Tag Archives: ABC

ALL SHOOK UP

Comments 0
August 17, 2011

It’s now been almost six weeks since the dramatic implosion of the News of the World following the fallout of the phone hacking scandal. However it’s only now, with the release of July’s ABC figures, that the impact of the demise of Sunday’s largest selling newspaper can be properly gauged. With 2.7m potential readers up for grabs, the challengers have launched a frantic flurry of price cuts and promotions but who has succeeded in wooing the orphaned NotW readers?

Unsurprisingly, the lion’s share stuck to what they knew and switched to an alternative tabloid. The remaining Sunday red tops were rejuvenated with an average net circulation increase of 66% last month. The Daily Star on Sunday fared the best with an additional 400,000 additional copy sales in the three weeks following the NotW’s closure – a 130% period-on-period (PoP) increase; its highest circulation since 2002. (Elsewhere, however, it’s daily equivalent had the biggest year-on-year (YoY) decline in July, down 16%.) Other tabloid stablemates that profited from the market shake up were the Sunday Mirror and The People, up 64% and 70% PoP respectively.

While most didn’t stray too far from the tabloid sector, some more adventurous readers braved mid-market territory with the circulations of the Sunday Express up 14% and the Mail on Sunday up 15%. With a circulation now at 2,255,399, MoS is still Britain’s biggest selling Sunday title by a significant margin. This has no doubt been helped by the recent launch of the Mail Rewards Club, a weekend-centric loyalty scheme offering free vouchers and nice freebies, that the Mail has been promoting.

At the top end of the market, there were also strong performances for some of the quality Sundays – no doubt a combination of a few ex-NotW readers experimenting, coupled with a general spike in news interest to follow the hacking scandal itself.

Bucking the upward trend though was The Sunday Times, which limped out of the ABCs with a 1% decrease, the only Sunday title that failed to gain new readers during the period and the first it has dropped below 1m since 1962, as readers question whether they want to support any News International title at all. Conversely, the Sun readers remained loyal as it continued to be the biggest daily publication with a circulation of 2.8m.

All in all, with so many switching allegiances and trying new titles, there were some who clearly could not plug the gaping hole left by the NotW in their lives. The overall Sunday market is down 8.6% PoP. Is there a future home for them? Or have they simply turned their back on Sunday newspapers? And will those who have picked up a different paper stick around once the price reductions and freebies disappear? What’s Hot will keep you informed as and when this becomes clear.

Comment
Posted by the7stars

Stand by Me

Comments 0
July 25, 2011

 

This month has seen i, Lebedev’s succinct news digest, release its NRS (National Readership Data) for the first time. What has emerged about the quality daily paper is that it is performing well but, at the same time, not quite as anticipated…

The decision to launch a new publication into a weakening press market was a decidedly brave move. Paid-for daily press is in decline. However, Metro and Evening Standard have both seen year-on-year circulation increases (4% and 16% respectively). Evidently, there is still an appetite amongst the UK public for daily topical news content, the issue is that they are not willing to pay a high price for it. i has found the gap between the free and cheery and bulky broadsheets, targeting those who are open to paying a nominal fee (just 20p) for a concise quality newspaper to tide them over during their morning commute.

In terms of both circulation and readership, i is performing well. So well, in fact, that it’s on the verge of taking over sister title The Independent if the current month-on-month circulation increases continue (together they total more readers than The Guardian). The more interesting insight is who exactly is reading it. According to NRS data, i readers are predominantly male (55%) and about three quarters are ABC1. What has come as a surprise though is that the paper was predicted to target a younger demographic of professionals, but almost two thirds of readers are over 45. Conversely, the majority of The Indy’s readership (55%) falls below the age 45 bracket.

So what implications do these results have for clients? Currently, The Indy and i are being traded as a package, offering a wide audience and strong options for big ideas and creative solutions. As the most recent to market, i has to work harder for every advertising £. Publishing NRS data is the first step to becoming a fully recognised and reputable publication (something that other free titles have shied away from). One box ticked – what else needs to be done?

Firstly, distribution needs to be sorted. Given that Metro and ES are literally placed in the hands of readers, i would become instantly more appealing if it was more readily available to commuters. Increasing accessibility will also help tackle its major indirect competitor; commuters using smartphones as a daily morning news source. Finally, paying 20p every morning is a bit fumbly – essentially asking for payment in cash from the card generation. If payment was to become seamless (a weekly subscription card or mobile or oyster card payment maybe) then the younger demographic would be far more likely to snap it up.

i has done well so far but, all in all, it’s still just a baby in a very big and very competitive market. Ultimately it has a long way to go to become more than just a twinkle in the media eye.

Comment
Posted by the7stars