Daily News
Here
are summaries of presentations at the WAN 2000 Editor &
Marketeer Conference, "Weekend Editions: An Opportunity
for Growth." These summaries will be posted each day. Please
check back later for the most recent updates.
For
more information -- including the soon-to-be-published Conference
Report -- contact Joanna Jolly, 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
WAN
members will receive the report – and all WAN publications
– for free. Membership information can be found at www.wan-press.org/membership/index.html
List
of Participants (more than 200 from 50 countries)
Weekend
Editions: A Global Survey
"Readers
Spark Big Changes"
Leo Bogart, Innovation Media Consulting Group, USA
Newspaper
design and content – both weekends and weekdays –
have undergone widespread change in the past three years, and
papers that have remade themselves show more growth than those
that have not, according to a world-wide survey conducted by
Innovation Media Consulting Group for the World Association
of Newspapers.
Newspapers
have changed because the world around them is changing: rising
standards of living, increased mobility and the rise of two-income
households have changed the way people spend their free time.
To
determine how newspapers are adapting to these changes, Innovation
Media surveyed hundreds of newspaper executives – members
of WAN and the Newspaper Association of America. Mr Bogart said
the findings show "that newspapers are a growth business
despite all the tumult, and weekends are where circulation growth
is concentrated."
For the full
survey results, click here.
"Why
Sunday?"
Jacques Hardoin, Director for Business Development, Ouest France
It
is easy to see why France's largest circulation daily, Ouest
France, did without a Sunday edition for 50 years. People don't
work on Sundays, so production and distribution was a problem.
There was no tradition of reading Sunday papers. Few shops were
open, and advertisers were reluctant to participate.
So
why, in the face of all those problems, did they launch a Sunday
edition? "We felt we were responding to a change in lifestyle
– people have more time to read on weekends and they expect
a Sunday newspaper," said Mr Hardoin, who described how
the company, in three short years, was able to overcome a host
of labour and distribution problems to succeed with a Sunday
edition.
The
Sunday edition is quite different from the weekday version,
both in format and content. It has a regional news section and
separate sections for sports, lifestyle and an entertainment
guide. Among other things, it helped create a "Sunday reading
habit," which led distributors and more and more advertisers
to come on board. The paper is ahead of its financial forecasts.
Mr
Hardoin offered these tips for newspapers wanting to start weekend
editions: choose the right time to do it, based on social and
economic factors, such as a growing advertising market; be innovative
and accept new ideas, even if they don't reflect the "rhythm"
of the weekday editions; stick to your targets and don't be
swayed to make too many changes by panicked advisors; and pick
the right team.
"The
Kids are Alright"
Wendy Tribaldos, General Coordinator, Aprendo, Panama
Youth
supplements should be educational, but sometimes they can be
too educational, says Ms Tribaldos, coordinator of the Sunday
youth supplement of Panama's quality La Prensa daily.
A
predecessor to Aprendo "was so educational that we were
scaring away some of our young readers – they would say,
'oh, it looks just like school again, how boring!'" said
Ms Tribaldos.
It
is important for youth sections to play an educational role
and encourage reading, but the "priority of priorities"
is to bring new readers to the newspaper, says Ms Tribaldos.
That's why Aprendo was redesigned to be more fun, and why children
play a role in determining the focus. The newspaper also invests
substantial funds in teacher training, and providing free copies
to schools. It also reaches more children in Panama than do
the two most popular television shows for children, Dragon Ball
and Pokemon (advertisers, are you listening?).
"We
want to play an education role, a role in the community –
this is good, but it makes good business sense as well. We distribute
200,000 copies – this is 200,000 students. We hope that,
in the future, these kids will say, 'hey, Mom and Dad, buy the
newspaper."
Ms
Tribaldos offered these points for consideration by editors
and marketing managers: supplements for school-age children
can increase circulation and 'top of mind' for all readers;
Sunday is a great day for a weekly children's supplement because
it isn't school oriented; offer kids what they want, rather
than what you think they want; and combine educational efforts
with other school programmes
to increase chances of success.
"A
Slide Show for the Weekend"
Michel Gaffré, Director of Design, Newsmedia, France
Is
there a weekend newspaper "style," or an approach
to readers that differs from the weekday newspaper?
For
the most part, Mr Gaffré thinks not. "Very often,
the only difference is the number of supplements," he said.
"The heart of the weekend paper, which contains the news,
is usually identical to the rest of the week. So the only thing
in terms of presentation and content that differs on the weekend
is the supplements."
It
doesn't have to be this way, said Mr Gaffré. To attract
weekend readers, he proposes an intensely visual design that
readers will respond to in their leisure time – stories
built around dramatic and theatrical photos, indexes, masthead
"windows" into inside sections, infographics.
Using
a wide variety of examples to illustrate his points, Mr Gaffré
said weekend readers want the following: well structured, practical
information, attractive pictures and a good deal of reading pleasure.
"Saturday
Life: A Success Story "
Per Knudsen, Editor in Chief, Politiken, Denmark
In
14 months, the "Saturday Life" supplement in Denmark's Politiken
newspaper has become the most popular newspaper supplement in
the country, among all readership groups. What is the secret of
its success? "Reader-oriented news you can use," says Mr Knudsen.
"Saturday life is closer to the daily life of the readers of Politiken.
It's about us, about how we live today. How to deal with stress,
for instance. It's about consumer goods and shopping.
How
to buy the right mattress. Autos. Household repairs, gardening,
boats". It is also full of comparative tests of consumer products,
which has proven to be extremely popular Ð and lucrative. The
supplement has generated more than four million kronor in advertising
revenue from wine merchants alone Ð a segment that didn't advertise
at all before the launch.
"That
was the result of the wine reviews and tests," said Mr Knudsen,
adding, "our existing customers have also increased total media
spending". Mr Knudsen said an important factor in the success
of Saturday life is that "it has the same journalistic integrity
as the rest of the paper. You'll never find PR material disguised
here as news items. Quite the opposite".
Some other points to keep in mind: evaluate all your supplements
to make sure they work, and don't be afraid to change them or
even kill them; make sure your Friday, Saturday and Sunday editions
have different focuses so they don't compete with one another;
and, most importantly, keep your eye on the customer.
Programme
sponsors
include:
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Bloomberg
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