For decades the focus of newspaper marketing has been home delivery as it sat at the heart of the economic model pursued by newspaper publishers. Long-term home delivery customers were gold when it came to setting advertising rates. Advertising revenue has been the most important revenue stream to publishers.
That was then.
This is now.
The ad stuck on the front of the Sunday Age newspaper at the weekend was all about promoting six months access on any device, anytime. This is a digital subscription. No sign of a home delivery offer in sight. No support for the print product being used to serve the ad.
I have written here previously that I expect Fairfax to be the first newspaper publisher to retreat from seven day production of a capital city newspaper. On pure circulation numbers it ought to be one or more of the News Corp. dailies in single paper cities. However, in smaller cities there are factors other than circulation that can keep a newspaper publishing. Also, I think News is more invested in not being first than Fairfax.
This ad reflects a change on focus by Fairfax. We need to take notice … today, not next month, not in six mounted, today.
- What percentage of transactions in your business include a newspaper?
- How many newspapers are sold alone?
- How much do other parts of your business rely on habit-based newspaper shoppers?
- What is the overhead of newspapers in your business – in terms of space and labour?
- What new traffic are you generating now to replace newspapers into the future?
These are other questions deserve consideration and answers. Thinking about this issue and the starter questions I have noted is a positive thing to do. The only negative in all this would be if you did nothing.
I have not written this post to alarm anyone. Rather, it records the fact of the shift on focus of Fairfax marketing – with the hope of engaging newsagents in thinking about retail businesses without daily newspaper traffic.
While the decline in over the counter newspaper sales is not new, too many newsagents are yet to factor this into their business planning.
Rupert Murdoch started talking about the shift in April 2005. Back then, he was considered to be slow to the digital discussion. sadly, he appears to have been an early adopter compared to too many newsagents.
The future of your newsagency with less reliance on newspapers is up to you. Just as Fairfax is clearly planning for less income from print, so must you.