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Fairfax considered dropping Sydney Morning Herald masthead for SMH

As Fairfax Media negotiates with media buyers over ad rates for its new tabloid, or compact, weekday format Mumbrella has learnt the company considered dropping its historic Sydney Morning Herald masthead.

Media buyers and sources inside the company have confirmed that mock-ups were prepared replacing the newspaper’s traditional Sydney Morning Herald masthead with the “SMH” brand.

And a leaked email to staff at Fairfax’s Sydney radio station Radio 2UE reveals the company is keen to “push” SMH as a parent brand across the print, online and tablet formats.

A spokesperson for Fairfax today declined to comment on the mock-ups that had been prepared.

Major media buyers say the SMH mock-up was one of more than ten produced and shown to a variety of media agencies.

Mumbrella understands the company drew up mock-ups with the shorter “SMH” brand at the top of the newspaper’s front page, due to concerns the 181-year-old newspaper’s existing masthead appeared “squeezed” under the tabloid format.

The smh.com.au online brand has tended to follow a more populist approach aimed at driving traffic than its print sibling the Sydney Morning Herald.

“I have seen all the mock-ups and they tested a number of different things and definitely tried to abbreviate and that sort of thing,” said one media buyer who declined to be named.

“From what I understand they found it was going to lower both the quality of the perceived brand and the quality of the editorial. That’s obviously not what they want to do.”

Some Fairfax reporters have also shown some of the mock-ups of the new format.

One senior reporter told Mumbrella: “They tried it but it had to be squeezed in on the tabloid format and didn’t look any good.”

“All kinds of grandiose plans come out of our digital division but the degree to which they get enacted is minimal”, said another reporter.

“No serious option, and I’ve seen a few, has anything but the traditional masthead… it’s just in a smaller format.”

The SMH move appears to be part of a wider branding exercise with a leaked email, obtained by Mumbrella, from Fairfax Media’s Sydney radio station Radio 2UE revealing on-air presenters and staff in the newsroom have been instructed to “push” the phrase “SMH”.

In an email last week to staff Acting Content Director Clinton Maynard said the request had come directly from management at the Sydney Morning Herald and was part of a broader realignment between Fairfax’s print, online and radio assets.

“At the request of our friends at the Sydney Morning Herald they’re encouraging us to change the way we reference the paper and the website,” Maynard wrote in the email.

“(Fairfax) are pushing the title ‘smh’ to cover the paper, website and tablet app across their marketing.”

“So the plan should be on-air when referencing a Herald story refer to it as the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ but further references should be ‘smh’.”

The email also emphasises staff should not use the popular name “The Herald” to describe the newspaper, this is despite reporters at the newspaper themselves using “The Herald” to refer to the paper in print.

“We want to avoid the use of the ‘The Herald’.”

“News should switch to ‘SMH’ reports.”, wrote Maynard.

Mumbrella also understands media buyers are continuing to push the company for a reduction in its print advertising rates due to decreased space of the advertisements under the new format.

Fairfax is continuing to argue for the full page rate for a tabloid advertisement to remain the same, even presenting media buyers with research suggesting that the effectiveness of message will increase.

“Our rates aren’t changing but our shapes are,” said a Fairfax spokesperson. “We are moving to a visual impact ratecard,” he said.

John Sintras, CEO of Starcom, would not comment on the “SMH” mock-up but said negotiations over the ad rates were continuing.

“The reality is advertisers are going to want value and it is difficult when you are sold a format based on column centimetres and suddenly you change the rules,” said Sintras.

“Their argument is that the impact is going to be the same or greater than under the old format and therefore they are asking the same rate.”

Readers will see new the tabloid design of the newspaper on March 4 when it launches its tabloid format for its weekday editions.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Saturday papers, for the moment, appear likely to remain in broadsheet size.

Nic Christensen

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