Western AustraliaÕs Country Press Advertising has expanded the titles under its banner, acquiring two newspapers last month, the Countryman and The York Chronicle. Country Press, an alliance of regional newspapers in WA, offers advertisers the opportunity to reach this special market through the 22 newspapers it represents. These titles deliver a combined circulation of 235,000, ranging from a circulation of 800 for the Gnowangerup Star to 25,000 for the Mandurah Herald. Country PressÕ newest member, WAÕs award winning rural newspaper Countryman, joined the network last month to offer advertisers a flexible range of buying possibilities at reduced rates. This is the first rural-specific publication to join Country Press. ÒThis means we now cover people living on both sides of the farm gate,Ó says Country Press manager Steve Boylan. The combined advertising rates of the Countryman and selected regionals are discounted from 10% to 50% under the AgriPak scale, which provides for combinations of one or more, four or more, eight or more and 13 or more regionals with the rural paper. ÒWe have been running network buying arrangements with our newspapers for 18 months and it has been very successful,Ó says Boylan. Regional newspapers are the most effective means of reaching the large numbers of regional communities scattered around Australia who rely on traditional media for their information. Boylan says the benefits of advertising in regional and rural newspapers are enormous. ÒResearch has proven that country newspapers are read more closely and by a larger proportion of the population because they closely cover the interests of those communities. ÒThere is a widespread view that metropolitan newspapers cover the state, but a look at their numbers and our numbers shows who achieves a greater penetration. And in terms of cost, our newspapers are more cost effective. It is not unusual for local papers to outsell a metropolitan publication by five to one in the areas we cover.Ó Country Press has conducted market research that shows its publications capture 89% of the rural market in readership figures. In some areas the figure is even higher. The Kalgoorlie Miner, which has been published for over 100 years, has a readership of 98%. The 22 newspapers in the Country Press group have a publication frequency from once a week to daily, giving advertisers the desired frequency. Regional and rural-specific newspapers attract a broad range of advertisers. ÒWe deal with everyone from the local corner store to major multinationals,Ó Boylan says. ÒMotor companies and companies selling farming equipment are major advertisers.Ó Andrea Sophocleous
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