference details at http://www.wan-press.org/paris2006
WAN conducts the SFN project with support from five international partners -- PubliGroupe, the Swiss-based international advertising and promotion group; MAN Roland, a leading company for newspaper production systems; UPM, one of the world's leading printing paper producers; Telenor, the leading Norwegian telecommunications, IT and media group; and Samsung Electronics, a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, and digital convergence technology.
For more information contact:
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr
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