Newspaper publishers wised up to the readership and revenue benefits of sections and inserted magazines some time ago and this year has seen even more product launches from both Fairfax, such as The Sydney Magazine in the Sydney Morning Herald and Life & Leisure in the Australian Financial Review, and News Limited , such as Marque in The Australian. News Limited has also expanded the distribution of its Home magazine, which was most recently added to the Saturday edition of QueenslandÕs Courier-Mail, while in Victoria, Herald & Weekly Times, a division of News Limited, launched a weekly lifestyle section. Published on Tuesdays in the Herald Sun, Citystyle is a Melbourne-focused guide with a strong emphasis on fashion and food. And get ready for more. Fairfax is set to launch another regular section in the Sydney Morning Herald within weeks, although details at the moment are scant. ÒWeÕre constantly looking for new opportunities and we expect a number of them to come to fruition from now until the end of the financial year,Ó says Fairfax commercial director Alan Revell. News Limited media marketing manager Liz Ross also flags the possibility of more products. ÒThereÕs an opportunity for every day of the week,Ó she says, adding that launches will depend on the state of the market and advertiser demand. ÒNewspapers have strategically given their readers a more complete product by including magazines,Ó says Ross. ÒThe editorial in newspaper inserted magazines (NIMs) complements the paper and we can attract a broader and different readership by including a magazine. For example, we can broaden female readership or add a socio-economic group.Ó Newspaper inserted magazines have objectives that add value to their host newspaper, adds Ross. ÒYes, they are driving the circulation of their host newspapers. Although we donÕt have sufficient data to quantify that, we have seen research from the UK which supports this.Ó Naturally, NIMs and sections have been instrumental in enabling newspaper publishers to attract more advertising from existing clients, for different categories or specific products. ÒIn some cases, we have many clients that are in both the newspaper and magazine, but with different products and services.Ó For example, a client like Myer will choose to advertise specials such as cosmetic gifts in the more suitable environment of an inserted magazine such as the Sunday Magazine, says Ross. Revell claims sectionalisation was Òessentially a Fairfax innovationÓ. In addition to expanded revenue opportunities, Revell says: ÒThe philosophy has been to create attractive entry points for different types of readers and also to offer advertisers a different slice of a publicationÕs audience.Ó Like Ross, Revell believes thereÕs room for more NIMs and sections. ÒThe idea that once you get beyond a certain amount of newsprint people will reject it [is strange] . . . frankly I havenÕt seen that.Ó He cites the UK example where newspapers Òare bigger than hereÓ but circulation and readership figures remain robust, as well as FairfaxÕs own experience Ñ the Sydney Morning Herald, he says, sells more copies on the last Wednesday of every month when it includes the relatively new Sydney Magazine. ÒI think we have a long way to go,Ó says Revell. ÒI donÕt think weÕll see the end of it anytime soon. The knack is keeping up with the trends. You have to keep modernising the sections you have and be ruthless with the content.Ó Recent touch-ups to The Age have included the introduction of A2, a 20-page liftout on popular culture and entertainment. The section includes the eight-page Review and a weekend events guide, 48 Hours, which is the new name of the old Metropolitan section in the Sydney Morning Herald. Of the latter, Revell says: ÒThe idea was to make it a much more Ôgo and doÕ section. While readers enjoyed Metropolitan, it was hard for us to describe what it was and it tended to cross over with other sections. It now has a much clearer reason to be.Ó Ò48 Hours, and Metropolitan before it, was built with the intention to attract retailers,Ó says Revell. CONTINUOUS EVOLUTION Ross also stresses the importance of updating existing sections and NIMs. ÒWe will continue to evolve our products, such as Home and Homeowner [in the Sunday Telegraph] and continue to keep them relevant. ÒReal estate is one of our biggest areas. Tailored liftouts like Home are tapping into what is one of the biggest interest areas for Australians.Ó Matthew Turl, newspaper advocate at Zenith Media, says Fairfax and News Limited have covered most categories for NIMS and sections effectively. ÒThe only gap in FairfaxÕs recent NIM assault was a title to take advantage of DomainÕs Home franchise,Ó he says. But where to next? ÒGlossy celeb/society NIMs to take on Who, NW and co.Ó Fairfax takes its NIMs so seriously that it has grouped its occasional specials Ñ Fashion, Uncorked, Drive Prestige, Travel Ski & Snow and Travel Sun & Leisure Ñ under one banner, Fairfax Lifestyle Magazines. ÒTheyÕre rebadged and rebranded so they look like a family,Ó says Alan Revell. For example, the Fashion and Uncorked series now carry the Good Living or Epicure masthead as well. ÒThey are all designed with a common look and feel. And weÕve established a frequency to their publication that allows advertisers to plan them in their schedule rather than [publishing them as] one-offs depending on what was going on.Ó Despite the popularity of newspaper inserted magazines and sections among readers and advertisers, Fusion Strategy managing director Steve Allen says newspaper publishers still face the challenge of signing up advertisers on a long-term basis. ÒBecause many sections and magazines are weekly, [publishers] have to be on the case to keep advertiser demand up. Because advertising decisions are so short-term, theyÕre a little unpredictable and patchy. ÒCertainly any research weÕve seen over the past two years suggests [NIMs] are read cover to cover and readers spend a lot of time with them.Ó According to Allen, NIMs have at least one advantage over paid magazines. ÒThe difference between free newspaper magazines and paid magazines is that [NIMs] are mass market compared to the majority of magazines which are niche,Ó says Allen. ÒThere are not many mass market paid magazines with a neutral readership and an even male/female skew like newspaper inserted magazines.Ó The impressive number of automotive ads in magazines such as FairfaxÕs Good Weekend and News LimitedÕs Weekend Australian Magazine is reflective of their male readership, says Allen. ÒThere are no mass market paid magazines targetted at men.Ó While in some cases sections and NIMs are performing better than their hosts, they are still attracting a predictable genre of advertising, he adds. And NIMs are not necessarily luring advertisers away from consumer magazines. ÒEven during the two years of recession that we didnÕt need to have, there wasnÕt much evidence of newspaper inserted magazines taking away money from paid magazines,Ó says Allen. ÒHowever, while it doesnÕt appear to us that they are taking away advertising from paid magazines, they are severely restricting increases in advertising revenue of paid magazines. Where paid magazines would have had 7% or 8% growth, that has probably been halved to about 4% because of the amount of money going to newspaper inserted magazines.Ó Alan Revell is adamant that NIMs and sections are luring advertisers, and revenue, from consumer magazines. ÒThereÕs no doubt that weÕre taking advertising away from consumer magazines, both with the established inserted magazines plus new magazines, including The Sydney Magazine. ÒWe have a lot of advertisers we werenÕt getting before. TheyÕre doing one of three things: TheyÕre spending more money across the board, theyÕre taking money out of other magazines on their schedule or taking dollars that they had for other media and converting it to newspapers.Ó Matthew Turl agrees: ÒThe newer titles have the capability to take revenue from paid magazines. The established NIMs already do.Ó
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