Scandinavia has some of the highest newspaper readership per head in the developed world. Part of this is down to the relative lateness of commercial broadcast channels (eg commercial radio was only introduced in the 1990s), but a large part of this is due to well developed CRM strategies.
Newspapers in Sweden are well established, well liked and consistently influence the social and political agenda. More significantly they have been leaders in online whereas in other markets newspapers have predominantly played catch up.
The Aftonbladet newspaper was one of the first publishers to successfully monetise online content and its subscription based ViktKlubb / diet club (http://viktklubb.aftonbladet.se/cm/2.10/2.112) has been profitable from the start and as early as 2005 Norwegian newspaper publisher Schibsted was delivering 30% of its revenue from online enterprises. Further developments have seen the Aftonbladet create video content under the banner of Aftonbladet TV and Dagens Nyheter are even selling mobile phones with a special DN button that allows free mobile access to the Dagens Nyheter website.
The success of paid newspapers in Sweden is not primarily due to online though. Sweden is the birthplace of free newspaper Metro and the Scandinavian market has a well established free press with other titles like PunktSE and Urban in Denmark having high circulations. Paid newspapers in Scandinavia have therefore been forced to innovate in advance of other markets.
This is particularly evident with the tabloid press where the purchase model is different to other countries. Consumers buy the main paper and then pay for extras that they wish to add. Everyday papers produce a range of other quality add-ons that range from puzzle supplements through to glossy fashion and travel magazines. DVDs and books are also offered alongside the main paper but again these are paid for and accompany the base purchase of the main paper.
Typically readers will pay 10 kroner for the paper with a further 5-10 kroner for each supplement that they wish to add - with all supplements racked seperately next to the main papers. DVDs and books are of good quality and are charged at 59 kroner in addition to the main paper.
Most retailers (including supermarkets) have branded posters in the window with todays headlines and in supermarkets newspapers and supplements are sold at the till rather than near the entrance.
Can any of this be relevant in the UK?
Retail partnerships are clearly important and UK newspapers have been pushing to develop these - from polybagged copies for supermarkets through to CD / DVD promotions redeemable in store. These tie-ins are not quite at Scandinavian levels, but it will be hard to push these further.
There may be more mileage in product development rather than promotion. The Mail On Sunday sold You magazine as a standalone womens weekly in the UK, but this failed because they still gave it away free with the paper on Sunday. However I think the idea of charging for supplements could work.
There are obviously distribution and education challenges, but the idea of having 2 seperate packages could drive circulation. For a long time retailers sold both a broadsheet and compact version of the Times and Independent newspapers, why couldn't publishers follow a version of the Swedish model by selling a reduced price Lite version alongside a full price version that had all the sections and supplements? This could be particularly useful at weekends where Sunday newspaper sales are now experiencing significant declines.
The below photo shows how things are laid out at the till in Sweden (paper at the front with sections and supplements behind.)
Newspapers in Sweden are well established, well liked and consistently influence the social and political agenda. More significantly they have been leaders in online whereas in other markets newspapers have predominantly played catch up.
The Aftonbladet newspaper was one of the first publishers to successfully monetise online content and its subscription based ViktKlubb / diet club (http://viktklubb.aftonbladet.se/cm/2.10/2.112) has been profitable from the start and as early as 2005 Norwegian newspaper publisher Schibsted was delivering 30% of its revenue from online enterprises. Further developments have seen the Aftonbladet create video content under the banner of Aftonbladet TV and Dagens Nyheter are even selling mobile phones with a special DN button that allows free mobile access to the Dagens Nyheter website.
The success of paid newspapers in Sweden is not primarily due to online though. Sweden is the birthplace of free newspaper Metro and the Scandinavian market has a well established free press with other titles like PunktSE and Urban in Denmark having high circulations. Paid newspapers in Scandinavia have therefore been forced to innovate in advance of other markets.
This is particularly evident with the tabloid press where the purchase model is different to other countries. Consumers buy the main paper and then pay for extras that they wish to add. Everyday papers produce a range of other quality add-ons that range from puzzle supplements through to glossy fashion and travel magazines. DVDs and books are also offered alongside the main paper but again these are paid for and accompany the base purchase of the main paper.
Typically readers will pay 10 kroner for the paper with a further 5-10 kroner for each supplement that they wish to add - with all supplements racked seperately next to the main papers. DVDs and books are of good quality and are charged at 59 kroner in addition to the main paper.
Most retailers (including supermarkets) have branded posters in the window with todays headlines and in supermarkets newspapers and supplements are sold at the till rather than near the entrance.
Can any of this be relevant in the UK?
Retail partnerships are clearly important and UK newspapers have been pushing to develop these - from polybagged copies for supermarkets through to CD / DVD promotions redeemable in store. These tie-ins are not quite at Scandinavian levels, but it will be hard to push these further.
There may be more mileage in product development rather than promotion. The Mail On Sunday sold You magazine as a standalone womens weekly in the UK, but this failed because they still gave it away free with the paper on Sunday. However I think the idea of charging for supplements could work.
There are obviously distribution and education challenges, but the idea of having 2 seperate packages could drive circulation. For a long time retailers sold both a broadsheet and compact version of the Times and Independent newspapers, why couldn't publishers follow a version of the Swedish model by selling a reduced price Lite version alongside a full price version that had all the sections and supplements? This could be particularly useful at weekends where Sunday newspaper sales are now experiencing significant declines.
The below photo shows how things are laid out at the till in Sweden (paper at the front with sections and supplements behind.)
I wonder if anyone is brave enough to try something like this in the UK?
