Free advertisers want to enter the national market
With their own pool of classified ads, the VSGZ free newspapers aim to capitalize on their unique selling point.
17 regional free newspapers are currently members of the Swiss Association of Free Newspapers (VSGZ). They want to launch their own, national advertising combination, which will start with a trial this fall. "We will start an initial trial with interested companies," says VSGZ President Thomas Akermann. Akermann is the director of Anzeiger Luzern and Luzerner Woche and has been president since the summer of 2007, after the association had led a sleeping beauty existence for several years.
If the results of the field test are positive, the association plans to give the new estate a name and logo next year. The size of the offer is still open. The core part comprises the German-speaking Swiss centers of Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lucerne and St. Gallen, and can be expanded to include the French-speaking Swiss centers of Geneva and Lausanne with the titles GHI and Lausanne Cité. "Of course, this can be expanded further on a modular basis, for example if a provider of 4×4 vehicles wants to advertise in Graubünden, then a title can also be added there," says Akermann.
Following the change of system at the free newspaper .ch, which is saying goodbye to home delivery at the end of October, the free newspapers in the VSGZ are the only papers that are distributed to all letterboxes, including those that cannot be served with advertising due to the stop stickers. "We are now the only ones in this area, which is our clear strength in terms of a USP," says Akermann. The reason for this is that the newspapers have their own editorial section, which accounts for at least 20 percent of the total volume, and they generally function as official newsletters.
Added value home delivery
Most of the titles have been on the market for a very long time - the Anzeiger Luzern, for example, has been around for 80 years - and have become essential reading in most households. "They are practically part of the family," says Akermann, which also has a lot to do with sympathy. The aim is to be able to offer this service to advertisers at the lowest possible thousand-reader contact price. "We have a good price, although we can't get down to that of 20 Minuten," says Akermann. There, the CPM is around 50 francs, with the VSGZ titles around 80 francs. Akermann explains the price difference with the elaborate distribution concept, which focuses on a completely different audience than the commuter press.
It is also unlikely that the publishers of commuter newspapers will join the association. This is because the VSGZ titles differ from the commuter newspapers not only in terms of their distribution concept and target audience, but also in terms of waste. The littering problem has currently become an issue due to the recent roundtable initiated by Media Minister Moritz Leuenberger. Akermann points out that, unlike the commuter newspapers, his association members are not jointly responsible for the amount of waste paper in public spaces due to letterbox delivery.
René Worni
1.3 million readers
In German-speaking Switzerland, the VSGZ free newspapers reached a total of 1.28 million readers throughout Switzerland in 2007, 320,000 in French-speaking Switzerland alone, according to Mach Basic. Of the 962,000 readers from German-speaking Switzerland, 446,000 read a free newspaper exclusively. This means that the titles reach an average of over 40 percent of an audience that does not normally read subscribed newspapers. In French-speaking Switzerland, there are 147,000 exclusive readers. The figures do not include the 15 percent share of foreign-language readers because their reading habits are not included in Mach Basic. (rw)
Like 30 years ago
The Anzeiger Luzern and the Luzerner Woche are merging to form the Anzeiger Luzern, which will be published in a new format on Wednesdays and Fridays from January 1, 2009. The paper previously known as the Stadtanzeiger will become the actual advertising paper for the Lucerne city area with a circulation of 50,000 copies on Fridays. This should enable tradespeople to advertise as cheaply as 30 years ago. The new millimeter price of 83 centimes is 57.2 percent lower than before. The editorial content will be shifted to the Wednesday edition, which has a high circulation of 124,000 copies and reaches 150,000 people according to Mach Basic. The Anzeiger Luzern remains the official news organ of the city of Lucerne and is delivered to every letterbox in the city. The current director Thomas Akermann will become the new head of the UD Media Group Lucerne, which publishes the Anzeiger Luzern. (rw)
If the results of the field test are positive, the association plans to give the new estate a name and logo next year. The size of the offer is still open. The core part comprises the German-speaking Swiss centers of Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lucerne and St. Gallen, and can be expanded to include the French-speaking Swiss centers of Geneva and Lausanne with the titles GHI and Lausanne Cité. "Of course, this can be expanded further on a modular basis, for example if a provider of 4×4 vehicles wants to advertise in Graubünden, then a title can also be added there," says Akermann.
Following the change of system at the free newspaper .ch, which is saying goodbye to home delivery at the end of October, the free newspapers in the VSGZ are the only papers that are distributed to all letterboxes, including those that cannot be served with advertising due to the stop stickers. "We are now the only ones in this area, which is our clear strength in terms of a USP," says Akermann. The reason for this is that the newspapers have their own editorial section, which accounts for at least 20 percent of the total volume, and they generally function as official newsletters.
Added value home delivery
Most of the titles have been on the market for a very long time - the Anzeiger Luzern, for example, has been around for 80 years - and have become essential reading in most households. "They are practically part of the family," says Akermann, which also has a lot to do with sympathy. The aim is to be able to offer this service to advertisers at the lowest possible thousand-reader contact price. "We have a good price, although we can't get down to that of 20 Minuten," says Akermann. There, the CPM is around 50 francs, with the VSGZ titles around 80 francs. Akermann explains the price difference with the elaborate distribution concept, which focuses on a completely different audience than the commuter press.
It is also unlikely that the publishers of commuter newspapers will join the association. This is because the VSGZ titles differ from the commuter newspapers not only in terms of their distribution concept and target audience, but also in terms of waste. The littering problem has currently become an issue due to the recent roundtable initiated by Media Minister Moritz Leuenberger. Akermann points out that, unlike the commuter newspapers, his association members are not jointly responsible for the amount of waste paper in public spaces due to letterbox delivery.
René Worni
1.3 million readers
In German-speaking Switzerland, the VSGZ free newspapers reached a total of 1.28 million readers throughout Switzerland in 2007, 320,000 in French-speaking Switzerland alone, according to Mach Basic. Of the 962,000 readers from German-speaking Switzerland, 446,000 read a free newspaper exclusively. This means that the titles reach an average of over 40 percent of an audience that does not normally read subscribed newspapers. In French-speaking Switzerland, there are 147,000 exclusive readers. The figures do not include the 15 percent share of foreign-language readers because their reading habits are not included in Mach Basic. (rw)
Like 30 years ago
The Anzeiger Luzern and the Luzerner Woche are merging to form the Anzeiger Luzern, which will be published in a new format on Wednesdays and Fridays from January 1, 2009. The paper previously known as the Stadtanzeiger will become the actual advertising paper for the Lucerne city area with a circulation of 50,000 copies on Fridays. This should enable tradespeople to advertise as cheaply as 30 years ago. The new millimeter price of 83 centimes is 57.2 percent lower than before. The editorial content will be shifted to the Wednesday edition, which has a high circulation of 124,000 copies and reaches 150,000 people according to Mach Basic. The Anzeiger Luzern remains the official news organ of the city of Lucerne and is delivered to every letterbox in the city. The current director Thomas Akermann will become the new head of the UD Media Group Lucerne, which publishes the Anzeiger Luzern. (rw)
