News Corp marketing boss: ‘sales promotions are slowing print circulation declines’
Eales speaking at INMA 2015 World Congress in New York
News Corp Australia’s marketing and sales boss has said the company “threw the baby out with the bath water” when it abandoned sales promotions under previous CEO Kim Williams, claiming reintroducing them has helped slow sales declines.
Speaking at the International News Media Association (INMA) World Congress in New York today Damian Eales said he hoped by next year promotions, where consumers pay a small amount to receive a gift – such as a Disney or Mr Men storybook – would once again be a profit centre for the business.
Eales was also candid about the importance of print to the future of the publisher, telling a room full of global newspaper executives: “At News Corp we believe that the printed paper will always be a vital component of our cross platform news media offer.
I like that giving away something that someone wants, who otherwise had no interest in your product adds ‘readers’ numbers to your ‘news’ paper.
It all comes down to the value proposition for consumers and the organisation. Gift With Purchase is as old as the hills but it can work brilliantly – just ask the beauty houses.
The trick is to leverage the short-term heightened interest and engagement in the brand and then keep showing up digitally via eDMs, social media, content marketing etc. The big mistake most organisations make is that they see GWP as an end in itself when in reality it should be the beginning of adding value. GWP should only be part of an overall strategy, not a stand-alone tactic.
Yes, giving something away is a cost to the organisation but so too is declining sales. Just ask News.
Please don’t go.
I promise I’ll be better.
Here’s a free* Mr Men book series.
Just don’t leave.
OK, all these giveaways serve to slow the decline… so the decline continues… and continued decline will eventually get to zero.
So… how will printed paper always be a valuable part of the news offer?
@2.26 – Not funny. Not appropriate.
Wait … you mean people are buying books again?
“Slowing decline” = we can squeeze another 6 months out of this thing before it dies
@Einstein
I think this image constitutes abuse.The boyfriend could have the initials R.M.
There’s nothing funny about the Herald Sun’s editorial policy, you’re right.
Yet the latest Roy Morgan readership figures released last week from the last 12 months show Fairfax has had positive cross-platform growth while News Corp titles declined.
Newspaper sales are retail. But a lot of the focus is on brand, these are the types of promotions that drive newspaper sales and have done in the past, esp when it comes to giveaways for kids or a decent music CD/download. People still want tangible stuff for “free”.
Im pretty sure the content of the Mr Men books was more informed and accurate that that of the “newspaper” that carried it.
Perhaps News should focus on inserting The OZ into a series of Enid Blyton give aways?
Even if The Australian gave away the following Thursday’s winning Powerball numbers I wouldn’t buy it.
” “The reality is that we got a magnificent spike in those two weeks and that some of the promotions would mean positive circulation growth for that period…”
For that period. How many of those new readers stuck around after the promotion, I wonder? Whichever way you try to spin it, this is all about propping up numbers by buying an audience. And a transient, temporary one at that, I’ll bet.