A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Month: February 2012

Why it’s important for newsagents to get on Twitter

Further to my post last week calling for newsagents to join the Twitter Army, I have been asked why this is important.  Here’s my explanation…

Twitter is like a street corner from decades ago where someone on a soapbox could speak about anything and get some sort of audience. It is a place for you to have your say.  It is also a place where you can get a message directly to someone. Along the way, anyone on Twitter can see what you say. You can also respond to the tweets of others – I’ve responded a few times to @RupertMurdoch.

You can see my tweets here.

I think that Twitter offers Australian newsagents an excellent opportunity to get attention on issues important to us as a channel. Hence my call for newsagents to sign up to Twitter and to email me at mark@towersystems.com.au their details.

I plan to occasionally email all newsagents with a Twitter account with a suggestion to tweet on a topic using a common hashtag. A hashtag is a way of connecting tweets from multiple people. Whether people actually tweet is up to them.

Each tweet is seen by those who follow you. It also comes up when people search tweets of just read recent tweets.

Your followers will be people who are interested in what you have to say. Most of your followers will be people you have never met. If they like a tweet they may re-tweet this to their followers. See the snowball effect.

Think about the Bill Shorten whack against newsagents a couple of weeks ago.  A hundred or more newsagents tweeting about this could have got us on the top tweets at the time and this could have got the story on the radar of reporters and they could have confronted Shorten.

By organising ourselves in this way we create a digital megaphone for newsagents.

I think that newsagency businesses are relevant to Australia not only for the local and community service we provide but also for the our role in the Australian narrative. Our businesses are quintessentially Australian. We need to reflect this by talking more about ourselves and what we think as a channel.

If we have a strong enough collecting voice on Twitter we could possibly influence on issues on which we might otherwise not be heard.

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Newsagency management

Why I think the Herald Sun paywall will fail

I currently go to the Herald Sun website once a day, sometimes more, to check their take on news stories.  I am far less likely to go to the Herald Sun website once they erect their paywall next month. Why? because I don’t view the Herald Sun as a go-to news source. Plenty of the content reflects opinion and I don’t want to pay for opinion, not when the slant is so predictable.

There are plenty of free news sources covering Australian and international news. I don’t see the value in paying to access content when less slanted versions of the same stories are available elsewhere and for free. I’ll pass my time elsewhere.

The problem with the paywall model is that it’s an all or nothing model. You have to pay for access beyond the wall. The thing is, occasionally I might want to get to the other side of the paywall for a story which interests me and which I trust. Publishers should let me access this story without having to sign up for the rest of their bundle and for a time based commitment which does not suit my needs.

Let me pay a few cents to access a single story. Gee, I bet newspaper publishers could make more money from this approach than their current old and out of date subscription model.

Publishers need  to think of their single copy over the counter customer. This customer is vital and valuable in the print world. The current newspaper paywall models ignore this customer. This doesn’t make sense given their tremendous value to publishers over the years.

So there are two challenges for the Herald Sun – that it more an opinion publication than a newspaper and that the paywall is based on an out of date subscription model.  Maybe I will be wrong but I don’t see the paywall providing the level of revenue they will need as people migrate from ink to pixels.

In terms of news access, the vote on the Labor leadership is a good example. Journalists on Twitter provided me not only with up to the minute news coverage, they also provided links to free stories offering analysis.  I do not need to pay to see what Andrew Bolt or other Herald Sun columnists think – they are so predictable. I might read a Bolt column when I have the paper in my hand but it’s not a reason to pay to get to the other side of the paywall.

The Herald Sun invests considerable ink in telling people what to think.

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Media disruption

Promoting Coach magazine

We are promoting the latest issue of Coach magazine on the aisle end as shown in the photo as well in the middle, in prime position, with men’s health and fitness titles. Coach is an excellent new title in this segment.  It taps into the interest in personal training and fitness. Since I have newsagencies near gymnasiums it is especially working well for us.

Coach is a title newsagents need to train shoppers about. Many shoppers who may be interested in the title will not know it exists. Last year we promoted it with newspapers and achieved good sales from that impulse purchase location.  We have also had success at the sales counter.  Later this year it is a title we will have in our Father’s Day promotion.

I’d like to see publishers work harder at finding a way to cut through the daily noise newsagents receive to educate the channel on how to drive greater success from titles like Coach. That’s a big ask I know – we receive notices, faxes, emails and the like every day telling us why to promote this title or that. There has to be a way for the good information about good titles to get through.

I’d urge newsagents to check out where they have Coach. Be sure to give it some time in the spotlight.

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magazines

Expanding the watch magazine range

We have now started stocking Watchtime magazine as part of our expansion of our range of watch related titles.

As I have mentioned previously, the interest in watches in very strong and growing so it makes sense to me that watch magazine interest should be growing too. Indeed, we are looking at selling watches in store as part of our gift department.

We are still working out where to place the watch titles. At the moment we’re going with men’s magazines but that will probably change as we try new locations.

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magazines

Promoting the Australia vs US issue of Unique Cars

We are promoting the latest issue of Unique Cars by tapping into the Australia versus US theme. The flag based display at the counter is bold and easily noticed by shoppers as they approach.  It is an excellent second-bite opportunity to drive sales. The first-bite is in the cars magazine section where we have the title front and centre.

I love the way the creative team is using initiative for the counter display, going beyond the traditional magazine promotion display.

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magazines

What’s going on at Gordon and Gotch?

As I noted recently, PMP, the parent of magazine distributor Gordon and Gotch is doing it tough, having just announced a profit downgrade.

We know that Gotch has embarked on another round of trimming staff.

Add to this an apparent retreat from engagement with newsagents. Two years ago the company had an excellent reputation of working with newsagents in pursuit of fairer supply. Last year while some in the company maintained a façade of engagement, actions did not match the words. This year, from what I can see, even the words are in retreat.

While Network Services is investing in systems to improve service, Gotch is still using old systems which fail the company if you look at some recent events.  Network has a Sales Based Replenishment program in place, Gotch has nothing despite claiming that they would have SBR running by now.

One thing Gotch is good at is spin from the highest levels of the company. They spin to publishers and get them under a spell that comments I make here and complaints from other newsagents are wrong or a mis understanding. Hmm, no, no misunderstanding. Gotch is in trouble and this is affecting magazine sales.

From a newsagents perspective, we let Gotch get away with a sub standard service.  We complain but don’t act on the complaints. This just serves to weaken the company.

Something has to give. The current situation leaves magazine publishers and newsagents very poorly served.

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magazine distribution

Queensland Newspapers promotion frustrates some newsagents

A couple of newsagents have complained to me about the latest Queensland Newspapers promotion to lapsed home delivery customers. They are frustrated that they have not been offered the promotion to offer themselves across the counter.

I understand their frustration. Too often publishers build promotions which focus on them and the subscriber, ignoring the newsagent who is key to the transaction.

That said, this is a good offer. I like that they are rewarding shoppers with something to spend in a newsagency – a $25 voucher.

But back to the core point, I do wish that newsagents could promote this themselves across the counter.  The newsagents I have spoken with are certain they could drive terrific sales growth.

Slightly off topic, I’d also like to see publishers engage with newsagents in driving single copy retail sales. I think this is a massive missed opportunity.

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Newspapers

How newsagents should handle gross magazine oversupply

Following my post about Spearfishing Downunder, some newsagents contacted me to advise of gross oversupply. They were angry at the magazine. Something had gone wrong in the switch of the title from IPS to Gotch. Talking with the publisher and seeing their approach, it is clear to me than newsagents should go direct to the publisher in any situation of oversupply.

Gotch told one newsagent to top and trash the 28 excess copies of Spearfishing Downunder they received by mistake. Besides the waste of the small print run title, this is no way to mix an oversupply based on a genuine mistake. They should have picked up the extra stock. The publisher could sell it. Telling a newsagent to throw away 28 copies and claim a credit is, in my view, like theft against the publisher.

By telling the publisher about an oversupply situation, the newsagent could well be advising the publisher about a situation of which they were unaware. A good publisher will engage and get to the bottom of what happened. This could work for everyone. If we don’t go to the publisher then mistakes and poor behaviour may continue.

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magazine distribution

Promoting everyday food titles together

We make sure that we promote these everyday food titles together. They have common appeal, or at least I think they do, so it makes sense to us to put them together in this way.

It’s not brain surgery. Simple adjacency decisions like this can drive sales of magazines. Every extra sale we achieve from existing traffic is bonus margin dollars we get to bank.

In this type of display we try and give each title time at the front of the display where the full cover is featured. Yeah, extra work, but hey we’re magazine specialists.

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magazines

Clever Top Gear magazine display

I love the Top Gear magazine display created at one of my stores this week. The display wraps around a column which is always a challenge to embrace for the business.

What I love about the display is that it catches people as they walk near or past our business from both sides. You can’t miss it.  It represents the magazine in an exciting and unique way. This should reflect in sales growth for this issue … that is the goal of every retail display we create.

The other reason for boldly promoting this issue of Top Gear magazine is the return of the TV show. A TV show tie-in drives sales.

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magazines

Newsagency of the Future workshop series for newsagents

I have finalised plans for a Newsagency of the Future workshop series for the end of March. Anyone is welcome to attend, newsagents, newsagency employees, would be newsagents and newsagency suppliers.

Attendance is free. You can book by faxing in a booking form or registering through the online booking facility on the Tower Systems website.

At this workshop I will share the very latest retail trends based on what I saw at the National Retail Federation Retail conference in New York last month and will see at the Retail Week conference in London in under two weeks time.

I will also share my thoughts on the factors we need to consider in planning our future – migration to digital, online shopping, competition from supermarkets and others, the growing cost of labour and retail real-estate and changes in attention from core newsagency suppliers.

I will look at what is happening in the newsagency channel, the consolidation in some areas and decisions we face – not just around circulation and print products but in other areas such as stationery, lotteries and agency product.

There will also be some time devoted to recent events such as newspaper contracts, decisions by publishers on newspaper distribution, magazine distribution challenges and how we as a channel need to respond to these.

The last time I ran such a workshop was mid 2010.  So much has changed since then. Many new challenges have emerged and many new opportunities are before us.

If you want practical ideas you can implement today in pursuit of growth then you should find this session of value. If you want insights into and even guidance on the longer term challenges and opportunities then I you too will find the session valuable.

I don’t profess to have the answers. That said, I certainly see plenty of options for us.  My sense is that newsagents want to discover and understand their options.

I hope to see you at one of the sessions.

If you can’t make one of the capital city events I do plan to consider regional events if the interest is there in this series first.  I’ll keep you posted.

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Newsagency management

Promoting the new ACP pizza title

We are promoting the new ACP cookbook, Pizza Pizzazz, with this display at the main sales counter.  This high-profile display is in addition to a half waterfall display in with our main display of ACP cookbooks.  I have faith in this title. I think it should sell well on impulse … hence the promotion at the sales counter. We plan to leave this display up for two weeks.

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magazines

Promoting kitchen and bathroom magazines

We have lifted this three-pocket display of kitchen and bathroom magazines to easy to see, browse and shop eye level in our home and living magazine section.

I have no doubt we will see a sales increase as a result. Indeed, I expect people will purchase two titles given the placement – i.e. they don’t have to hunt for them.

Regulars here would know that we often feature kitchen and bathroom titles in good locations and report a sales lift as a result. I mention it today as we have just received these three titles in and they go well together.

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Uncategorized

Selling out of Frankie magazine

We sold our entire initial allocation of the latest issue of Frankie magazine in just over a week.  We got more store and expect to sell that within another week so we have a third order on the way.  This title is hot and we are masking sure that we get enough sock so we can reach our full potential.

Frankie was a major success story in the last audit. Sales growth we have seen and continue to see proves this to us. Frankie attracts new shoppers and that’s a real success story not only for the magazine but for our newsagency as well.

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magazines

Sunday marketing tip: stop looking like a newsagency

Create a shopfront look for your newsagency that looks nothing like a newsagency and see if your business attracts new traffic and comments from your traditional shopper traffic.

Seriously. Make the front of your shop look nothing like a newsagency.

Such a radical change is about several things:

  • A fresh window through which people view your business.
  • A fresh look at the stock you sell as you chase non-newsagency lines with which to promote the business.
  • A fresh approach to the look you give your business to your public.
  • A shock to you and your team which will help you embrace and enjoy change.

Newsagencies are rooted in tradition and this can work against us in many retail situations. Yes, it is nice that we honour tradition y not changing but I think we lose more customers by not changing.

How many of you have magazine posters on the front window or in wire racks at the front of the shop?  When I stopped promoting magazines in the window sales were not affected at all. I realised, years ago that I now had space to sue for more creative and profitable use.

So, my challenge to you is to go for a week or a month or more presenting the front of your business looking nothing like a newsagency. If you are not sure where to start, ask the youngest member of your team to undertake the project. Given them some time and a budget to find product with which to promote the business.

If we are to be relevant to today’s shopper we have to continue to evolve our look and appeal. This idea is about experimenting with that and breaking free from what is possibly an inhibiting tradition.

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Newsagency management

Day one of Sydney gift fair

I was at the gift fair in Sydney yesterday. Well, one of three major venues of the fair. It was excellent seeing such diverse suppliers and even more excellent seeing plenty of newsagents there. I’d expect hundreds of newsagents to have passed through the various venues by the end of day four.

It’s exciting seeing newsagents spending time on stands selling homewares, food, gifts, jewellery and children’s toys. Walls are breaking down and that’s great!

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Gifts

Newsagents – your TO DO list

The more newsagents who engage the stronger our voice:

  1. Sign up for Twitter and join the newsagent Twitter army.  We need at least 100 newsagents on Twitter now!
  2. Share your thoughts on the News Limited home delivery mess.
  3. Comment on the Fairfax plans to cut back on print.
  4. Comment on Bill Shorten’s whack against newsagents.
  5. Get cracking with your magazine relay. This one is 100% for you. You’ll increase magazine sales for sure.

Now I’m off to Sydney for the gift fair.

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Newsagency management

Gift fair opportunity for newsagents

Gift Fair and the Home and Giving fairs are on in Sydney starting today. They are an excellent opportunity for newsagents to expand their range and be real retailers – choosing product for local requirements, negotiating prices and making for themselves their own retail success.

Each year I see more and more newsagents at these fairs but it is still not enough. Many newsagents still ignore the gift and homewares opportunity and fail to expand the horizon of their businesses in pursuit of growth.

If you have time over the next four days, get to the events in Sydney and see for yourself many product opportunities that are already working in newsagencies.

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Gifts

Finally the ABC AFL magazine

We finally received the new ABC AFL magazine and have this placed with our newspapers over the last couple of days and for this weekend.  The display is not brilliant … we didn’t want to detract from the success with Better Homes and Gardens and Time Out with newspapers so we’d placed it above the papers. We also have stock on our AFL season opener aisle end display as well as with o8r sports titles. We’re covering all bases as they say.

I am often asked why we co-locate titles like this rather than just put them out.  Putting magazines out sounds like a chore done by rote. We like to think about what we do with titles, with one goal in mind – maximising sales.

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magazines

Promoting Kitchen and Bathroom magazines

We like to maintain good positioning for key kitchen and bathroom magazines. They sell.  As the photo shows, we have the latest titles placed between popular monthlies.  I do this because it’s the monthlies people often look for and then notice the kitchen and bathroom  titles and purchase on impulse. Okay, some people come in looking for kitchen and bathroom titles but not as many as, say, Better Homes and Gardens which is on the left.  We are always looking for ways go getting shoppers to purchase more than one magazine in a sale. Adjacencies area key to this.

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magazines

Promoting Virgin Mobile Broadband

We have been promoting the Virgin Mobile Broadband product in my newsagencies as part of an overall growth push for more recharge business – there is a direct correlation between recharge growth and handset sales.

We were lucky to get access to a scooter for the promotional display.  The scooter is a prize in the promotion running at the moment.  It makes for a bold in-store display, not something shoppers are used to seeing in a newsagency.

As I have noted previously, we chase opportunities presented by promotions and competitions – to reinforce the locky shopper idea and add value to the experience of shopping with us.

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newsagency marketing

Come and join the newsagent Twitter army

I am building a register of newsagents on Twitter. If you are on Twitter, please email me at mark@towersystems.com.au so I can add your email address. This will enable us to communicate about how we might use Twitter to get our message out.  Twitter is free. It is an easy way to voice your opinions. You can tag those you write about – bringing to their attention your opinion. I urge newsagents to join Twitter and then email me. The more newsagents who are part of the Twitter army the better. If you need help to get on call me on 0418 321 338.

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Newsagency management