Print becomes cheaper
The trend in advertising rates for 2010 is clear: Many newspapers and magazines are lowering their cost per thousand readers. Apparently, they hope this will help them capture a larger share of the advertising market.
Almost a zero round - that was the title of Werbewoche's article on print rates a year ago. This time, however, the print genre is more accommodating to its customers than ever before since Werbewoche has been observing the development of advertising rates. For the first time, a broad trend towards genuine rate reductions can be seen. Generally speaking, it can be said that titles that have recorded a significant increase in reach this year have seen their rates rise, but as a rule the percentage increase in rates remains well below the increase in performance. A prime example of this is the Sunday edition of Südostschweiz, which has 26 percent more readers but is only 10 percent more expensive. NZZ am Sonntag, SonntagsZeitung and Schweizer Familie are doing the same. And TV2, Glückspost and Bilan - despite double-digit gains in reach - are not even making an impact. Finanz und Wirtschaft is even more modest, reducing its four-color price by 26 percent despite a 14.8 percent increase in readership - and thus also introducing the standard rate. Le Temps also opted for the standard rate, albeit by only slightly lowering the four-color rate and simultaneously raising the black-and-white rate to the same level. However, because the title has 11.4 percent more readers than a year ago, this still results in a lower thousand-reader price (TLP) for most customers.
A lower TLP also results when prices fall more sharply than reach. This is the case this time with the Edipresse titles Matin orange and Matin Dimanche.
Despite the crisis and advertising slump, some titles remain self-confident: they are demanding what their additional service deserves. Take 20 Minuten Deutschschweiz, for example, whose price increase of 9.3 percent is exactly the same as the last increase. In French-speaking Switzerland, the title is demanding 45 percent more, naturally because it hopes to fill the gap left by Matin bleu (blessed). It remains to be seen whether the rate increase is justified to this extent. Customers of Magazin, NZZ Folio and Blick am Abend will also pay more in 2010 - because they have expanded their distribution area: Magazin is now also included in the Bund, while Blick am Abend and NZZ Folio have expanded into eastern and central Switzerland.
As is the case every year, there are also some black sheep among the print titles. Although they suggest a zero price increase, they are actually becoming massively more expensive because their reach has fallen significantly compared to the previous year. Among the titles with a poorer price-performance ratio are Tele, TVStar, Beobachter, Weltwoche and Femina. Terre et Nature is behaving particularly cheekily, maintaining this year's rate despite a 17% drop in reach. Similarly, the Berner Bär: its price fell by only 1.5 percent, although its readership plummeted by 13.1 percent.
And finally, there are a few titles that leave their side tariffs at the previous level but raise their millimeter tariff at the same time. The second option is to lower the page rate but not reduce the millimeter rate to the same extent. In both cases, they become more expensive for those customers who do not place full-page ads. Such hidden rate increases can be found at Freiburger Nachrichten, Journal du Jura, Bieler Tagblatt and La Liberté.
Markus Knöpfli
> To the tariffs
> Corrigendum
A lower TLP also results when prices fall more sharply than reach. This is the case this time with the Edipresse titles Matin orange and Matin Dimanche.
Despite the crisis and advertising slump, some titles remain self-confident: they are demanding what their additional service deserves. Take 20 Minuten Deutschschweiz, for example, whose price increase of 9.3 percent is exactly the same as the last increase. In French-speaking Switzerland, the title is demanding 45 percent more, naturally because it hopes to fill the gap left by Matin bleu (blessed). It remains to be seen whether the rate increase is justified to this extent. Customers of Magazin, NZZ Folio and Blick am Abend will also pay more in 2010 - because they have expanded their distribution area: Magazin is now also included in the Bund, while Blick am Abend and NZZ Folio have expanded into eastern and central Switzerland.
As is the case every year, there are also some black sheep among the print titles. Although they suggest a zero price increase, they are actually becoming massively more expensive because their reach has fallen significantly compared to the previous year. Among the titles with a poorer price-performance ratio are Tele, TVStar, Beobachter, Weltwoche and Femina. Terre et Nature is behaving particularly cheekily, maintaining this year's rate despite a 17% drop in reach. Similarly, the Berner Bär: its price fell by only 1.5 percent, although its readership plummeted by 13.1 percent.
And finally, there are a few titles that leave their side tariffs at the previous level but raise their millimeter tariff at the same time. The second option is to lower the page rate but not reduce the millimeter rate to the same extent. In both cases, they become more expensive for those customers who do not place full-page ads. Such hidden rate increases can be found at Freiburger Nachrichten, Journal du Jura, Bieler Tagblatt and La Liberté.
Markus Knöpfli
> To the tariffs
> Corrigendum
Some big ones missing
Not all publishers have published their rates yet. For example, the new prices of Basler Zeitung, Baslerstab, Bilanz, Solothurner Zeitung, Reader's Digest and the cinema magazines had not been published by the editorial deadline. (mk)
