The Basel staff brace themselves
Free Publication: As competition intensifies, the free newspaper *Baslerstab*, published by *Basler Zeitung*, is planning a content relaunch. The relaunch will be accompanied by a campaign.
Free title As competition increases, Basler Zeitung's free newspaper Baslerstab is planning a content relaunch. 20 Minuten came first, followed by Heute a year ago, then Cash Daily and .ch last September. But Baslerstab, which is published five times a week, has so far held its own against all these free newspapers - both in terms of readership and advertising. With around 177,000 readers and a total of 4,000 advertising pages per year, it is still Basel's largest free newspaper, although the growing competition and the declining economy have clearly left their mark: The Baslerstab reach is now a good 20,000 readers lower than two years ago. And the volume of advertisements has also fallen - by around 2,000 pages compared to 2003. The fact that another free title, News, will be coming to Basel from December further accentuates the situation.
Logically, the Baslerstab is concerned about the future. In June, the publisher therefore had 500 Basel residents surveyed by Demoscope. The result: the Baslerstab seemed outdated and its content mix was not entertaining enough. Since then, it has been clear that the paper needs to be fresher and more reader-friendly. "More people, more emotion, more stories," is how the new editor-in-chief Mischa Hauswirth summarizes the new content direction. He wants to differentiate himself from the competition primarily through exclusive Basel stories. "For example, we want to feature more Basel celebrities and also do home stories. We hope this will give us a certain entertainment value," says Hauswirth.
The fact that the Baslerstab is sticking with an editorial team is not a matter of course, as everything was initially up for discussion, including a return to an almost pure newspaper as it was seven years ago. However, this has been abandoned and the basic concept of the "traditional paper" (in Hauswirth's words) is being retained. In any case, the twelve full-time positions in the editorial department, the two-bundle concept and the newspaper format will not be changed. "We want to set ourselves apart from the tabloid competition," says Patrick Wehrli, the new publishing director since August. The division into a five-times-weekly city edition and a twice-weekly regional edition with a total of 178,000 copies will also be retained. Wehrli even describes the in-house distribution organization Distriba as one of the paper's USPs: "At least we have a functioning home delivery service," he says with a wink, looking at the competition.
In terms of layout and logo, however, hardly a stone will be left unturned. Initial proposals from newspaper designer Christine Lang (LMS Media GmbH in Herdern) are already on the table. They are still being fine-tuned. But one thing is already clear: in future, the Baslerstab will focus on much larger images and shorter texts.
The relaunch, which is scheduled for February or March, will be accompanied by a campaign. Wehrli is currently drafting an agency briefing. "We will then consider which agency we want to work with in the future." So far, the Baslerstab has been working with the Basel agency Die Werft.
Markus Knöpfli
Logically, the Baslerstab is concerned about the future. In June, the publisher therefore had 500 Basel residents surveyed by Demoscope. The result: the Baslerstab seemed outdated and its content mix was not entertaining enough. Since then, it has been clear that the paper needs to be fresher and more reader-friendly. "More people, more emotion, more stories," is how the new editor-in-chief Mischa Hauswirth summarizes the new content direction. He wants to differentiate himself from the competition primarily through exclusive Basel stories. "For example, we want to feature more Basel celebrities and also do home stories. We hope this will give us a certain entertainment value," says Hauswirth.
The fact that the Baslerstab is sticking with an editorial team is not a matter of course, as everything was initially up for discussion, including a return to an almost pure newspaper as it was seven years ago. However, this has been abandoned and the basic concept of the "traditional paper" (in Hauswirth's words) is being retained. In any case, the twelve full-time positions in the editorial department, the two-bundle concept and the newspaper format will not be changed. "We want to set ourselves apart from the tabloid competition," says Patrick Wehrli, the new publishing director since August. The division into a five-times-weekly city edition and a twice-weekly regional edition with a total of 178,000 copies will also be retained. Wehrli even describes the in-house distribution organization Distriba as one of the paper's USPs: "At least we have a functioning home delivery service," he says with a wink, looking at the competition.
In terms of layout and logo, however, hardly a stone will be left unturned. Initial proposals from newspaper designer Christine Lang (LMS Media GmbH in Herdern) are already on the table. They are still being fine-tuned. But one thing is already clear: in future, the Baslerstab will focus on much larger images and shorter texts.
The relaunch, which is scheduled for February or March, will be accompanied by a campaign. Wehrli is currently drafting an agency briefing. "We will then consider which agency we want to work with in the future." So far, the Baslerstab has been working with the Basel agency Die Werft.
Markus Knöpfli
