September, 2008 | newsXpress Blog

Meet the team

The newsXpress team met for most of yesterday in Melbourne to discuss the next phase of our development and make final plans for our national conference on the Gold Coast next week. We took the opportunity to get a group photo. Take a look at the team committed to helping newsagents get the best out of their businesses:

From left to right, front to back: Ian Urquhart, Michelle Caia, Paul Waite, Karen Sutton, Lesly Bortfield, Belinda Adshead, Ben Kay, Trent Shields, Jeff Walsh, Ron Thorpe, Roger Bortfield, Graham Randall, Mark Fletcher and Sonia Ruhland.

Where can I find newsXpress?

On the other end of the phone was someone who has seen our TV ad for ink and wanted to know her nearest store so she could get the ink we at the price we are currently advertising. Every day we are hearing stories like this, stories of the latest TV commercial and other marketing which is changing consumer behaviour and bringing traffic to newsXpress stores.

Earlier this year we committed to increasing store traffic through a number of startegies. Our TV campaign is one of those. Even though this campaignn is only a few days old we already have good evidence of increased awareness leading to sales from consumers who were used to purchasing brand name ink elsewhere.

Bringing people back to the newsagency channel for stationery items and, in particular, bringing them to newsXpress, is an important part of our mission.

TV lures suppliers

The latest TV commercial from newsXpress – which started airing on Sunday – is attracting more than good consumer interest in our stores. Suppliers respect our investment in our brand and want to share in the newsXpress experience. While we are not about to make a supplier decision because of a pitch resulting from our latest TV commercial, it is pleasing to see our investment in the newsXpress brand being so noticed.

In 2008, the newsXpress brand will be the newsagent brand most widely advertised on TV. The more important measure, however, is the commercial results achieved from the advertising. This is what gets suppliers interested. Our innovative national stage marketing places us well in discussions with suppliers – current and prospective.

Historically, newsagents have negotiated fro a position of critical mass. Our approach is to negotiate having demonstrated our capabilities. The latest TV commercial is a good demonstration of our capabilities and our commitment to promoting the brands which support newsXpress newsagents.

Excitement for newsXpress newsagents!

Here is the TV commercial newsXpress will running to promote its HOT ink! offer. The commercial is creating a good buzz in the community as well as among newsXpress members.

It’s great to have the a newsagent brand on TV and it is even better to be actively competing with the majors!

Promoting the shredder

Father’s Day has been a tremendous success at newsXpress this year. Our stores have had a range of good-value items available including this Safeguard shredder which also came with a free photo album valued at $9.95. The album was exclusive to newsXpress and provided us with another way to show the value of the newsXpress difference – to the consumer and to the newsXpress newsagent.

We understand that we compete against the big retail chains and that having a genuine point of difference is crucial. Our merchandise team looks for ways to show this beyond price and range.

newsXpress members have reported excellent results from the shredder offer.

newsXpress national TV commercial

Our latest TV commercial starts tomorrow night on ten pay-TV channels as well as free to air – channels 7, 9, 10, WIN and Southern Cross. This TV campaign is promoting our latest Hot Ink offer and pitched our group of close to 150 stores against the majors. Given the value in the latest Hot Ink offer we are very happy to be in this competitive situation.

newsXpress members tell us that the Hot Ink marketing – the flyers and the TVC – help change consumer behavior. Our investment in better buying supported by strong national marketing shows that we can convince consumers that newsagent, newsXpress newsagents, offer good value. Our consistently strong Hot Ink offers, integrated with everything else newsXpress offers, demonstrates the value of newsXpress membership.

The latest Hot Ink TVC will run natuionally for two weeks and cap off another very successful Hot Ink campaign.

Only newsXpress has a commitment to regular call-to-action marketing outside traditional seasons.

Extending Father’s Day

newsXpress helps its members broaden range around traditional shopping behaviour. Father’s Day is an excellent example of this strategy at work. the newsXpress merchandise team sourced a range of Father’s Day gift lines, many from suppliers new to newsagents.

This week, in the home stretch of the Father’s Day season, we have been hearing from newsXpress members about what has worked and what has not. While there have been some items which have not worked, they will easily fit in-store and sell between now and Christmas. These products are far outweighed by success stories. newsXpress members are reporting dramatic increases in gift line sales for Father’s Day around our offers.

Our merchandise team works hard to help our members push the boundaries. It is only by doing this that we are able to find what our businesses are capable of. We know the days of the traditional supplier driven newsagent are over. Our entrepreneurial members want to grow stronger, more margin-balanced businesses. Our buying and our supporting marketing collateral pursue this goal of margin balance relentlessly.

Our annual conference on the Gold Coast later this month will cover our merchandise strategies in more detail. If you are not a newsXpress members and want to get an insight into the newsXpress different, consider joining us at the conference on September 18 and 18.

Stationery is more than buying

Buying stationery at the right price is important. How you manage the product in-store is equally important. newsXpress recognises the importance of store layout and offers a plan a gram service to its members. Drawing in industry expert advice, we are helping newsXpress members develop new in-store plans around stationery which drive sales. Product adjacencies, brand promotion and retail theatre are all part of what our experts bring to the table in relaying stationery.

Our intellectual property around our approach to stationery is exclusive. It is another reason why we see newsXpress members embracing the model perform so well in the stationery department.

At our Annual Conference on the Gold Coast later this month we will share some insights into our approach on stationery which will further propel newsXpress newsagents to greater success.

Managing magazines in-store

Magazines are important to newsagencies, even more so in newsXpress. From our exclusive MPA category coded magazine header cards through to our unique loyalty program, we actively work this category to our advantage by delivering to our members a cohesive group of strategies and tactics which generate store traffic, increase basket size and make the magazine customer more valuable.

Our intellectual property around magazines is valuable as the results achieved by our members shows. newsXpress newsagents can bank of the success of magazines, for many it is a key financial justification for joining the group.

While others see magazines as a chore, the newsXpress magazine ‘system’ is delivering excellent results and providing our network with an excellent point of difference.

Win a watch for Dad

newsXpress stores are each offering a watch for one lucky Dad this Father’s Day. Run in association with Hallmark, this competition is popular because it offers a prize at the store level. Newsagents tell us this is important, that one of their customers is guaranteed to win. The watch promotion is another way newsXpress newsagencies are playing in a different space to many others. While the watch is on offer to Hallmark Alliance Program newsagents, newsXpress members are part of the Alliance program for no cost – this is a key deliverable from joining newsXpress.

A typical newsXpress store, embracing all of the marketing and support in the greeting card space, will achieve same store year on year sales growth in the double digits without giving away margin. newsXpress offers a host of strategies which guide this outcome.

At our national conference later this month on the Gold Coast we will share some confidential insights into the greeting card market and seek to help our members power even further ahead in this important category.

Cars for dad

newsXpress members are reporting excellent results from the range of gifts sourced exclusively for members for this Father’s Day. Even newsagents who have been in gifts before have been surprised by the results. The Kombi van book ends have been very popular, selling out in several stores already.

newsXpress has several strategies for members which help them reach into new product categories. These strategies feed into a cohesive whole of business plan. Father’s Day 2008 is another step forward in our overall plan to help newsXpress newsagents build stronger, more viable and more valuable businesses.

The book ends have been helped along by the Father’s Day book sale running in some stores at the same time.