The Herald Sun is giving away a crossword puzzle book with the newspaper today and sudoku puzzle book tomorrow. The books have been compiled by Lovatts. In each there is a full page ad promoting Lovatts products as being AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL NEWSAGENT.
No one ask Lovatts to do this. They used the page to promote us being they are committed to the newsagency channel.
We are taking the opportunity to promote Lovatts titles near newspapers to reinforce the brand behind the promotional product. This is in addition to the column of crossword titles (mainly Lovatts) we have next to the Australian Women’s Weekly – this location is out-performing the regular crossword section in terms of sales of the latest issue of Lovatts BIG two to one.
In terms of the promotion itself, I like it. This is a good giveaway for the newspaper as it connects with products we sell in our business. I’d like to see them use crossword giveaways later in the year to promote the health benefits and to promote school holiday activities.
I have a bit to do with Lovatts and they are a class act to deal with – its also interesting that they have almost no interest in subscriptions, so they have a vested interest in the Newsagency channel. Lets hope other publishers see the value of the newsagency distribution channel in 2010 and beyond.