fbpx

Stuff moves to compact, bigger opportunities for advertisers

Going compact means we have re-imagined every part of our much-loved mastheads, with a huge focus on local news, design, colour and layout.

All our research, surrounding the change, points to a highly-engaged audience spending more time reading our papers, resulting in more eyeballs in front of of our advertisers’ products and services.

To promote the move to compact, we’re going big. We want to show our commitment to print, and reward our audiences, so we are running a massive marketing campaign leading up to, and after, the format change.

  • A five week media schedule, valued at almost $1 million
  • An interactive competition for our newspaper readers with $100,000 worth of prizes
  • A dedicated promotion for our advertising contacts to win a trip for two to the Singapore Grand Prix, along with a heap of other prizes.

Stuff CEO, Sinead Boucher says, “This is an exciting move for us. Readers have been telling us for some time that they want a new smaller format. Compact has proven successful around the world and we know we can deliver a better, fresher and more modern paper to our dedicated print readers and loyal advertisers.

“It has also enabled us to re-look at how we gather news, and what our subscribers want from a newspaper.

“Our Saturday paper will remain in a broadsheet format, to be enjoyed at leisure, but we are standardising advertising shapes and sizes across all of our print titles. Every decision we’ve made has supported our goal to add more value for our print readers and advertisers. We’ve had outstanding support from both groups so far when we have road-tested our proposed new look papers.”

Early feedback from our advertisers shows that more than 80 per cent feel that this change will positively impact on our readers’ experience, and less than 4 per cent think it will have a negative impact, with the balance remaining neutral.

And the readers agree. We held a series of reader focus groups around the country showing subscribers a prototype of the new look paper. Readers loved the new concept with an overwhelming thumbs up to the size, design and content. The common themes that shone through were:

It’s easier to read
“The size and the layout – the new dimensions make it easier to read.”

Great for travel/commute
I think it’s fresh and modern – easily manageable with the smaller size for trains, buses, planes – easier to manage at home also at the table or on the couch.

Better content
“I love the new format – I think it’s fresh and looks really informative. And I’ll definitely be buying it. I like the in depth section; that’s really good.”

Value for money
“Great value for money – I am very pleased with it. Definitely a good buy.”

Research and future proofing
“I think that your research has been very successful, and I hope the transition will be smooth and successful and that advertisers will follow, so that the paper version can continue.”

Design
“I like all the effort that’s gone into it really. It’s got more colour – it’s approachable – a lot of thought has been put into it.”

The excitement generated by the change and the promotions we are running, mean that it’s a great time to be placing advertising in our publications, with creative and innovative options to incorporate brands into the first compact newspaper, or make the most of the last broadsheet issue of your favourite weekday regional and mets.

With content a driving force of our business, we’re doing everything we possibly can to ensure we’re building a sustainable business thats protects our ability to provide New Zealand with the best journalism. The move to compact hands us an opportunity to focus more on how a modern newsroom works – with a real onus on storytelling and local content for all Kiwis. Be that print or digital.

List of mastheads moving to compact:

The Press
The Dominion Post
Waikato Times
Southland Times
Taranaki Daily News
Manawatu Standard
Timaru Herald
Nelson Mail
Marlborough Express

This story is part of a content partnership with the Stuff. 

About Author

Comments are closed.