Don’t fight the free dailies — diversify
Every weekday morning, they are there. Freshly printed, convenient and and portable, with colour photos and bold captions, stacks of free dailies make their way into the hands of commuters, young readers and potential advertisers — essentially replacing the traditional role of paid dailies.
But is it really fair to hate them, or blame them for the troubles the paid newspapers are facing?
That’s the wrong approach, said Piet Bakker, professor at the University of Amsterdam, who has studied the effect of introducing free papers into the market.
Readers aren’t substituting free papers for paid, says Piet Bakker. Instead, free dailies are attracting new readers — including the coveted younger generation. Photo by Aaron Lynett
“If you’re looking at them as the enemy, then you are probably barking up the wrong tree,” Bakker said at Ink & Beyond, a conference of the Canadian Newspaper Association and Canadian Community Newspapers Association. “I don’t believe in it. I think they are stealing some readers and some advertising as well, but we have always had competition and new challenges.”
“Making them an enemy is not a very fruitful approach to your own future,” he said, especially since free dailies appear to be here to stay.
Across the world, the number of free dailies is increasing and their readership is increasing. Many markets in Asia, Europe and North America have multiple free dailies. There are eight in Korea, five in Switzerland.
FREE DAILIES: 1995-2008
Free dailies have steadily moved into new countries, bringing an exponential increase in titles and circulation. Chart courtesy Piet Bakker.
“In almost every market … the trend that paid newspapers are losing ground and free newspapers are gaining,” said Bakker.
But that doesn’t mean readers are substituting free papers for paid. Instead, free papers are simply attracting new readers — including the coveted generation of younger readers.
TORONTO NEWSPAPER READERSHIP AGE BREAKDOWN:
Image courtesy Piet Bakker
So what can paid papers do in a market that is increasingly saturated?
“The strategy is to do different things at the same time. Have online strategies, do something with your brand, sell books or DVDs, organize seminars, travels,” he said.
“You can do things with your brand, but at this point late in the game, you don’t have to do a free newspaper.”
IMPACT OF FREE DAILIES IN CANADA:
Image courtesy Piet Bakker
But having only a newspaper is a very “problematic,” he said. If you are a good paper, with a good name, you can probably last 15 to 20 years at the most, he said. “And who knows what’s going to happen in 20 years.”
Piet Bakker writes a blog about free dailies
