Regional free newspapers are getting on their feet

 
Gratisanzeiger The inflation of commuter newspapers and their waste problem give the Association of Swiss Free Newspapers new impetus. 
 
The Association of Swiss Free Newspapers (VSGZ) was quiet for a long time. Until mid-2007, when the ten remaining VSGZ members appointed Thomas Akermann (34), Director of Anzeiger Luzern and Luzerner Woche, to the post of President, which had been vacant since 2002. Jean-Marc Vellmann, General Director of GHI and Lausanne Cités, was elected Vice President. From the outset, the two of them set a fast pace: Akermann said at the time that the aim was to win over the highest-circulation titles in each region for membership of the VSGZ within six months. This has now largely been achieved: at the beginning of December, Akermann and Vellmann presented eight new members. Joining the VSGZ boat are Baslerstab, Berner Bär, Bündner Anzeiger, Quartier-Echo (Zurich), Stadtanzeiger Winterthur and Zuger Presse as well as Arc Hébdo and Courrier Neuchâtelois in western Switzerland. However, Akermann does not hide the fact that there are still gaps on the VSGZ map: For example, in Aargau, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Ticino and Valais. However, the VSGZ President says that talks are underway there.
The VSGZ's dual strategyFilling these gaps is important for the VSGZ not only for quantitative reasons, but also because it wants to press ahead with a project that has been on the drawing board for a long time: This involves language-regional advertising combinations or even the establishment of a national pool of free newspapers. The VSGZ is closer than ever to this goal. The 18 members have also set themselves a deadline: The corresponding offer should be ready in a year's time - if only all parent publishers join in. "Larger groups in particular still have reservations about this - because some of them have other interests," says Akermann, alluding to 20 Minuten, News and Metropool.
In addition to the combination issue, the VSGZ is also increasingly pursuing generic marketing again - with a dual strategy: differentiating itself qualitatively and communicating its own advantages. VSGZ members must have their circulation and reach certified by the Wemf, and they should also have at least 0.75 readers per copy and an editorial share of 20 percent or more of the volume. In this way, the VSGZ wants to set itself apart from purely official journals or PR publications, including the titles from the Zehnder publishing house in Wilhelmshaven. And VSGZ's main arguments against commuter newspapers are gross home delivery and household coverage. "We reach more people than the free newspaper .ch. And thanks to distribution to letterboxes, we contribute practically nothing to the littering problem. In many places, our members therefore have a sympathy bonus," says Akermann.
Non-readers read free newspapersAnother argument in VSGZ marketing is the so-called exclusive readers: according to an evaluation by Wemf, 14 of the 18 VSGZ members reach a total of 603,000 people who do not read a regional subscription daily newspaper (the figures for the other four VSGZ titles are not yet available). The 12 Swiss-German VSGZ titles surveyed alone have 446,000 exclusive readers. This is a respectable figure, especially when you add the 15 percent of the population who speak a foreign language, who also frequently leaf through free newspapers but are not (or cannot be) surveyed by Wemf. However, the exclusive readership survey has a flaw: it only takes into account the overlaps with the regional daily subscription newspapers, but not those with the ubiquitous commuter newspapers.
Markus Knöpfli
 
 
 
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An example of the reawakened self-confidence among the regional free newspapers can be found in Geneva, where the title GHI had a reader analysis carried out at the end of 2007, which revealed the following strengths: In its core area WG 11, GHI is the absolute leader with 187,000 readers, ahead of Tribune de Genève, Matin Bleu or 20 minutes. The GHI is also ahead in all age groups, among the affluent (household income of CHF 8,000 or more per month) as well as among the less affluent and also among decision-makers. In combination with Lausanne Cités, the GHI also covers 467,000 households, which corresponds to 52% of all households in French-speaking Switzerland.
The result in terms of exclusive readers is particularly interesting: the GHI alone reaches 89,000 people who do not read the Tribune de Genève, 125,000 people who do not read Tout l'immobilier, 115,000 people who do not read Matin Bleu and 134,000 people who do not read 20 minutes. In terms of price per thousand readers, the GHI is also cheaper than the other titles in the region (with the exception of Tout l'immobilier). (mk)