Author: mark

I am a Director of newsXpress, a marketing group for newsagents keen for a bright future. You can reach me on +61 418 321 338 or mark[at]towersystems.com.au

Giving away Nintendo Wii

newsXpress has shipped out twenty Nintendo Wii to newsXpress stores where customers won a Wii as part of our Back To School competition.  Entry was only through a specially developed facility on our corporate website.  We then randomly selected the winners and notified each along with details on how to collect the prize.  The full winner list was published in The Australian over a week ago.

The Nintendo Wii competition has made twenty customers very happy, participating members happy with a successful promotion and our web developer happy to bring so much extra traffic to our new website.

newsXpress is embracing the Internet in a range of ways to help our member newsagents more effectively connect with their communities and to find new customers.  Our back To School competition was part of a much larger strategy.

Structured advice for newsXpress members

dsc06392.JPGnewsXpress supports its in-store training of newsagents with documentation in the form of advice sheets.  These are useful for newsagents to share with staff engaged in executing newsXpress strategies.  They act as a library of support materials for our members, documenting the newsXpress point of difference in many areas.

We review our advice sheets regularly and release new versions to reflect changes accordingly.  This commitment to constant review and improvement is important in any best-practice operation.

From the perspective of our members, they can rely on having access to up-to-date written advice for implementing key newsXpress offers and points of difference.

We rely on advice from our members as to topics they would like to see covered in future advice sheets.

newsXpress Chippdendall Sugarland rewarded

gf_apr09.jpgCongratulations to newsXpress Chippdendall Sugarland for winning $1,000 from Pacific Magazines from their Youth Sales Club promotion. 

Pacific Magazines’ Youth Sales Club was established exclusively for our Top 500 selling newsagents of Girlfriend, Total Girl and K-Zone magazines.  Each holiday period members receive additional gifts, exclusive posters and cash incentives for top sales performance!

Pacific Magazines’ investment in Youth Sales Club newsagents is proving successful with members outperforming other newsagents on average by 9.6% for Girlfriend, 12.8% for Total Girl and 6.1% for K-Zone during school holiday periods.

newsXpress is proud to facilitate the Pacific Magazines Youth Sales Club initiative through its member newsagents.

Free lottery training for newsXpress members

newsXpress has organised a free half day lottery training program to follow our members meeting in Western Australia next week.  This training is for newsXpress members only and provides another opportunity for our members to learn and work together on business building strategies around lottery products.

Our Perth members meeting starts at 10am on Tuesday March 3 at Heystbury House in Subaico.

Beating Big W by 14.6% on price

Shoppers comparing the price of ink in the latest Big W catalogue with the new Hot Ink! offer from newsXpress will see that newsXpress newsagencies beat Big W on some popular ink items.  newsXpress newsagencies have ink from HP, Canon and Brother at excellent prices.

Big W claims they are “Helping you spend less everyday” yet when it come to ink, right now, newsXpress is helping consumers spend less on some items. Big W is advertising the HP 56/57 twin pack for $81.98. Our price is $69.95.   That is a saving of 14.5%.

newsXpress is proud to be helping its members position themselves as offering excellent value brand name products backed by friendly and knowledgeable service.

This is a terrific newsXpress difference and another reason our members love our ink and toner offer.  That said, we know that price competition will see Big W react and we need to watch that.

Important bushfire disaster recovery project

Robyn Ritchie of newsXpress Whittlesea, along with a group of Whittlesea women, is involved in an important bushfire recovery project focusing on two areas of recovery:

The Phoenix Group Project. A project which aims to replace treasured photos that were lost in the tragic events of Saturday the 7th February 2009. Anyone connected with someone affected by the bushfires – former neighbours from years ago, old boyfriends and girlfriends, past workmates etc. – is asked to look through old photo albums and find any pictures that feature, or would be of special significance to, the fire affected families. The website has details of how to pass these photos on securely.

The Disaster help Site. A furniture register website which aims to meet immediate needs of the fire affected families as they move into temporary accommodation. All items should be in good condition, clean and fully functional. Ideally, the items remain with you until required, but if storage is a problem, collection can be arranged.

    Melbourne members meeting full

    nx_vigmtg_feb09.JPGOur meeting of Victorian newsXpress members yesterday filled the room at the Malvern Valley Golf Club.  We had a terrific discussion about newsXpress strategies and offers and an excellent open forum session where we discussed a myriad of topics.  As we found in Sydney and Brisbane earlier this week, our members are the best source of ideas for newsXpress to research and consider.

    Member meetings such as yesterday’s in Victoria demonstrate newsXpress’ commitment to transparency and how we go about putting the needs of our members first.

    Meeting newsXpress members in Brisbane

    img_6927a.jpgOur Brisbane members meeting yesterday was well attended given that it was on a busy Wednesday.  we had a terrific discussion about new product offers, initiatives by newsXpress plus a review of recent campaigns.  Best of all, members got to share ideas with each other.  When you put proactive newsagents in a room together, good ideas get out in the open and we all leave motivated and wiser.

    Advertising for a new Business Development Manager

    We have placed an ad online at Seek yesterday for a new Business Development Manager in Victoria. As the ad says, practical newsagency experience is essential to this vital role for building stronger newsXpress newsagencies in Victoria. Other key skills are good clear communication, excellent organizational skills and a commitment to staying out of industry politics.

    Full-house at NSW members meeting

    nsw_membmeet.jpgOur full-house NSW members meeting yesterday was a busy few hours. Taking the form of an open forum, newsXpress members, prospective members and our team reviewed recent marketing and discussed plans for Easter, Calendars, Diaries and our next Ink promotion. Over several hours including a working lunch we also discussed several newsXpress initiated innovations which aim to leverage our success into better commercial outcomes for our members.

    Discipline was at the heart of this round of member meetings. newsXpress is committed to helping its members achieve greater unity around a common goal and this starts with our businesses looking, feeling and acting great.

    Member meetings like yesterday in Sydney are a key opportunity for members to share stories as well as influence the direction we take as a group.

    With a strong representation of the newsXpress brand in NSW/ACT, we are poised to move from being seen as another brand of newsagency to being newsXpress and standing for all that makes up the value of the newsXpress brand.

    Exclusive magazine offer at newsXpress

    newsXpress members are participating in an exclusive offer of Alpha and Australian Football Weekly for a combined price of $5.  Specially printed collateral, including header cards and posters, has been provided to newsXpress stores for use in supporting the promotion.

    alpha_fweekly.JPG

    newsXpress negotiates exclusive magazine title based offers as well as exclusive strategic relationships for members.  Our marketing and merchandise teams welcome opportunities to work with other publishers to develop mutually beneficial outcomes.

    More practical support for Victorian bushfire victims

    newsXpress has shipped a range of stationery for by among schools in fire ravaged areas. We heard about the need through one of members who is a fireman and gladly joined the project to help get school materials so that classes have materials so that learning can get under way.  This project has been co-ordinated by several of our members working together to ensure that we understand what is needed and that it gets to the right place.

    newsXpress member meetings this week

    newsXpress is hosting three member meetings this week. The details are:

    • Sydney:  Tuesday February 24, 10am, The Lakes Golf Club, Banksia Room, King Street, Eastlakes. Followed by lunch for those who can join us.
    • Brisbane:  Wednesday February 25, 1:30pm, Brisbane Technology Park – West Auditorium of BTP Technology and Conference Centre, 1 Clunies Ross Court (Off Miles Platting Road), Eight Mile Plains. Preceded by lunch for those who can join us.
    • Melbourne: Thursday February 26, 10am, Malvern Valley Golf and Reception Centre, Silk Room, Golfers Drive, Malvern East. Followed by lunch for those who can join us.

    If you are considering joining a proactive marketing group to drive your business please make contact with us to enquire about attending one of our meetings.  newsXpress members can sign up using the online booking facility at our website.

    Working the Sydney Gift Fair

    nx_gift_fair_drinks.JPGnewsXpress members and staff got together last night at the Watershed Hotel for drinks and a debrief about the first two days of the Reed Sydney Gift Fair. This was one of several events in Sydney this week scheduled to coincide with the fair. We recognise that time away from the shop is challenging to achieve so we have sought to make the most of this and help our members leverage more beneficial outcomes.

    At the drinks last night members from four states got to trade stories. It is this type of networking which is a key value of newsXpress. Beyond talking about products seen at the Fair, there was good discussion about business.

    newsXpress members are like family with each other – last night was like a good family catch up.

    newsXpress Seymour raises $2,600 for bushfire relief

    Vaughan Lawrence and the team at newsXpress Seymour raised $2,600 in five days for the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.  Customers have been encouraged to donate direct to the Red Cross at their website and leave their change in the bucket at the counter.  This is a campaign newsXpress developed with the Red Cross immediately after the fires.  The money has been deposited into the Red Cross account and the receipt put on display for customers as recommended by newsXpress.

    nx_seymour.jpg

    The support from the people shopping at newsXpress Seymour has been exceptional.  $2,600 given in just five days shows heartfelt concern for bushfire victims.

    The photo was taken after the first deposit.

    Notice the challenge on the sign – let’s get another $3,000.

    Excellent Easter range for newsXpress newsagents

    newsXpress has sourced a broad range of Easter from several suppliers.  From chocolate to soft toys to gifts and religious items, we have presented a broad selection of Easter gift items. Our members are able to select the smallest range of Easter gifts through to a large display. They can buy individual items or pre selected packs – an efficient way to buy. Like other seasons, newsXpress aims to help members to achieve excellent results this Easter.

    The right marketing group for your newsagency

    Our How to choose a marketing group for your newsagency paper has been updated.  We have received excellent feedback from the first version off this document and this has encouraged us to develop this new version.  The opening paragraphs position the purpose of the document:

    Supanews, Nextra, The Lucky Charm, Newspower and newsXpress are the five marketing and or buying groups for newsagents in Australia at the time of writing this report. Each of these groups is different, even more so that they themselves might have you believe.

    The differences between newsagency marketing groups are not as evident as they could be, making the choice challenging for newsagents contemplating joining a marketing group.

    Too often, newsagents find out why a marketing group is not for them once they have signed an agreement and are locked in for years without any way out.

    Dealing with the aftermath of the bushfires

    whittlesea-002.jpgNeil and Robyn Ritchie at newsXpress Whittlesea have had an extraordinary ten days in their newsagency – but they can still manage a smile for customers and a quick photo.

    Besides the challenge of a huge influx in the population of the town – it is a major holding area and contact point for bushfire relief in the area – they have customers, employees and friends directly affected.

    In the tradition of newsagents of years gone by, Neil and Robyn are working very long days behind the counter of their newsagency in the heart of town and doing newspaper deliveries early in the morning as they have a driver off because his house was burnt to the ground. Their home is a resting place for many they know who have been affected.

    Valentine’s Day and what would usually have been an excellent trading period came and went without notice as the sole focus of everyone in town is to understand the extent of the personal and property losses.

    This Friday is Robyn’s birthday and an opportunity to celebrate even if only briefly because of the work waiting to be done the next day.

    Our thoughts are with Neil, Robyn and all newsagents affected by the bushfires.

    newsXpress Silver Sands raises funds for Victorian Bushfire Appeal

    dscn0103.jpgTo raise funds for the victims of the bushfires in Victoria, the team at newsXpress Silver Sands in Western Australia rallied together with local business to raise funds.  Touched by the stories of survival and the desire to help staff member Angela, the dedicated team at newsXpress Silver Sands and proprietor Phillip Foo in just a little over 4 hours, raised over $1000.00. This was a direct result of a sausage sizzle, raffles and of course the open generosity of the numerous shoppers passing by and dropping their donations in the tin. The store also donated a HP printer.  The local pharmacy donated perfumes, Poolwerx a $100 voucher for the raffles, IGA the sausages, the bakery bread rolls, the local pub donated the can drinks and newsXpress Silver Sands’ own insurance broker ths one-off public liability.

    The photo shows Jeannie, Angela(organiser, and staff member), Phillip Foo, and Amanda