I have been sent this photo by a colleague currently traveling in Spain – it shows how one news vendor displays partworks. Beyond using the footpath to display the product, look at the range of titles. I can count at least thirteen different partwork titles running.
Here is a copy of the print ad we have created for Lovatts to use in their publications in support of the newsagent TV commercial. Lovatts, like the folks at the Herald Sun, came to us to see how they could get behind this marketing initiative for newsagents.
We would be glad to work with other publishers who want to support this initiative.
Our net sales for the Wellbeing Astrology annual magazine for the last three years have been 2, 3 and 2. This year, thanks to the distributor (Network Services) and or the publisher, we have been sent 8. With a four month on-sale, we are protecting our cash flow are early returning three of these. While we could have returned more, we chose to return only three to ward off any argument about promotions they plan.
What if newsagents introduce a cardboard recycle box for customers who return old magazines when they come in to purchase new issues? This would present a good community message and build habit – getting customers to return to us. Of course, there would have to be some rules around what we do with these but they can be easily sorted out.
This ink dispensing unit branded Affordable Ink has been installed at Forest Hill Chase. A check this morning of their prices shows that their branded ink is not so affordable. The same products at our newsagency in the centre retail for between 10% and 20% less. What frustrates me is that the landlord lets another competitor in with dubious offer and based on a low real-estate and labour cost model. This is disrespectful to existing tenants. I wonder what their marketing, cleaning and other contributions are. I am all for competition – Dick Smith is about to open opposite us – but in fair terms and based on an honest offer.
I would be interested if others have seen these units.
Our calendar sales in September were up 72% at Forest Hill and 37% at Frankston.
At Forest Hill the increase is driven by having a solid range on display early in the calendar season.
At Frankston it is thanks to a new point of difference – previously this store focused on magazine distributor calendars. We are focused on a more unique range of titles. We have given over a column at the front of the store to promote our calendar range as well as to feature a Calendar of the Week.
At each store we are not discounting and do not plan to discount until after Christmas. We leasrnt our lesson three years ago after playing the discounting game for two years and losing. Now, we focus on range and service – two areas in which the discount calendar outlets.
Too often, newsagents think that discounting is the way to win a sale or grow a business is to discount. Discounting is admitting defeat if you have gone to it ahead of other smarter options such as a point of difference in range and or service. While there is a time for discounting with calendars, as I have learnt from my own mistakes it is not now – not even with others discounting nearby. If you have the right range you don not need to discount.
I’d note that the calendar strategy we follow is that developed by newsXpress more than five years ago, long before I joined the group. Indeed, this is one reason I was attracted to newsXpress – to replace magazine distributor calendars with better margin more unique product.
The Monthly continues to deliver excellent covers which cut through the visual noise in a newsagency. We are featuring the latest issue as our magazine of the week. While other retailers are paid a fee by publishers to feature titles, we do it because we believe in a title – a recommendation our customers can trust.
The book business as we know it will not be living happily ever after. With sales stagnating, CEO heads rolling, big-name authors playing musical chairs, and Amazon looming as the new boogeyman, publishing might have to look for its future outside the corporate world.
So opens a cover story in New York Magazine. Headlined The End, there is no doubt about the writer’s view of the book business. The article chronicles challenges faced bybook publishers. Many of these challenges face newsagents and this is what market the article compelling reading.
It’ll be rough going in the meantime; some publishers will transform, some will muddle through, some will die.
Like, I suspect, every newsagent in Australia, we have been overloaded with Bargain Shopper. Based on last year’s sales we are headed to a 50% return rate. Maybe the new look will do the trick. We are doing our bit by creating a display next to our main newspaper stand. It connects well with the economic news of the day since the publication is all about helping people save money.
On the broader issue of gross oversupply as appears to have happened with Bargain Shopper, magazine publishers and distributors now more than ever need to take care. Newsagents do not have the capacity in today’s marketplace to be the bankers for publishers and distributors.
With a 2009 calendar and tea towel as gifts with the latest issue of Donna Hay, it is logical to promote this at the counter. I will be interested to see how it performs as Donna Hay sells steadily through the month – we will only have this display up for five to seven days.
Compendium is supplier I’d recommend to newsagents looking to get into the gift or social stationery category. Their books, cards, booklets and other items are an excellent add-on to a greeting card purchase. We sell them in two of my newsagencies and they work very well. We actually started dealing with Compendium through our Sophie Randall gift shops. The Compendium range works for Sophie customers too.
I like that the Compendium products are well merchandised – this makes it easy to move around the store. Their various products are space efficient too. This enables us to fit them almost anywhere. For example, we bring it to the counter for a week or two, then move to the card aisle and then in the gift area.
I like the way they feature key magazine categories in the large newsstand at Dubai airport. As well as offering a full range on their regular magazine racking – showing 30% of the cover vertically – they have top titles in top categories on display in the three units you can see in this photo:
What I like about these units is that they bring together several categories. For example, on the men’s magazines unit you have titles covering fashion, health, lads interests and cars. Newsagencies only co-locate the major weeklies if they co-locate at all. I like this unit from Dubai and want to see if I can get something with a slightly smaller footprint working to promote by key customer.
Xerox has demonstrated its erasable paper this week at Wired magazine’s NextFest Innovation show. Print Week has the story. See the Xerox release here.
This is very interesting technology for newsagents both from a stationery products perspective and a print media perspective.
Given consumer decisions which are driven by environmental factors, I’d expect the technology behind this paper to have a role in the future of some print media products.
The worldwide financial crisis which reached a new peak yesterday is an opportunity for newsagents to restate our position as the best source of print news in
These ideas are interested to be starters, think about ways you can leverage the interest among your customers in this story and how you can respectfully work that to your advantage.
Every day thousands of newsagents open bundles of newspapers and stack them for customers to purchase. That is usually as far as we engage with the product. This blog post seeks to get us to do more than that. We owe it to the shingle newsagent to do more.
Here is a copy of the ad we are about to run in Queensland Newsagent magazine to promote our newsagent TV commercial.
This ad serves two purposes – it promotes the ad initiative to newsagents and it supports the Queensland Newsagent magazine.
Magazine Week started yesterday in the UK. While I would like to see more coverage of newsagent engagement with the campaign a their website, it is good to see a week-long promotion aimed at increasing consumer engagement with magazines. The Great Cover Debate, for example, is a good idea to drive engagement. One newsagent, Steven Denham, launched a Magazine Club Card campaign to coincide with the start of Magazine Week. He has recorded success already at his Village Counter Talk blog.
I would love to see us run a Magazine Week campaign here – but have it owned and run by newsagents as we are the true magazine specialists in Australia.
The folks behind the Aussie phonecard have created a short training video for staff on how to sell phonecards. Access to the video is free at the Aussie website. This is a good training video for any staff member who sells phonecards.
UK retailer Sainsbury’s has launched a website, Ways to Save, which lists ways consumers can save, as their response to the credit crunch.
This free mini magazine has been on display at Coles supermarket checkouts for the last few weeks – promoting their produce by focusing on the outcome. It includes a green pitch and other spring related products. The majors do this well. Even though we have 4,600 locations, newsagents do this poorly. Years ago the ANF published a free magazine – Nmag. Nmag ceased because of lack of newsagent support.
For those looking for the newsagent TV commercial, click on the image below:
The production and airing is being funded by Tower Systems as a contribution to all newsagents. I deeply appreciate a financial donation from one newsagent towards this as well as print space from the Herald Sun and Lovatts for the print version.The commercial aired 93 times in a pre-run this past weekend. The main campaign with over 300 airings will commence two weeks from this weekend.
In response to the emails I have received in the last two days about the newsagent TV commercial and print ad which we have created at Tower Systems, I have some additional information to share:
The TV ad has been airing this weekend. The main airing will commence October 12.
We are also sending the TVC and print ad artwork to newsagent suppliers. Hopefully more will join the Herald Sun and Lovatts in supporting this initiative.
Key goals of mine in creating this ad was to get newsagents excited about their businesses and to show the ANF the kind of activity they ought to engage in on behalf of newsagents.
Over the last three days I have received some excellent feedback from newsagents who are getting excited. How far this ad goes is up to newsagents.
Newsagents looking for good media news coverage should check out The Australian on Mondays. The Thursday media section is now published Monday. Today’s stories about men’s magazines at ACP and Fairfax job cuts will interest newsagents.
The front page of Gulf News in Dubai on Friday lead with a story about their plan to give two jute bags free to all subscribers in recognition of its 30 year anniversary. The Ministry for Water and Environment endorsed the campaign as did the Editor-in-Chief. The above the fold front page coverage for the carry-bag giveaway is a level of self promotion we thankfully don;t see too much of in Australian dailies.
This range of Nici pencil cases makes for a nice statement in-store, a welcome change from the traditional stationery offering. It shows that we are playing beyond the usual tartan pencil cases. They certainly appeal to a younger demographic – this is why we have them displayed at an aisle end. Smiggle has done a great job showing that stationery can be fun – especially to new consumers in the 8 to 15 age range. Newsagents need to play in the space and offer fun stationery too – before we lose the opportunity altogether. Australia Post has Smiggle in its corporate stores.