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Adelaide Advertiser alienates SA newsagents

10339753_10206610007111836_5067282049814408090_nCheck out the ad in the Adelaide Advertiser promoting a Crows sticker. What the ad does not say is that it’s available in all newsagents. Promoting Newspower is disrespectful to other SA newsagents – branded and unbranded.

Newspower location numbers are down in SA so why News Corp. would hitch this promotion to only that brand does not make sense.

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  1. lyn

    The issue here is News Ltd expect Newsagents to support them with their promotions and they clearly do not support Newsagents in South Australia unless they are newspower, they are making it hard for Newsagents to support them if this is to continue!!

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  2. June

    To be fair the sticker does say “selected newsagents”.
    When we missed out on a promo a few years ago because we were not in Newspower I rang and asked to be included in the promo and they did so.
    I think you will find that if you ask you will get all their promos but we did have to ask (not too hard to do really).
    I don’t mind having a go if something is wrong but I don’t think the Advertiser were wrong here.
    In actual fact they are bending over to help retail newsagents (I am no longer in distribution so I don’t know about that any more)

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  3. lyn

    June it states “selected outlets” it does not mention newsagents!! take another look at the sticker!!!! They are wrong

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  4. Mark Fletcher

    What they have done is contrary to what News said it would do.

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  5. Peter

    Mark there are occasions where I believe a declaration of your business interests are pertinent.

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  6. Mark Fletcher

    Peter this post has nothing to do with my business interests. It’s written out of respect for all non Newspower newsagents in SA and plenty of Newspower members who would want to see News act fairly.

    That said, my interests are perpetually declared on the about page.

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  7. Ben

    If you did a survey of 100 SA ppl I reckon that less than 10 would know of the Newspower brand. Mark I agree with you re the post, however it’s a moot point as the Newspower brand holds no value.

    Peter if you surveyed 100 readers of this post 99 readers would be aware of Marks business interests, the other 1 would be visiting for the first time!

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  8. Mark Fletcher

    Ben I was tempted to make the same point about awareness of the Newspower brand.

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  9. MARK RICHARDSON

    Peter if you were in another group other than Newspower ie newsXpress or Nextra would you want to be involved in a campaign which is promoting Newspower ,I don’t think so.

    Ben I don’t think its a “moot ” point at all especially when customers phone or come in and ask if you are in Newspower because they are looking for The Advertiser promotion

    We are newsXpress and are very happy with the choice we made. We still get all The Advertiser promotions and give them our full support . But we do not want to be aligned with anything which promotes another marketing group

    I don’t think that’s an unreasonable position to take

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  10. Gary

    I don’t know about anyone else but I am a newsagent. My customers perceive me to be a newsagent. I, nor my customers, don’t give a crappa if the shingle over the front door says Newspower, NewsXpress or Nextra. I just happen to be aligned with the Newspower marketing group at the moment.
    My business succeeds because we strive for excellence. This would be so no matter what marketing group I belonged to.
    Mark is finishing a great series of editorials on what it means to be a newsagent. To squabble over what’s on a bumper sticker makes a mockery of this.

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  11. Chris

    Why does Newspower cop flack. I am in Newspower and yes sometimes they let us down as a marketing group but I see this as a victory against the other groups. If we were all in it together why are there more than 1 marketing group? Why were the other groups not included? If I was a member of another group I would be asking them why you were not included and make sure it does not happen again. Anytime something adds power to the name of my business I will not complain. If the shoe was on the other foot I would not be bitching about it online, I would be contacting my marketing group to get answers as to why we were not included.

    3 likes

  12. Mark Fletcher

    Chris only the people at Advertiser Newspapers can know why they did what they did. I’d note it is contrary to what I had been led to expect from News.

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  13. Peter B

    This is not really about Newspower at all. Newscorp keep choosing to put the Newspower label on their promotions then include other “selected outlets” in the promo.
    Is it a Newspower promotion or not! If it is just give it to Newspower outlets, no problem. If Newscorp put it in other outlets why cant they just say NEWSAGENTS.

    Why should a non Newspower outlet be included promoting a Newscorp promo with Newspower advertising in store. Do Newscorp advertise Fairfax newspapers!!

    On the other side of this we sell the bumper stickers for $6.99. We gained $2.50 by selling more papers, but now lose $300 of profit for the rest of the season.
    Newscorp helping themselves again, NOT Newsagents.

    2 likes

  14. Dean S

    I can not see how the promotion is “disrespectful to newsagents”. I don’t think News Corp knocked on Newspowers door and said do you want to do this. It seems to me Newspower has been proactive and has negotiated a deal/promo with a supplier, as all marketing groups do. The Newspower Brand is being promoted to hundreds of thousands of South Australians. No doubt more than 10 out of a 100 will know the band by the end of the promo.

    On your last point, Newspower numbers may be down in SA (and I don’t know if they are), but their current numbers are more than double that of Newxpress and Nextra put together. News Corp may have taken this in to account when hitching to one brand.

    I get a lot from this blog in relation to merchandising, improving my business, etc. However, what I see as pot shots at Newspower are disappointing.

    6 likes

  15. Mark Fletcher

    Dean I don’t think we should speculate on what Newspower may or may not have done. newsXpress did knock on News Corp’s door about this months ago and what is happening with this promotion is not what was expected.

    As to numbers, to the best of my knowledge, membership numbers nationally are: Newspower 640 members (down from 1,260 a few years ago), Nextra (under three brands) 360 and newsXpress 180.

    Group size is not the issue in my view. Suppliers tell me they want engagement. One well engaged store is more important than ten unengaged stores.

    The best way for News Corp. to drive engagement with any newsagent or group is to respect them.

    As to the comments about pot shots at Newspower. The facts are the facts.

    2 likes

  16. Darren

    Mark, some would say, it is a terrible Ad. CROWS?
    But, then, some would say, they are a terrible team.
    And, some would say, this is a terrible Blog Topic. Full of contradictions, and irrelevant.
    Most Newsagents would say that promotions like this – a voucher for a free sticker – create work, not income.
    In taking up this offer, did any punters walk past their regular Newsagent to find a Newspower Newsagent ? Did they spend or change their habits for life ?

    So, if the result of this Advertiser promotion is nil, or a little bit more work for no or little money for the Newspower Newsagents, and a little bit less work for no or little money for all the non-Newspower Newsagents – then who is it disrespectful to? and how is it alienating?

    1 likes

  17. Mark Fletcher

    Darren it’s in most newsagencies from what I am told so the work is spread regardless of the shingle you trade under. For News to gain the maximum benefit of the promotion they should reflect all the locations with the offer.

    1 likes

  18. Peter B

    I was told that one day this week the Advertiser printed the weather for the corresponding day last week. People leaving for work expecting a sunny 30 degrees got a windy cold 18 degrees.

    4 likes

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