Ready for the Fight
IAA Roundtable Gives NZZ am Sonntag and Facts the Upper Hand
IAA talk gives NZZ am Sonntag and Facts the better cardsBy Daniel Schifferle On the way to certain success (NZZ am Sonntag), a free rider (Facts) or on the way to the media graveyard (Weltwoche) - the IAA talk on the upcoming "battle of the weekly press" allocated risks and side effects. But there was agreement on only one thing: SonntagsZeitung, Weltwoche, Facts and even the NZZ Saturday edition will lose ground in the advertising market.
It is clear that with the launch of NZZ am Sonntag on March 17, 2002, certain other weekly titles such as SonntagsZeitung, Weltwoche and Facts will have to fear for readers and advertisers. But who will emerge stronger or weaker from the din of battle can only be debated for the time being. The IAA roundtable on the weekly press discussed a number of arguments, with the aim of making the new competitive situation a little more predictable.
The outcome of the battle for readers and advertisers next spring is quite foreseeable, if one believes the notes of media consultant René Grossenbacher (Publicom AG). Not only does the NZZ am Sonntag perform well, but Facts is also expected to benefit from the new environment. On the losing side, he sees the SonntagsZeitung (SoZ) and Weltwoche.
Grossenbacher based his forecasts on theses. An unexpected one: Facts would hardly suffer from the NZZ am Sonntag. On the contrary, the two even have what it takes to become the future power pack. "A perfect team for the stressed info elite". Facts provides entertainment-oriented access to the "must-read" material of the information elite. Before the more serious counterpart, NZZ am Sonntag, demands more reading time on the weekend.
Of banks, media alliances and discontinued models
Grossenbacher gave the new product from Falkenstrasse plenty of advance praise. He recalled not only the potent brand, which would be a strong godmother to the newspaper child. The media association with the St.Galler Tagblatt and the Bund also offered excellent opportunities for distribution and promotion. And that's not all: the other important factor, money, is not lacking either. "The NZZ is a bank that also publishes a newspaper," Grossenbacher said. The baby is sure to grow vigorously. The current climate is also favorable for the offspring of the NZZ, he said. "The end of the fun society and the good news situation - both could speak for the NZZ am Sonntag," he explained.
But of course the "booming" Sunday press is on the sunny side anyway, and the daily press is also strongly positioned, according to Grossenbacher. Not so the "struggling" political weekly press. Grossenbacher hardly allowed any rays of hope. Weltwoche is a discontinued model - because political weekly titles are more likely to be dispensed with. This is a thesis that media scientist Roger Blum had already put forward at the beginning of the year in WerbeWoche (WW 7/01).
Grossenbacher also interpreted the radical innovations and the move from newspaper to magazine as a bad sign for Weltwoche. "Such radical cures often herald death," he said.
But Grossenbacher also sees problems with the reader market ahead for the SoZ. The potential for switching, which he senses, is considerable: every seventh SoZ reader - that's no less than 106,000 - is also an NZZ reader. The NZZ subscribers among them will hardly expect to read two Sunday newspapers from next spring on, that is already clear. And because the NZZ am Sonntag comes free of charge anyway, the decision is already anticipated. The loser is the SoZ.
However, SoZ editor-in-chief Andreas Durisch defended his paper as a successful Sunday title - it would hardly have much to fear in the new environment. To this Ralph Büchi objected: "Why does SoZ nevertheless give away 33 percent or 49 francs of its subscription rate when it is so successful?" If the NZZ am Sonntag uses such blatant marketing methods as, for example, one year's free delivery to NZZ subscribers, then the SoZ must also do something, Durisch countered.
NZZ am Sonntag cannibalizes its own Saturday edition
There was agreement on the developments in the advertising market. Sunday is and remains a great day for advertising. With the NZZ am Sonntag, a market expansion in the advertising market would become reality. But not so lavishly that everyone can profit from it. "NZZ am Sonntag will absorb more ads than it generates," Grossenbacher predicted. "The others will have to dress warmly." Durisch expects slightly fewer advertisements. The company is now looking to talk to its customers.
Tobias Trevisan, Head of NZZ Publishing, also expected an expansion of the market, but at the same time predicted cut-throat competition. Trevisan made no secret of the fact that the Saturday edition of the NZZ itself would lose out. Of the two other Sunday titles, the SoZ in particular will have to give up advertisements.
"Weltwoche is Stalingrad easy".
But that is still comfortable compared to what is feared for Weltwoche. How do you feel on the way to the media graveyard, Büchi asked Weltwoche editor-in-chief Roger Köppel. "New content, new orientation, new form - aren't you expecting a bit much of your readers all at once, after they've already been confronted with plenty of change in recent years?"
Köppel says they only had two options: "Either to moderate a euthanasia program in the long term - or to improve something sustainably. We opted for the bolder step," he replied. But the forecasts for Weltwoche also generated gallows humor in him. At the time, he said, he told his colleagues at Tamedia, "Leaving Weltwoche is Stalingrad easy."
NZZ am Sonntag becomes "Switzerland's third free newspaper
But there were also some critical questions about the NZZ am Sonntag. Giving away the new newspaper for free for a whole year was a risky business, he said. "Will recipients be willing to pay the subscription price afterwards?" asked Büchi. Trevisan explained that price sensitivity among subscribers is not as high as is often thought. A study by the NZZ am Sonntag had shown this. Expressed in figures: Trevisan expects that 10 percent of NZZ readers will say no to the Sunday edition right at the start. Another 30 percent would do so a year later when they receive their bill. In other words, the NZZ am Sonntag assumes today that 60 percent of the free recipients can one day be turned into paying subscribers. A very optimistic estimate, everyone agreed.
One newspaper was absent from the IAA event: SonntagsBlick. It was not affected by the target reader groups addressed, and it also had only very few double readers with the NZZ. For once, therefore, the Ringier media company can only look on as the others wrest market share from each other.
It is clear that with the launch of NZZ am Sonntag on March 17, 2002, certain other weekly titles such as SonntagsZeitung, Weltwoche and Facts will have to fear for readers and advertisers. But who will emerge stronger or weaker from the din of battle can only be debated for the time being. The IAA roundtable on the weekly press discussed a number of arguments, with the aim of making the new competitive situation a little more predictable.
The outcome of the battle for readers and advertisers next spring is quite foreseeable, if one believes the notes of media consultant René Grossenbacher (Publicom AG). Not only does the NZZ am Sonntag perform well, but Facts is also expected to benefit from the new environment. On the losing side, he sees the SonntagsZeitung (SoZ) and Weltwoche.
Grossenbacher based his forecasts on theses. An unexpected one: Facts would hardly suffer from the NZZ am Sonntag. On the contrary, the two even have what it takes to become the future power pack. "A perfect team for the stressed info elite". Facts provides entertainment-oriented access to the "must-read" material of the information elite. Before the more serious counterpart, NZZ am Sonntag, demands more reading time on the weekend.
Of banks, media alliances and discontinued models
Grossenbacher gave the new product from Falkenstrasse plenty of advance praise. He recalled not only the potent brand, which would be a strong godmother to the newspaper child. The media association with the St.Galler Tagblatt and the Bund also offered excellent opportunities for distribution and promotion. And that's not all: the other important factor, money, is not lacking either. "The NZZ is a bank that also publishes a newspaper," Grossenbacher said. The baby is sure to grow vigorously. The current climate is also favorable for the offspring of the NZZ, he said. "The end of the fun society and the good news situation - both could speak for the NZZ am Sonntag," he explained.
But of course the "booming" Sunday press is on the sunny side anyway, and the daily press is also strongly positioned, according to Grossenbacher. Not so the "struggling" political weekly press. Grossenbacher hardly allowed any rays of hope. Weltwoche is a discontinued model - because political weekly titles are more likely to be dispensed with. This is a thesis that media scientist Roger Blum had already put forward at the beginning of the year in WerbeWoche (WW 7/01).
Grossenbacher also interpreted the radical innovations and the move from newspaper to magazine as a bad sign for Weltwoche. "Such radical cures often herald death," he said.
But Grossenbacher also sees problems with the reader market ahead for the SoZ. The potential for switching, which he senses, is considerable: every seventh SoZ reader - that's no less than 106,000 - is also an NZZ reader. The NZZ subscribers among them will hardly expect to read two Sunday newspapers from next spring on, that is already clear. And because the NZZ am Sonntag comes free of charge anyway, the decision is already anticipated. The loser is the SoZ.
However, SoZ editor-in-chief Andreas Durisch defended his paper as a successful Sunday title - it would hardly have much to fear in the new environment. To this Ralph Büchi objected: "Why does SoZ nevertheless give away 33 percent or 49 francs of its subscription rate when it is so successful?" If the NZZ am Sonntag uses such blatant marketing methods as, for example, one year's free delivery to NZZ subscribers, then the SoZ must also do something, Durisch countered.
NZZ am Sonntag cannibalizes its own Saturday edition
There was agreement on the developments in the advertising market. Sunday is and remains a great day for advertising. With the NZZ am Sonntag, a market expansion in the advertising market would become reality. But not so lavishly that everyone can profit from it. "NZZ am Sonntag will absorb more ads than it generates," Grossenbacher predicted. "The others will have to dress warmly." Durisch expects slightly fewer advertisements. The company is now looking to talk to its customers.
Tobias Trevisan, Head of NZZ Publishing, also expected an expansion of the market, but at the same time predicted cut-throat competition. Trevisan made no secret of the fact that the Saturday edition of the NZZ itself would lose out. Of the two other Sunday titles, the SoZ in particular will have to give up advertisements.
"Weltwoche is Stalingrad easy".
But that is still comfortable compared to what is feared for Weltwoche. How do you feel on the way to the media graveyard, Büchi asked Weltwoche editor-in-chief Roger Köppel. "New content, new orientation, new form - aren't you expecting a bit much of your readers all at once, after they've already been confronted with plenty of change in recent years?"
Köppel says they only had two options: "Either to moderate a euthanasia program in the long term - or to improve something sustainably. We opted for the bolder step," he replied. But the forecasts for Weltwoche also generated gallows humor in him. At the time, he said, he told his colleagues at Tamedia, "Leaving Weltwoche is Stalingrad easy."
NZZ am Sonntag becomes "Switzerland's third free newspaper
But there were also some critical questions about the NZZ am Sonntag. Giving away the new newspaper for free for a whole year was a risky business, he said. "Will recipients be willing to pay the subscription price afterwards?" asked Büchi. Trevisan explained that price sensitivity among subscribers is not as high as is often thought. A study by the NZZ am Sonntag had shown this. Expressed in figures: Trevisan expects that 10 percent of NZZ readers will say no to the Sunday edition right at the start. Another 30 percent would do so a year later when they receive their bill. In other words, the NZZ am Sonntag assumes today that 60 percent of the free recipients can one day be turned into paying subscribers. A very optimistic estimate, everyone agreed.
One newspaper was absent from the IAA event: SonntagsBlick. It was not affected by the target reader groups addressed, and it also had only very few double readers with the NZZ. For once, therefore, the Ringier media company can only look on as the others wrest market share from each other.
