Author: mark

Sometimes the most obvious opportunities to find new customers are right in front of us.  This is what some newsXpress members are finding with the newsXpress EXCLUSIVE Stationery Now promotion.  The almost 1 million flyers delivered to letterbox and the in-store collateral are combining to draw new traffic in-store and one there convert this to sales.

Stationery Now is a brand based campaign, supported by key suppliers and newsXpress, designed to pitch newsXpress locations as offering.  It is deliberately running at a time of the year when few other stationery players, newsagents included, are promoting the category.

The newsXpress strategy has delivered excellent stationery product at highly competitive prices to our network and backed this with an integrated marketing and merchandising campaign which demonstrates the newsXpress difference.  So, this is a good traffic and good margin story – making old money new money.

We are proud to be innovating in this area – it certainly beats complaining or sitting on your hands.

Newsagents can use a professionally structured offer to drive good margin stationery sales.  newsXpress can show you how.

Nia and Aaron Kugel from newsXpress Fernvale won the Golden Casket newsXpress Agent of the Year Award for 2009.  Announced by David Robinson, Head of Retail Golden Casket Lottery Corporation Limited, at our National Conference in Melbourne a week ago, the award recognises sales growth and engagement with Golden Casket products.  The award includes a cash price and movie passes to be shared with employees who helped the business win the award.  Congratulations of newsXpress Fernvale.

newsXpress is sincerely grateful to the suppliers which supported our national conference a week ago in Melbourne.  These sponsors, detailed below, helped make the conference a huge success.

With over 250 attendees, the conference has now established its place on the annual calendar.

With newsXpress Radio playing in more and more of our stores, we have provided free collateral with which these locations can let customers know what they are listening to.

While the newsXpress brand is pitched regularly on-air in advertisements, station identification and at other times, we figured that posters promoting our own radio network were appropriate to reinforce this newsXpress exclusive.

We currently have more than twenty advertisers promoting product through our radio network.

newsXpress radio is unique in that it is live.  This means live news, live weather, live commercail reads and live shout-outs to newsXpress stores around the country.  Being live makes newsXpress feel more real than the canned radio you hear in other retail networks.

newsXpress National Marketing Manager Trent Shields hosted a well attended workshop on Local Area Marketing at our conference last week.

Trent provided outlined a range of local marketing initiatives which better connect retailers with the local community.  This is an area of particular interest and experience for Trent.  It is also an area where he helps newsXpress members on a day to day basis.

It was good having a newsXpress resource like Trent on show for members and suppliers to see as it demonstrates the added value newsXpress brings to its member relationships.

David Haskard, National Marketing Manager with Hallmark Cards presented a workshop called Why Brands Matter! at our conference in Melbourne last week.  David provided an insight which connected with Hallmark, the leading card brand in Australia, newsXpress, the leading newsagency brand in Australia and many other brands we sell in our businesses.

The conference hosted six different workshops, providing atendees with opportunities to learn in a smaller format interactive environment .

The feedback on the value of the workshops demonstrates they were a valued part of the conference.

The Trade Show which accompanied the newsXpress Conference in Melbourne last week was spread over three adjoining rooms at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne.  The photo shows part of one level.  We had stationery, gift, greeting card, confectionery and services suppliers showing their products to newsXpress members and other newsagents who attended the conference.

Meal and other breaks were taken in the Trade Show area, providing excellent opportunities for good business to be written and for conference attendees to network around products.

newsXpress is grateful to its suppliers for their support of the conference and the Trade Show.

The 2009 newsXpress Awards Dinner held last Thursday evening at the beautiful Plaza Ballroom at the regent Theatre was a wonderful night of laughs, great music and recognition for achievement.  The night was hosted by the very funny Michael Pope, hilarious magic was provided by Matt Hollywood and great music was from Funky Town Express.

The evening was a perfect end to the first day of the conference, a great way to relax and enjoy an evening with friends.  The entertainment was supplemented with a gourmet meal and fine Victorian wines.

newsXpress is proud of how well the night worked and the professional way our brand was represented.

Warrick Hosking was announced 2009 newsXpresser of the Year at our Awards dinner on Thursday evening. Warrick embraces everything newsXpress stands for. He pursues change at newsXpress Gympie relentlessly and aggressively. He understands our brand and all we stand for.  He is passionate about newsXpress and never misses an opportunity to share this. His passion is driven by the success he achieves in his business with newsXpress initiatives. Warrick is the newsXpresser of the year because he is a great ambassador for the newsXpress brand our mission.

newsXpress Singleton Heights was announced 2009 newsXpress Retailer of the Year along with newsXpress Whittlesea at our Awards dinner last week.  We could not separate these two businesses for engagement with newsXpress and their embrace of offers, promotions, business operation initiatives and all things newsXpress. They have done this with terrific energy and achieving excellent results. They seek out change and push it to the limit. They drive newsXpress to help them in many exciting and challenging ways.  Jarryd Moore has demonstrated what a Gen Y business can achieve.

Jarryd is photographed with newsXpress Director Graham Randall and Krista, a manager from the business.

newsXpress Whittlesea was announced as 2009 newsXpress Retailer of the Year along with newsXpress Singleton Heights.  We could not separate these two businesses for engagement with newsXpress and their embrace of offers, promotions, business operation initiatives and all things newsXpress. They have done this with the backdrop of being in the heart of a region of Victoria devastated by bushfires earlier this year. Throughout, they have remained focused on building their business through proactive engagement with newsXpress. From our in store BDM presence to our product offers, they are making the most of newsXpress. Congratulations to Neil and Robyn Ritchie from newsXpress Whittlesea.

Neil and Robyn are photographed with newsXpress Director Graham Randall.