Publicitas winks at BaZ
P Basel is launching a value-added tool for Basel designed to encourage local customers to book through the P channel again rather than directly with the BaZ.
Since the Basler Zeitung Medien (BZM) switched from Publicitas lease to its own management a year ago and also grants - depending on the terminology - a direct booking discount or a direct booking compensation of 1.5 percent, the P am Rheinknie has been losing sales. The latter makes no secret of this. "Based on sales in 2007, we lost more sales in the Basel local market last year than in the rest of Switzerland," says René Gehrig, Managing Director Central Region at Publicitas Switzerland since August 2008 and thus also responsible for WG 31.
Now that 2008 is over and the trends are clear, however, Gehrig wants to do something for the benefit of P market shares. Specifically, Publicitas Basel will be offering a so-called "added value tool" on a trial basis in the local market starting next week: All local customers who booked ads in BZM titles last year for at least 10,000 Swiss francs via P Basel will receive a credit of one percent on their total net volume placed. In addition to Basler Zeitung and Baslerstab, BZM titles include News Basel and a handful of community papers.
Although the one-percent credit is not paid out directly to customers, they are given access to the website www.publicitaspass.com. There, around 500 sports and other events are currently listed, as well as other offers - from FCB matches abroad to a group raft trip or wine order to hotel stays. For these offers, customers can use their 2008 credit to make a down payment. "We want to offer local customers direct added value when they book through us," Gehrig says. Of course, the customer can also invest his credit in promotional products, such as vouchers for the P-Tool SMS-2-Mail or also in new advertisements in BZM titles - which of course must again be placed via P Basel.
As the "guardian of the grail of rate compliance," the P only wants to carry the official rates of the publishers into the market, Gehrig emphasizes. The new tool does not change that, he says. "We're not jeopardizing the price with this; on the contrary, we're promoting sales in BZM titles - simply through our channel." Incidentally, the credit is paid by P. Gehrig: "This is away from the commission we receive from BZM."
So P is launching the new tool, including credit, next week as a trial balloon. "If it is well received in the local market, we may also offer it to national BZM advertisers," says Gehrig. If necessary, we will also have the courage to take the tool off the market again.
In some respects, the value-added tool is reminiscent of the revenue-based "account bonus" of 0.5 to 3 percent that P Basel offered a year ago (but had to discontinue immediately afterwards). There, too, the question was ultimately how P could make booking through its channels more attractive and win back lost market share. Gehrig, who had nothing to do with the matter at the time, however, resists comparison. "The bonus was a misconstruction in every respect," he says clearly. The new credit, on the other hand, remains at one percent in any case below the BZM direct booking discount. Moreover, he wants to limit the new offer to bookings on BZM titles.
However, Gehrig says there is no question of expanding the tool to include insertions with other independent publishers. "The tool is not a threatening gesture; rather, we are trying to counter the price spiral, which is spiraling downward particularly quickly in Basel, in a playful way and with a certain wink," he says. Because the situation in Basel is special for P: Since price loyalty suffers particularly at the Rhine knee, P is not only at a disadvantage as an advertising agent, but also as a major shareholder in BZM. "After all, we hold 37 percent there," says Gehrig.
Markus Knöpfli
Now that 2008 is over and the trends are clear, however, Gehrig wants to do something for the benefit of P market shares. Specifically, Publicitas Basel will be offering a so-called "added value tool" on a trial basis in the local market starting next week: All local customers who booked ads in BZM titles last year for at least 10,000 Swiss francs via P Basel will receive a credit of one percent on their total net volume placed. In addition to Basler Zeitung and Baslerstab, BZM titles include News Basel and a handful of community papers.
Although the one-percent credit is not paid out directly to customers, they are given access to the website www.publicitaspass.com. There, around 500 sports and other events are currently listed, as well as other offers - from FCB matches abroad to a group raft trip or wine order to hotel stays. For these offers, customers can use their 2008 credit to make a down payment. "We want to offer local customers direct added value when they book through us," Gehrig says. Of course, the customer can also invest his credit in promotional products, such as vouchers for the P-Tool SMS-2-Mail or also in new advertisements in BZM titles - which of course must again be placed via P Basel.
As the "guardian of the grail of rate compliance," the P only wants to carry the official rates of the publishers into the market, Gehrig emphasizes. The new tool does not change that, he says. "We're not jeopardizing the price with this; on the contrary, we're promoting sales in BZM titles - simply through our channel." Incidentally, the credit is paid by P. Gehrig: "This is away from the commission we receive from BZM."
So P is launching the new tool, including credit, next week as a trial balloon. "If it is well received in the local market, we may also offer it to national BZM advertisers," says Gehrig. If necessary, we will also have the courage to take the tool off the market again.
In some respects, the value-added tool is reminiscent of the revenue-based "account bonus" of 0.5 to 3 percent that P Basel offered a year ago (but had to discontinue immediately afterwards). There, too, the question was ultimately how P could make booking through its channels more attractive and win back lost market share. Gehrig, who had nothing to do with the matter at the time, however, resists comparison. "The bonus was a misconstruction in every respect," he says clearly. The new credit, on the other hand, remains at one percent in any case below the BZM direct booking discount. Moreover, he wants to limit the new offer to bookings on BZM titles.
However, Gehrig says there is no question of expanding the tool to include insertions with other independent publishers. "The tool is not a threatening gesture; rather, we are trying to counter the price spiral, which is spiraling downward particularly quickly in Basel, in a playful way and with a certain wink," he says. Because the situation in Basel is special for P: Since price loyalty suffers particularly at the Rhine knee, P is not only at a disadvantage as an advertising agent, but also as a major shareholder in BZM. "After all, we hold 37 percent there," says Gehrig.
Markus Knöpfli
