Fairfax is issuing letters to newsagents who do not display their newspaper posters inside and outside their businesses.
This from a company with a track record of taking money from advertisers for then placement of stickers over headlines and photos on page one of the newspaper.
Fairfax takes the advertiser money for their financial benefit.
Newsagents stop displaying newspapers for their financial benefit – there is no evidence that displaying newspaper posters increases sales.
The action by Fairfax of their heavy-handed approach could encourage targeted newsagents to reconsider selling Fairfax products. Maybe this is what Fairfax wants.
The letter from Fairfax to newsagents not displaying posters includes a claim newsagents are paid to display them:
The sales and service fees paid to newsagents includes a component of 8% for fulfilling these poster display requirements.
This is ridiculous. The real margin Fairfax has been paying for the sale of its newspapers have been declining year on year. Sure, the cover price has been increasing. However, declining sales and the declining margin in real terms is seeing newsagents worse off in a situation where rent, labour and other costs increase year on year.
When I heard about the latest breach letter I thought it may be an April 1 prank. Alas, no. Fairfax is serious. They do want newsagents to display newspaper posters, even without evidence that doing so benefits the newsagent, even if it is not financially viable.
The letter from Fairfax includes this guide:
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, whether Fairfax takes further action. The way the breach letter has been handled suggests they will. There was no consultation from what I understand, just the letter.
The letter reminds me of the bad days a couple of decades ago when newsagents were treated like naught school kids when they did anything outside of what newspapers publishers demanded.
Publishers need to understand they have a product of declining interest from which newsagents make little return, certainly not enough return for the grief, space and labour involved.
Do we need newspaper traffic in our businesses to survive? I don’t think so, certainly not if yours is a transformed or transforming business with net new traffic drivers that are delivering.
Newspapers are nowhere near as important today as they were ten years ago. Yes, there is news in the shingle – but as I have shown recently there are smart ways to repurpose that word.
I get why a newspaper publisher would think the posters are important. However, their double standards by them obscuring the masthead of front page tells us some in their company think news is less important.
This campaign by Fairfax will most likely only target direct account newsagents. If that is the case it further highlights the challenge for the company.
Wayne Cousins and colleagues at Fairfax should look more carefully at their approach. Newsagencies are closing – in part due to declining print media traffic. You can’t fix that by being a tougher cop. Lead by example, clean up your product, make it more compelling. Create products and marketing collateral newsagents engage with because they want to rather than because you waved your stick.
