Internet to bring subscriptions

Subscription advertising The Swiss Press Association supports its members with the new presseabo.ch channel to gain additional subscriptions. Publishers are cautiously optimistic. Since mid-November, Swiss newspapers and magazines can expect additional subscription orders. The presseabo.ch website is the reason for this. The new subscription portal was launched by the Swiss Press Association. The publishers' association wants to give a permanent structure to its advertising campaigns on the Internet (press show, summer game), which have only been carried out selectively to date. The question arises, the association wrote to its members in October, "why we only actively use this growth medium twice a year and, above all, why we only offer trial subscriptions when our primary goal is longer-term subscriptions."
Almost four months after the launch of the subscription portal, Toni Vetterli, responsible for the project at the Publishers Association, sees the first signs that the project is on the right track. Around 1200 new subscribers have been acquired. "And not just trial subscriptions, but annual and two-year subscriptions," says Vetterli. The gift subscription option is particularly popular. The new offer is advertised with print ads and radio spots placed by the individual publishers in their media.

Most publishers seem to be convinced by their industry association's new joint campaign, as a glance at the list of available titles shows. From the national daily newspaper to the trade journal, everyone is backing the new subscription channel. But it's not entirely free. In addition to an annual cost contribution of CHF 800, publishers have to pay a commission of one third of the price to the association for every subscription generated via the portal. For additional money, prominent advertising space can be booked on the homepage of presseabo.ch.
Ringier and Tamedia are currently making intensive use of this offer. Partly with success. The SonntagsZeitung, for example, has already generated 40 subscriptions via the new Internet channel. This is one of the better figures in a cross-comparison, says Caroline Thoma, Publishing Director of SonntagsZeitung. "As the main channel for acquiring subscriptions, the results would of course not make us happy, but as an additional channel, the cost-benefit ratio is fine for us at the moment." The TV magazine Tele has so far only been able to gain five new subscribers, although the Ringier title is also prominently advertised on presseabo.ch. Despite this low figure, Ringier is reasonably satisfied with the action of the publishers' association. The association's support can be described as "generally good".
The extent to which small publishers who cannot afford prominent advertising space on presseabo.ch will also benefit from the new service is difficult to assess at present. However, Guido Blumer, publisher of the Winterthurer Stadtblatt and himself a member of the executive committee of the Swiss Press Association, firmly believes "that the local press will also benefit in the long term." Blumer sees presseabo.ch only secondarily as an instrument to gain subscriptions: "It is much more a platform that is intended to present the breadth of the newspaper offering in Switzerland."

Not the first on the web presseabo.ch is not the first Internet portal where you can order subscriptions to Swiss newspapers and magazines. Direktverkauf AG has already been active in this field for nine years with its abo.ch website. "We are not surprised that publishers are now also becoming active. It was only a matter of time," says Noël Boller. The owner of the direct marketing company from Illnau is not worried about the new competition. abo.ch primarily does business with German magazines. "We also distribute these ourselves. We only take Swiss titles on commission. This makes them less commercially interesting for us."
According to Boller, around 10,000 subscriptions are generated via the portal every year. Around a fifth of these are Swiss newspapers and magazines. Toni Vetterli from the Swiss Press Association is aware of the competition, but puts its significance into perspective: "We differentiate ourselves from other subscription portals through the Schweizer Presse brand and the broader range of products." From the point of view of generic promotion, there can be no question of competition. After all, newspapers and magazines should find new paying readers. The channel through which this happens is only relevant for publishers in terms of the commission fees that they have to pay the intermediary for each subscription generated.

Paper works better
The Swiss Press Association continues to rely on print advertising to support publishers in attracting subscriptions. With a print run of almost seven million copies, the association circulates leaflets offering trial subscriptions twice a year. More than 40,000 of these are redeemed, but how many can be converted into longer-term subscriptions depends on the efforts of the individual publishers. However, the conversion rate is generally very high, says Toni Vetterli from the publishers' association. It is in the range of twenty to sixty percent.
 
 
"The subscription salon has had its day"
Advertiser Dominique von Matt talks about the opportunities and risks of generic advertising for print.

WW: How do you perceive advertising for print media in Switzerland?
Dominique von Matt: Overall, I have a positive picture of the individual brands and how they are positioning themselves. However, I have noticed a relative lack of continuity. Perhaps in the fast-moving print media business, too little attention is paid to communication from a brand management perspective.
WW: How important is generic marketing?
Dominique von Matt: Generic campaigns only really make sense if they are aimed at advertisers. There is fierce competition here. Especially between television and print media.
WW: Why is it pointless to sensitize readers to the advantages of print?
Dominique von Matt: The choice of a particular newspaper or magazine is an emotional one for the reader, not so for advertisers. It's not about information and experience, but about return on investment. That's why reader-title loyalty promises more success than generic marketing.
WW:So an Internet portal like presseabo.ch would be a waste of time?
Dominique von Matt: From the perspective of generic marketing, possibly yes. But that's not the point: a subscription portal is first and foremost a sales promotion measure. And it's certainly quite good at that.
WW:Do you pick up your future readers on the Internet today?
Dominique von Matt: Definitely. It's very pleasant to buy something online, especially when there's also a competition prize on offer. Nowadays, people buy books and book trips online. So why not order the newspaper the same way? The subscription box has definitely had its day. Even among senior citizens. Anyone who has left the workforce in the last five years is familiar with the Internet. Older people in particular are increasingly appreciating the advantage of being able to do many things from home.
Nick Lüthi