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Calendars help newsagents find new customers

Calendars have been strong in our channel for a long time. However, not enough newsagents leverage calendars as a new traffic opportunity.

By calendars, I mean the ones we choose for ourselves and from which we make 50% and more, not the magazine distributor calendars over which we have no control.

The opportunity starts with buying early in the year, usually no later than March. Selecting titles through which you can promote your business outside what people expect from you or promoting segments and categories around which you build a broader offer in the business.

Once the stock is in, I like to go through the range, selecting the titles I will promote and scheduling these into social media and elsewhere.

Sometime I’ll promote only the calendar, or several that are related, which other times I’ll promote a calendar with a range of related items that work well together.

In every instance I am looking for calendars titles that play outside what we are known for, titles that are more likely to bring a fringe-sweller in or, better still, someone who have never shopped with us before.

There is where choosing the calendar title is key as you want to tap into passion. People are happy to drive for passion, if they feel they will be satisfied.

We go out with calendars in September, with Father’s Day.  Through the season they have three or four locations in-store to tap into existing traffic. however, it is the out of store pitch that interests me to most as it is the opportunity for new traffic that I see as vital for our businesses, key for our engagement right now given the continuing decline in footfall for core categories in newsagencies.

Stocking a good range of calendars is not enough, not any more. You will only reach the potential if you actively promote outside the business, to people not in your community, to people who do not shop with you. This is absolutely critical.

Now, if you are thinking that calendars are redundant. I don’t think they are, especially not the ones that appeal to interests people hold dear to their heart. Sales tell us interest is strong.

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Calendars

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