All four of its daily newspapers and all five Norfolk weeklies registered ABC increases.
The statement from Archant continues: Archant Anglia’s four daily titles are the top performing daily titles across the whole of the UK. At Archant Norfolk, the Eastern Daily Press posted a third consecutive ABC increase of (+0.7%) to 59,802, while sister title the Norwich Evening News also posted a rise (+ 7.5%) to 18,931. Archant Suffolk’s East Anglian Daily Times rose (+0.3%) to 29,772 and the Ipswich Evening Star (+0.4%) at 15,471.
Archant Norfolk also produced across-the-board circulation increases for all five of its weekly titles in the July-Dec 2011 ABC circulation figures, released at noon today.
The Dereham & Fakenham Times 7,134 (+10%) topped the risers, the North Norfolk News 7,527 (+6.7%), the Lowestoft Journal 16,964 (+ 7.8%), Great Yarmouth Mercury 17,175 (+7.3%), Beccles & Bungay Journal 6,857 (+7.7%) all saw sales rise.
Archant chief executive, Adrian Jeakings, said: “We are delighted with our success in growing circulation in each of our daily titles and the majority of our weeklies in today’s ABC release. We have achieved this through investing in understanding what our readers want, producing great content that our readers want to read and by marketing, selling and distributing our papers well.”
Archant Anglia MD, Johnny Hustler, said: “This is especially good news for our advertisers. Growing the audience we deliver is the most tangible way we can give better value for money. We are now in a position where print, mobile and on-line audiences are all growing – it is a marvellous thing and only goes to show the strength of engagement we have between our brands and their customers. It is also a great tribute to our staff across Anglia, both commercial and editorial, who have worked so hard to improve the quality of our newspapers.”
Don Williamson, Circulation Director for Archant Anglia, said: “Our small but focused audience growth teams benefit from selling industry recognised award-winning titles. They also work tirelessly on three main core activities. The first is a 42-week home delivery canvass for our newsagents, secondly making field visits to all our trade partners to help with product displays and in-store promotions and finally a vending operation that sees our titles sold at every public event across the region.”
Eastern Daily Press editor, Peter Waters, said: “This is another great performance for the country's biggest-selling regional morning newspaper. It's a tribute to the hard-working editorial team who put together a first-class product every day and the newspaper sales team who ensure the EDP reaches our mostly-rural county. At a time when the Leveson Inquiry is unearthing some unpalatable truths about sections of the national media, the fact we have got a third consecutive ABC increase says a lot about our responsible, trusted journalism, the way we respectfully engage with our customers, and the way we campaign on behalf of our region.”
Evening News editor, Tim Williams, said: “''We are very proud to have recorded a second consecutive six-monthly increase in sales on the Norwich Evening News. It is a tribute to the hard work of our editorial, distribution and sales teams and shows that by focusing on local, community news and value for money we can continue to deliver a lively and informative newspaper for our readers and advertising customers.
“We are determined to ensure a thriving local daily newspaper for Norwich plays a vital role in how we increase our audience in print and online to offer a strong voice for the city and its residents and, importantly, provide the response advertisers look for.”
Paul Hill, publisher of the Archant Norfolk county weeklies, said: “Rising circulation is testament to the success of our editorial and commercial teams in delivering the kind of content people want and advertising that delivers results. They show how we are at the centre of our communities and reflect our effort to engage with our readers week-in, week-out in print and hour-by-hour online. All credit to the title editors and journalists, ad managers and distribution teams who are responsible for this success – we’re proud of products and proud of these circulation figures.”
Terry Hunt, East Anglian Daily Times editor, said: “We are delighted with the sales growth, at what we all know is a very difficult time economically. Our team works very hard to produce a relevant and informative local newspaper six days a week, and this performance is a great reward for those efforts.
“I would also like to thank our very loyal readers, who are a mixture of people who have been reading the EADT for decades and many folk who have started buying the paper more recently. These brilliant sales figures, when combined with our fast-growing web audience, means that the EADT in its different formats is read by a fast-expanding number of people. These are very exciting times.’’
Nigel Pickover, editor of the Ipswich Star, said: “Everyone at The Star is bursting with pride at our sales increase, which caps a great few days for us. Our paper, which last week was named the Eastern region’s Daily Newspaper of the Year, is a strong, vibrant, power-packed product. And we have a live cutting edge through our online operation, www.ipswichstar.co.uk and mobile site, m.ipswichstar.co.uk where visitor numbers are rocketing year-on-year. This is great news for our readers and for our advertisers where bigger audiences mean bigger exposure to their products.
“Meanwhile we have just stepped up our I Love Ipswich campaign, which has now been joined by many major players in Suffolk, and we are thrilled at two victories for services at Ipswich Hospital.”
