I wish newspaper publishers in Australia supported the over the counter subscription system like the have in the UK. Read how these subscriptions operate with The Guardian:
How does Guardian and Observer Subscriber work?
The subscription scheme is based on a voucher system. We will send you personalised, dated vouchers for each day of your package. You simply detach the appropriately dated voucher and hand it to your retailer as payment for your copy of the Guardian or Observer. You will receive a new set of dated vouchers every three months. Your retailer will be fully reimbursed for the full price of your newspaper.Where are my Guardian and Observer vouchers accepted?
Most local newsagents, major supermarkets and petrol stations will accept your subscription vouchers as payment for your Guardian and Observer newspaper. If you have a problem using your voucher then please contact us on 0845 1204733 9am to 5pm seven days a week. Calls charged at local rateMy local newsagent already delivers my papers. Can I still subscribe and benefit from the saving?
Yes you can. If your local newsagent already delivers your papers to your home, simply hand your Guardian and Observer Subscriber vouchers for the relevant month to your retailer and these will be put towards your bill. Please note that you will need to arrange home delivery of your papers directly with your newsagent who may charge you for this service. Home delivery is not part of the Subscriber scheme.
While I am sure there would be some bumps with implementation, something along the lines of what The Guardian offers would drive sales more days of the week. I have pitched this several times over the last few years and failed. Maybe others here, if they like the idea, could pitch it to their publisher contacts.
Hi Mark
A few years ago Fairfax tried something along those lines. I recall it being name “subway vouchers”
“John Fairfax publications wishes to inform you of the following “We understand that home delivery isn’t for everyone. This is why, for some time now, we have had “Subway Vouchers” which are our, go anywhere subscription.
Customers can redeemed their Subway Vouchers for the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper Monday to Saturday at your Newsagency or any other outlet including sub -agencies throughout NSW and the ACT “
We would like to inform you what this means for you and your business.
Please ensure that your staff knows that they can accept these vouchers with confidence.
These vouchers are as good as cash to your business.”
What a wonderful idea!! Why has this not been considered before now?
The only concern I would have, at first glance, would be in newsagents getting correct, timely credits from the publishers for the vouchers (like tokens).
Hi Wendy
Only ever had a few when Fairfax did this offer. Was quite easy and simply to return along with weekly returns to get credited for them. Similar when they have those shop-a-dockets.
Coupons – paid for or not – have a negative stigma attached to them in Australia. I don’t see this beign any different for a setup such voucher based newspaper subscriptions.
Then there is the logistics for the customer. They have to remember their coupon every day. Like with the concept of ‘green’ bags, I can’t see people making the extra effort.
I love coupons.
Hi Mark
GUARDIAN VOUCHERS.
Hum, yes, well.
We take in a great many newspaper prepaid subscription vouchers, mainly for the Daily Telegraph. These schemes started in the early 1990’s first with the Telegraph as a response to News International’s 10p Times and then the Times joined in with their own subscription promotion.
These offers are great as they tend to lock customers into the seven day habit that newsagents need to maximise the category’s profitability.
The downside is the voucher handling and crediting process with accounts to be credited, delivery customers bringing in their vouchers late then some wanting to have them back while they are away.
The challenge for the supplying wholesalers has been speeded processing and crediting of the used vouchers. Smiths News, our supplying wholesaler now has a scheme that gives us our credit within a week of making a voucher return as long as they have them by Monday.
As for the Guardian we have had 2 or 3 of our current customers take up the offer so no extra sales for us, just the expectation that they will continue to take a paper each day.
And that must be good for us.
Mark,
I think you mean …
I <3 coupons
Mark seeing you “love” them, I’d like to know are you the person that accepts them, counts them, sends them away, phones up when they haven’t been credited, phones again because they still haven’t been credited at your stores????
I don’t mind them, but as Jarryd said there’s the stigma : tight-arseism.
Michael, no I am not that person. I have used them at our Sophie Randall business to launch new stores with excellent success: 20,000 our and 1,250 back. Indeed, we are doing this for another store next week.
I have just seen them work for ink at our Forest Hill store.
Yes people want the discount. That is what I wanted them to want.
The crucial thing is to make the management easier. If this is done then we can engage in what is, at the moment, a little used marketing strategy in Australia. Not so much this newspaper coupon but coupons specific to a retail business.
That’s great success. Even better your store is in control of managing it.
I didn’t think of issueing my own store coupon.
Handle the some of the newspaper coupons and tell me if your love fades!
Great results from the Sophie launch!
We do coupons through our supermarket marketing group every few weeks. The return ratio is about 1:1500. This has been our experience for every coupon promotion we have been involved in (with the exception of newspapers).
Maybe coupons are very demographic specific?