Adding Value, Adding Readers

Core newspaper circulations are under unprecedented pressure. This is an unavoidable fact and one that we all have to face, but it is not a situation that is terminal. The challenge facing newspaper publishers now is how to turn around the decline and develop methods to attract new customers and increase the frequency of purchase of existing readers.

All of the above may seem self-evident, but the methods used by publishers to face this challenge constantly require re-invention. Tried and tested marketing techniques have gradually become less effective and this, allied to demographic and social upheavals, has forced newspapers to re-think their strategies and redefine their target markets.

Three and a half years ago, the Independent took the decision to adopt a compact format for its weekday editions, a format change that proved so successful that it prompted similar radicalisation within the quality market in the UK and for countless other titles worldwide. Sustained circulation growth on unparalleled levels was achieved, natural declines were arrested and a new readership sector was introduced to the market. However, this is not an innovation that can be constantly repeated and it is vital that a newspaper like the Independent is able to use other mechanics to enable it to maintain its unique position as a brand leader.

Strategy Review

It was with this in mind that, at the beginning of 2005, the Independent started to re-examine its marketing strategy with a view to building on the strengths and core values of the newspaper and introducing new and relatively untested ideas into the market. The strategy was based on the premise that its existing and potential readership would require more than the traditional weekend fare on offer elsewhere in the market. They see the newspaper as challenging, educational and invigorating and they expect any ‘added-value’ aspects of the title to reflect this.

The first signs of this fresh approach to attracting new readers into the market began to manifest itself with a strategic change to the use of DVDs as a marketing tool. Research confirmed that the target demographic had an avid interest in film and in particular world cinema. To this effect, a series of classic foreign language films were used to promote the weekend editions ranging from Lasse Hallstrom’s ‘My Life as a Dog’ to Claude Chabrol’s 1991 version of ‘Madame Bovary’. Other titles in the sector have also dipped their toes into the vast reservoir of titles that fall within ‘world cinema’, but the Independent has had a sustained approach allowing readers to develop a library of titles whilst at the same time building brand loyalty.

New Year, New Opportunities

The directional change in strategy gathered pace in early 2006 with the ‘Learn French in 6 weeks’ course. Recognising that many people use the start of the year to set themselves new challenges and recognising that readers within the quality market are constantly striving for self-improvement, the opportunity to learn a new language had the potential to provide a strong promotional offering for the newspaper. By providing a CD with Saturday’s issue and an accompanying book with Sunday, the reader was tied into the promotion over two days, removing the single issue sales ‘spike’ common to many promotions.

Results exceeded expectations with sales over the weekend growing by over 52%. The promotion was repeated a month later using Spanish as the language on offer with an even more spectacular increase of 92% compared to base issues. Over the next few months, Italian and German courses were provided with the newspaper using the same template and achieving similar sales uplifts. The response from the rest of the market was unprecedented, as other titles from all sectors of the market took note of the circulation increases that the Independent was demonstrating. Within months, various versions of the promotion had appeared in the market as the industry capitalised on the latest marketing phenomena.

Wallcharts

As these promotions ran their course, the Independent began to plan for another campaign to quench the thirst of existing and potential readers for knowledge and self-education. A series of single issue map-based wallcharts, including topics such as climate change and political movements in Europe, were provided with the Independent in late 2005 and early 2006 leading to significant sales increases. These sales uplifts provided confidence for the commissioning of several further wallchart series covering such diverse topics as birdlife, the human body and culminating in a 26 part Great & Modern Artists series featuring replications of world-famous paintings and biographies of their artists. In a further innovation, posters of the night sky featured ‘glow-in-the-dark’ representations of star systems.

Again, the market responded to the circulation success achieved by the Independent with the quality, mid and red-top sectors all deluging readers with charts, again with wide-ranging content.

Further innovative promotions continued into the final quarter of 2006. A genealogy programme, consisting of a book and CD-rom, ran in September as interest in the research of family trees reached a peak with a TV series on the subject; another version of the promotion appeared elsewhere in the quality market later in the year. A series of prints celebrating modern newspaper photography and books highlighting 20 years of ground-breaking journalism in the Independent were produced to celebrate the anniversary of the launch of the newspaper. In each instance, sales results vindicated the decision to target promotional activity in a more radical direction.

Self-Improvement Theme

And so the innovation continued into 2007. Building on the success of the language promotions as a means of stimulating the requirement for self-improvement that comes with the start of a new year, 2007 started with a ‘Train Your Brain’ promotion. The success of running this type of marketing activity as weekend rather than Saturday or Sunday promotions was developed as a CD-rom, a book and a series of interactive worksheets all providing opportunities for readers to tone-up their mental fitness, were produced to extend the activity over seven days. The circulation benefit of seven days of sustained promotional activity was also crucial in the post-Christmas period when readers traditionally reinforce or make changes to their habits.

Having established the value of a seven day promotional mechanic as a means of generating brand loyalty, this concept was revisited several times in the early part of the year. Following the success of the birdlife wallchart in 2006, a set of birdsong CDs were commissioned, supported by a series of postcards highlighting different species of bird. A digital photography magazine and CD-rom were backed up by a five day series of worksheets, and a promotion offering readers the chance to ‘Improve Your English’ with books on grammar and punctuation and one on spelling was extended to include a set of glossy guides containing essays and further tips on improving writing skills.

Retail Promotions

The Independent has also led the way in terms of using retail multiple groups to drive significant sales increases. In particular, a strong trading relationship with WHS Travel has allowed some inventive promotional strategies that have been replicated by several other titles. A highly successful promotion, which allowed customers to save money on magazine purchases was followed by two others, offering free water to anyone buying the Independent. The water offers were timed to coincide with the summer period and January (when water sales traditionally increase as part of the new year ‘detox’). Once again other titles, recognising the value of this type of promotion, have copied this strategy.

Over the past few years, the Independent has been able to produce a separate edition for student areas, in effect a ‘multi-variant’ with a different skyline to the main edition and exclusive competitions; at present the Independent is the only title offering this. This template has been used to further develop relationships with multiples by providing special editions for the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury and Waitrose with the company logo highlighted in the skyline in addition to an exclusive promotion.

The lesson in all of this for all newspapers is that more creative thinking is required in order to stimulate a market that, without inspiration, is in danger of falling into a state of complacency. More than ever before, prospective new readers are presented with numerous pressures on their time and if newspapers are to continue to attract and maintain this precious commodity, they need to continue to innovate and inspire. To paraphrase our last Prime Minister, the three main requirements of promotional strategies going forward are "Imagination, imagination, imagination."

If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Independent has had a highly successful couple of years. But newspaper marketers are only ever as successful as their last promotion and however many sales they may deliver they constantly need to be looking forward. Our newspaper will continue to develop promotions that are innovative and original and will continue to stimulate our readers, and hopefully some of our competitors.