Paid Digital Subscriptions Grow

The latest figures I have seen shows there has been good growth in digital subscriptions in Australia, most of this coming from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and The Age.

I know that I get a lot of my news in the form of a digital subscription, but this is tied to a physical weekend delivery where the 7 day digital subscription is offered free. I wonder if this is how they manage to report increases in readership and uptake of digital subscriptions? As much as an 86% from last years figures apparently ! 

What does this all mean? It tells me that consumers are getting their fix in many different ways, absorbing news and entertainment through a multitude of media. So, in order to stay relevant to our consumers we need to adapt our offerings to them to include all different means of delivering their daily or weekly fix.

How do you do this? A good question isn't it? The problem is being able to offer a variety of solutions efficiently and economically. if you are expecting me to have this solution today, I will sadly disappoint, however I strongly believe there is "more than one way to skin a cat" (as they say) and opening conversations and news ways of thinking could bring many of these solutions together.

I also note from the same article I read that the two major weekly magazines, Woman's Day and New Idea have experienced substantial increases in circulation, which is a great news story showing that print media is not dead yet. In fact, niche magazines continue to buck the trend and have steady readership increases. Interestingly this does not surprise me. Although I am happy to get my news digitally (SMH App) I much prefer a magazine for special interest and dare I say it... gossip.

Reality TV helps with magazine readership too, Better Homes & Gardens being the best example I can think of where a TV show promotes the magazine and the magazine the TV Show. Brilliant marketing !

Although I have not focused much on solutions here, I would like to close with a couple of observations. 

Support the Weekly magazine titles in your store with good placement and displays.It makes a lot of sense to support a brand/product that is doing well in the market.

Seek new innovations and products to ensure your retail store appeals to the changing consumer. This can be as simple as selling iTunes cards, gift cards and the like through your electronic terminals, right through to stocking E-Readers and tablets, or smart phones.

The next step is to encourage the publishers to provide Digital Subscription packs to sell at a retail level. What better place than the same store consumers use to buy their newspapers and magazines today? 

 

 

Using Facebook to Promote Sales

Many newsagents and small businesses are adopting Facebook to promote products, or promote their unique selling propositions. That is the particular marketing difference you offer over your competitors, whether they be next door, down the road, or across the globe from an online store. 

The first trick is to identify your unique sales propositions, and promote this to your customer base. With the use of Facebook, you can also quickly expand your target audience by "selling" your unique propositions to your existing followers who will in turn share this with their friends, provided your offer is strong and maybe,  you even reward customers for "talking" about your business....sharing your post with their friends.

Next thing to do is follow through with the promotion. This is how you tie it all together. with not much effort, you can advertise like the big players. It's simple really... what ever you post about on Facebook, back it up with in store displays and promotions.. You local printer can help here. all you need is to provide them with your Facebook post, and chances are they can turn this into and A3 or A2 poster. Simple and very effective!

This may sound all a little vague at the moment, but i think an example will serve be best here.

Let's use the example I have taken here. The Universal Mobile Phone Car Mount, retailing for only $19.95 is a great example of a products that offers value in a simple and easy to use manner.

• Recently, in NSW, new laws came in to restrict the use of mobile phones in cars. These new laws mean that a driver cannot use a mobile phone at all, to receive or make calls, unless the phone is securely mounted in the car.. We sold lots of these when this law was introduced late last year, and so did our retailers. 
• To take advantage of this, post about the new laws and the Universal Mobile Phone Mount on  your Facebook page.
• Add something quirky... like the value of $298 (Based on the fine applicable) and offer the product for only $19.95!
• See your local printer, and get some posters made like then one I just did above.
• Display these posters in store as soon as you post on Facebook.

The result is, you have a relevant Facebook Post, that your customers will understand and value, and when they come into store you will remind them why they came in with clever in-store point of sale (POS). Chances are they will see value in this and re post on Facebook to their friends... or better still, offer them an incentive while in your shop. Maybe a 20% discount on the product if they "share" your post with their friends.
 

Keep an Eye Out

    Our CONNECT plus + retailer guide has proven to be very popular with our retailers, and our staff as well.

    We are currently working on the next version for November which wil cover the the holiday season and welcome any feedback or suggestions you may have to improve CONNECT plus +

Some things we are looking to incorporate thanks to suggestions from retailers include the removal of wholesale pricing removed from products so retailers can show consumers the range available and take orders.

Keep an eye out for the new editon.

 

Let's get Social

Optus have just launched the new Optus Social Prepaid Rate Plan, and what a great rate plan this is !

With unlimited Optus to Optus Mobile Voice calls and SMS within Australia, and lots of included minutes and data for everything else, this is the prepaid rate plan for all your customers.

Click the image above to learn more about Optus Prepaid Social.

 

Swat that Fly !

    Lots of talk about newspapers being replaced by the online digital revolution, but there are some things you just can't replace.

Some of you may have seen funny advertisement before, but I figured it is worth sharing again.

Anyway, this may be a little funny, but what is really happening is suppliers and retailers are adjusting their businesses to suit a new era of consumer. News in particular, is delivered in so many different formats that consumers have more and more choice to get the news they want... be it watching TV, listening to the radio, reading a newspaper or having one of those clever little "APPS" feed news to your Fly Swatter like the one seen here. 

We have had a lot of calls from newsagents since the announcements made by Fairfax and News Limited recently, wanting to adapt and evolve.

Good on you I say.

 

"A fair go for all!"

You may have all started to see the new TV ads for Virgin Mobiles "Robin Da Hood - A fair go for all" campaign. This campaign brings back the clever marketing we all know and love from Virgin Mobile.

Yesterday afternoon Cassie (National Sales Admin)  and Simon (National Sales Manager) were invited to attend a meet and greet with Sir Richard Branson to kick off the Fair Go for All canpaign.

The Virgin Mobile brand is about challenging the Telecommunications industry and giving consumers a fair go. So with "free voice mail" and"free Virgin 2 Virgin calls and TXT within Oz", roll over of unused credit and coverage that covers 97% of the Australian population on the Optus Dual Band network,  you can't go past Virgin Mobile for a fair go!

This campaign is only just starting and has already been prominent on the radio and television. There was even a write up about it in OK magazine this week.
So with so much going on around Virgin Mobiles new offers and handset range,  it is important to ensure you have adequate stock to meet the increased consumer demand.

 Click Here to be taken to the Robin Da Hood web page, where you can get a run down on the campaign.

 

 

Mobile Broadband Growth Surge

    Mobile Broadband continues to grow in popularity in Australia as consumers look to avoid being tied down to cables and want to enjoy the freedom and convenience of "being connected" whenever and wherever they are.
    We recently launched the Optus Prepaid Broadband Dump Bin into retail channels and this has proven to be a huge success for retailers as consumers awareness of Mobile Broadband has grown considerably in the last few months. 
    I believe in supporting our retailers any way we can. This exclusive Broadband offer through Jenlist Distributors is fully supported by Optus and is finding its way into quality retailers looking to expand their suite of products to meet a growing demand for technology in a convenient loaction and shopping experience.
    It's a great way to start retailing Mobile products if you haven't already given it a go. The dump bin creates an immediate presence in store.
    Even consumers that already have a Mobile Broadband service have been know to purchase another if they have left home and forgotten to bring theirs, or another for the kids. 
    Having the products visible and convenient is proving successful for newsagents and convenience stores around the country.
If you think you want a piece of this action, call us on 1300 781 758.
 

A Global Economy is a Reality
    I have been lucky enough to attend the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) this week and also spent some time in and around Hong Kong checking out the retail scene for Electronics.
    What I have noticed, is that we are moving closer and closer to a what I believe to be a global economy. Pricing of electronics, and for that matter, just about anything else from a cup of coffee and a meal to furniture and essentials for the home are pretty much on a par with the rest of the world. Sure there are bargains to be had, if you know your prices and are willing to bargain, but when it comes to general retail I have found that prices are somewhat on a par with what we expect to pay in Australia.
    The bargains that we once were able to get are far and few between. Save for some of the more expensive items in life that the Australian Government likes to tax us Aussies heavily for, like high end motor vehicles, most items are pretty much the same when doing the conversions.
    Some of the items I found in retail centres that I would consider to be a fair bit cheaper than we pay in Australia were musical instruments, shoes, high end cars (nearly half price) general clothing and leather furniture, while the more expensive items that matched our pricing, or in some cases exceeded it are things like high end designer clothes, watches and jewellery.
    All in all, the bargains we could once enjoy by "sourcing" from China and Hong Kong are now not so easily found. 
    Yes, I found some items that we will look seriously at bringing to Australia to suit our market and assist our retailers to bank more dollars by way of greater margins, but I certainly found that we are all going to need to work smarter and harder to win the consumers dollar.
 

Aspirational Advertising Sells Product

    Targeting a market is often about creating images in a consumers mind that this could be them. 
    People aspire to be better, fitter, smarter and often believe they can achieve this by purchasing products that create a lifestyle or image for them. 
    There is nothing wrong with feeling this way, and I certainly do not believe there is anything wrong with advertising this way either.
    
    This picture shows a young lady enjoying the use of her Tablet, and projects a certain amount of freedom when using a tablet. No cords, no desktop to sit at. The image removes restrictions based on the fact that a Tablet device is totally portable and wire free! So this becomes an aspiration... people can see themselves like this. Happy, relaxed, informed and free.
    So, think out side the square a little when creating in-store displays to sell products. Maybe use none related products together, or find an image similar to the one above to display with the Tablets and Handsets you have on sale in your store.
    It is often said... " A picture paints a thousand words"