Fairfax's general manager of automotive, Hank Kingman, has said the move to tabloid format for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald should result in increased audience, if his experience with the Drive section in Melbourne is anything to go by.
Kingman has been working with the tabloid format on Drive in Melbourne and believes the format change is already providing solid results for both readers and advertisers.
“We actually increased the audience 30% just because it was easier to find and easier to use,” he said. “I think we’ve sold it well to the consumer. People are finding it and liking it. Clients are happy so far, too. Manufacturing clients like the notion that it looks more like a magazine so it gives them a better environment for awareness and brand advertising.”
He said car dealers are also happy with the new format, and with the introduction of the Showroom section in the middle that can be lifted out by readers.
While the shift signifies a big change in direction for the very traditional Fairfax broadsheets, Kingman said that if his experience was anything to go by, the change would be smooth.
“There is a little bit more workflow internally,” he said. “There are more stories in a tabloid than a broadsheet because broadsheet takes bigger ads in them and gobbles the editorial space. But production wise there are the same deadlines and even a bit more flexibility.”
Kingman said the most important aspect of the change was knowing where the consumer was and how to service their needs.
This article first appeared in the 29 June 2012 edition of
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