Using promotional ends to make money not just look good

newsXpress Castle Towers are retailers not just newsagents. By devoting ends to product that sells not just promote, they are making more money. Whilst magazine promotions look good, we are in business to use every square inch of the shop for profit not promotion. Magazines can be promoted in other ways and newsXpress is forging forward by selling magazines and promoting them well, yet using real estate in more profitable ways. We love magazines but we are also promoting other parts of the retail offer to add more dimension to our stores.

This approach is certainly embraced by our customers as the results prove.

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newsXpress Castle Towers promoting (and selling) diaries and plush gifts where magazines have traditionally been the sole occupant.

Canson Creative Centre unveiled in newsXpress

The Canson Creative Centre exclusive to newsXpress has been launched amid much fanfare in Victorian locations this week. As you can see from the photos the display is stunning and certainly sets newsXpress apart from it’s competitors and even other retailers in the challenge of bringing art to the mass market.

The roll out continues over the next fortnight in Queensland.

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newsXpress Ascot Vale – exclusive Canson Creative Centre

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newsXpress Gladstone Park – the custom built stand fits perfectly into the store layout.

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newsXpress Reservoir – where the Canson Creative Centre is set up adjacent to the Canson Paper stand for a complete Art & craft offer.

Publishers A-OK! with level of newsXpress support

The newsXpress exclusive promotion with OK! magazine this week has been exceptionally well supported by members as these photos clearly show.

The promotion rewarded each purchase of OK! magazine with a gift of the haute couture Hollywood Fashion Tape to co-incide with this week’s Oscars ceremony.

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newsXpress Ascot Vale – situated on a High St have plastered their front window with OK! materials. It has certainly generated publicity with the high traffic flow.

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newsXpress Cairns Central have utilised a structural pillar to decorate with the OK! marketing materials. This is clearly visible while looking through the weekly magazine stand, which has been Beacon Branded to highlight the on sale OK! title.

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newsXpress Caboolture have expertly cross promoted the OK! magazine exclusive with a global Women’s Day ‘Everyday Food’ offer.

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newsXpress Frankston have shown great creativity with their iconic display. Notice the large bow in the top left hand corner…

Environmental Education continues at newsXpress

A national display competition and a genuine sense of social responsibility has led to newsXpress trailblazing the environmental cause amongst small businesses Australia wide. A branded and reusable red bag is not only a great marketing tool for your business but also a commendable alternative to plastic bags.

newsXpress Scott’s Lismore – Use a large red container and fill it with bags, placing it next to the front door. It is sharing space with the HOT ink! and proving a smash with customers.

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newsXpress Ballarat have merchandised their red bags on a double sided display at the front of the store. It has been put together this way to give a different message depending on whether the customer is entering or exiting the store.

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newsXpress Thornlie Square have appealed to the emotive side of their customers by asking if they ‘love their environment’.

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newsXpress/OK! promotion adds value to customer

One of the strengths of a marketing group is their ability to co-ordinate and execute exclusive promotions to add value to their customers. A great newsXpress example is the current OK! magazine promotion which rewards the purchaser with a packet of Hollywood Fashion tape – an essential item for any fashion conscious woman in 2008!

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newsXpress Capalaba: Using front and centre stage, with large posters in their light boxes, this display cannot be missed!

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newsXpress Camp Hill: A strong display with a lot of response for the free gift!

Hollywood’s Big Night gets the OK! from newsXpress

OK! Magazine are running an exclusive promotion with newsXpress stores to celebrate their Academy Awards issue of their weekly magazine.

With each purchase of the magazine, customers will receive a 3 pack of Hollywood tape, the very type used on the red carpet to ‘conceal’ the modesty of the starlets.

Each newsXpress store received additional marketing materials as well as DL flyers directing customers to pick up their free prize from the counter. As you can see from the photos below newsXpressers have had a ball dressing up their stores.

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newsXpress Ballarat used this effective full face display with the DL flyers to support their massive front window merchandising.

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newsXpress Beers, Port Lincoln used creativity and dressed up some shop mannequins using the Hollywood tape in this glamorous display.

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newsXpress Eastland utilised a powerful marketing display at their New Release Magazine racking as well as a strong waterfall merchandising to increase exposure.

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newsXpress Eumundi dedicated prime real estate next to the news-stand for their promotional display.

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newsXpress Forest Hill built this bold end directly facing customers as they walk into the store.

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newsXpress Kingaroy Mall made sure customers knew their was a big event on with this exciting arrangement bordering the daily news publications.

HOT ink! #5 – ON SALE NOW

The promotion behind HOT ink! #5 has been live for almost a week and stores are already reporting great sales. The largest participation of stores in a newsXpress promotion have distributed hundreds of thousands of flyers all across Australia. As well as the flyer strategy stores have begun introducing HOT ink! destination signage and posters to their stores to really grow brand recognition of this fast growing sub-brand.

All stores participating and their details can be found at www.hotink.com.au

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Some other stores have gone a step further and had local area print marketing commissioned to support their HOT ink! #5 promotion. Featured below are newspaper advertisements from newsXpress Westpoint and newsXpress Glendale.

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Saying ‘NO’ to plastic bags

Newsagents’ have been labeled as wasteful by groups such as Planet Ark. newsXpressers are changing this perception by committing themselves to driving our environmental strategy which involves our cartridge rescue plan and also selling our red environmental bags for 70c. We’re sure groups such as Planet Ark and Clean Up Australia will get behind our network of stores and give us their full support.

newsXpress Laidley are leading the way with this stellar display and making their customers aware. Education is key in changing customers perceptions about the impact of plastic bags on the environment.

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This photo is a prime example of how our newsXpress members are embracing the environmental message and including it in their regular promotional program. Congratulations to Helen & Russell Kirk and their team.

Meet the newsXpress Team

Meet Sonia Ruhland, newsXpress Group Administration Co-ordinator. Sonia joined newsXpress in 2005 and provides members with up-to-date information to support their business, a keen eye for detail and a wealth of IT knowledge.

Sonia is pictured in our new Brisbane Support centre located in Capalaba. We recently moved our Queensland operation to this new facility to accommodate the expanded team and also to benefit from shared IT capabilities which will make the business more efficient.

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‘Just In’ Magazine Marketing

To help drive incremental sales of magazines, newsXpress has developed the ‘Just In’ bookmark. This exclusive in-store marketing initiative is another part of our obsession with the magazine category. All stores were allocated a quantity of these unique marketing tools at no cost to them.


newsXpress Goulburn have already started to use their ‘Just In’ arrows to attract customers attention with great early success.

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newsXpress instore Branding – Doormats

A valuable resource for members in the newsXpress network is the brand itself. While individual stores conduct their own local marketing initiatives, they join the group for the benefits associated with belonging to the name.

A number of stores have purchased newsXpress branded door mats, these are not only an exceptional way to advertise their business but actually practical for use in the business.

These mats are available to all members by completing an order form available through newsXpress and returning directly to Identity Matters. As you can see in the attached photos, they can be used in many applications and adapted to suit whatever needs you have.

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newsXpress Mooloolaba vertical design, 900mm W x 1800mm H

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newsXpress Gympie horizontal design, 1800mm W x 900mm H