17-19 November, Hilton Hotel, Budapest, Hungary

Daily News

The following are summaries of presentations at the 1999 Editor & Marketeer Conference, "Female Readership: Challenges and Opportunities." These summaries are posted each day.

For more information -- including the soon-to-be-published Conference Report -- contact Joanna Blot, WAN, 25 rue d'Astorg, 75008 Paris France, Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00, Fax +33 1 47 42 49 48. E-mail: joanna@wan.asso.fr

100 Participants from 26 countries

+ Click here for Wednesday's Summaries

+ Click here for Thursday's Summaries

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Presentations, Friday 19 November 1999

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POSTED 17:56 GMT, 19 NOVEMBER 1999

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The final day of the conference included a case study on a new Spanish magazine supplement, research on female readership in Germany, and two presentations from the United States on how to use design and promotions to attract females readers.

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"Boosting Weekend Readership"

Cristina De Laiglesia, General Coordinator, Blanco y Negro Mujer, Prensa Espanola, Spain

In the few short months since Prensa Espanola launched its new women's magazine supplement, Blanco y Negro Mujer, the magazine has become the undisputed leader in this sector, with 1,278,000 copies every Sunday.

But it wasn't really an overnight sensation. Its genesis took a great deal of research and dates back to the the middle of the decade, when Spanish newspaper circulation began to drop, despite an array of gifts and promotions that were offered to readers.

"The project came about at a time when the press was going through a very difficult time -- sales were dropping, readership had been dropping since 1995. The weekend supplements had stagnated, run out of steam, there wasn't much they had to offer," says Ms De Laiglesia.

This was a serious problem, because weekend newspapers are a key revenue source. "The reading public in Spain has become more demanding, both in what they read and when they read, and they read more during the weekend. It is a family affair -- they share the newspaper and they're looking for a theme that appeals to each and every one of them," says Ms. De Laiglesia.

Thus comes Blanco y Negro Mujer, what Ms. De Laiglesia calls a magazine/supplement hybrid, one that looks like a glossy magazine but is sold within the Sunday paper.

"It has varied content, is easy to read, it contains practical information that can be used in day-to-day life, and it kindles people's curiosity, so there are themes of general interest," she says. "If you look at what women want, there is considerable potential for upward development in female readership. The results have been heartening -- sales are up 15 to 20 percent in the first six months. Women have embraced this new publication."

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"Female Readership Behavior in Germany: A Future Market for Newspapers?"

Hans Dieter Gärtner, Managing Director, and Hans Jürgen Hippler, Research Director, ZMG, Germany

Newspapers in Germany are a decidedly male affair, but this has only recently been seen as a potential problem.

Research shows that about eight out of ten Germans read a daily newspaper, said Mr. Gärtner, whose organization is the central marketing organization for German newspapers. But women read rather less than the average, both in terms of frequency and time, and young women clearly read far less.

A poll of newspaper readers found that 51 percent say that newspapers are intended for men, while only 19 percent say they are women oriented (the rest had no opinion).

"Men and women clearly have different interests, and women's interests are only slightly reflected in newspapers," said Mr. Gärtner. "There doesn't seem to be any sector women are particularly interested in. Newspapers continue to be seen as typically male."

Circulation had been steady for many years so the problem was overlooked. But when circulation began sinking about one percent a year, this was finally seen as a problem, said Mr. Hippler, the research director of ZMG.

Among other things, ZMG recommends that German newspapers begin to add culture pages, particularly on sports-oriented Mondays, to give women a reason to buy a newspaper. But it doesn't recommend creating a women's supplement -- there are none in Germany -- because the market for women's magazines is already saturated.

"We think the separation of women with a supplement is not a good idea. We think they need to be offered things in the general newspaper," said Mr. Gärtner.

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"There Is Nothing More Lovely Than A Woman's Face"

Deborah Withey, Design Consultant, Knight Ridder, USA

"There's nothing more lovely than a woman's face. If you want to get more women readers, you have to show them in your newspaper," says Ms. Withey.

You don't have to picture women in inappropriate places, such as a special supplement for the rugby world cup. But she should appear on your business or computer sections -- and even in the general sports pages, says Ms. Withey. "It is very important to get women's faces in those sections where they traditionally haven't been," she said.

"And it isn't always young women you want to portray -- seniors too, doing wonderful things."

In a wide-ranging presentation focusing on how to use design to attract female readers, Ms Withey provided simple, practical advice. Use women in illustrations. Use the words "she" and "her" in headlines. Use lots of briefs, summaries and indexes. "In every focus group I've been to, the women say, 'I don't have time to read all this.' So anything you can do to help the reader get information quickly is good."

Ms. Withey provided dozens of other examples. Design, however, isn't everything: "good content is everything. Design can't help to improve it. But design can make sure that, when it is displayed on the page, it is sending the message you want," she said.

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"New Product Development"

Dwight Brown, Vice President of Marketing, The Houston Chronicle, USA

There are compelling reasons to focus on attracting women to newspapers, says Mr. Brown. In the United States alone, there will be 30 million more of them in 30 years, and their median age will rise from 37 to nearly 40. What's more, "the woman is often the principle income for the family -- that changes what we're doing in readership and what we're trying to accomplish in newspapers," he said.

Mr. Brown offered research findings about what women want: media caring about people like them; media sparking emotions; media reflecting their views and values.

He also talked about their preferred editorial topics: clothes and fashion; health and fitness; community news; faith and religion; news that helps the local community deal with its problems.

But how to put this information to use? Mr. Brown advocates creating new product development teams, or task forces, to study and make recommendations on the commerical and readership prospects of every new product idea that is proposed at the paper. And everyone at the paper, from the clerks on up, is encouraged to provide ideas.

Mr. Brown talked about how these teams are formed, the things they consider, and illustrations of how they can succeed. At the Chronicle, for example, they "reinvented entertainment news" and sparked the creation of Preview, an entertainment magazine which replaced one that wasn't working. While the former supplement came out on Friday and focused on clubs and performances, Preview came out on Thursdays and was directed toward families, "to give them an opportunity to plan their weekends."

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For more information -- including the soon-to-be-published Conference Report -- contact Joanna Blot, WAN, 25 rue d'Astorg, 75008 Paris France, Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00, Fax +33 1 47 42 49 48. E-mail: joanna@wan.asso.fr