Free supermarket distribution

In most supermarkets now, the first opportunity the public has to get their hands on a magazine is not the traditional magazine racks in aisle 23, but from the free title display unit in the foyer. There, there will be a range of niche titles, from perfect bound glossies to saddle stitched newsprint, displayed in the store’s own branded unit. Typically, they will include the main classified listings areas of jobs, property and cars, but the range of titles and publisher strategies is broadening – partly as a result of decreasing opportunities to break into the traditional newsstand, but also as a result of publishers beginning to employ the free distribution channel as a marketing tool in support of their paid-for titles.

Publishers looking to distribute free publications have a number of channels available to them:

* Door to door: excellent coverage, but potentially high wastage.
* Branded dump bins: have been used successfully by TNT, South Africa News and 9 to 5, but they are hard to manage, are prone to being carted off by the police or used as a receptacle for litter (and worse).
* Street distributors: a familiar site for anyone exiting a London tube station on a weekday morning.
* Niche outlets: for instance, property magazines in estate agents.
* Miscellaneous drops offs: leave the magazines in a pile somewhere (for instance, out-of-town business parks) and hope / pray that someone picks one up.
* Supermarket distribution: merchandised and branded racking units.

According to Andy Barker, of Advanced Logistical Racking (ALR), the company that manages the majority of free racking in supermarkets, free supermarket distribution has a number of key benefits. Firstly ‘location’ - the footfall into supermarkets is astronomical. Secondly, supermarkets provide a ‘controlled and trusted environment’ – this trust is reinforced by the branding of the racks in the store’s colours, thereby closely associating the magazine offering with the store itself. Thirdly, the principle of ‘self selection’ means there is marginal wastage. Fourthly, ‘targeting’. Publishers do not have to go into every participating supermarket. They can use a number of targeting tools to ensure that their publication goes into only those outlets offering the right profile match. Dave O’Brien, publisher of Merseyside property paper Your Move, originally signed up for all outlets in the area, but has, over time, reduced his coverage to outlets in up-market areas only. The publisher of Asian Leader, similarly, used the Ethnicity Index to ensure that copies only went on the racks of supermarkets in areas of high ethnic population density.

In their approach to free supermarket distribution, publishers are using a number of different strategies:

* Route to market.
Particularly for small independent publishers, it provides them with a route to market and a presence in the supermarkets at a time when access to paid-for distribution is becoming harder to secure. For Your Move, supermarket distribution represents about 40% of its total distribution (the other 60% is accounted for by individual deals negotiated with estate agents, newsagents and shopping centres). For Dave O’Brien, their presence in the top supermarkets provides a virtuous circle – house buyers pick them up and respond to the ads, and their presence in these prestigious outlets helps drive sales of the ads.

* Sampler.
This is a more typical strategy for larger publishers and is well illustrated by the motors title, Auto Freeway, published by Trader Media. Neil Hedges, circulation operations director at Trader Media, sees Auto Freeway as a ‘sampler, entry level product which works on a different profit model to our paid-for title, Auto Trader, and is not intended to compete with it, rather it is seen as a complementary product.’ According to Neil, ‘people who want to buy a car tend to know what type of car they want – for instance, an Audi A4. In Auto Freeway there might be a sample of five or six Audis and it is designed to give a view on what is available locally and what one needs to pay for it, but if they want a wider selection, they will need to purchase Auto Trader.’ And the pages of Auto Freeway are full of messages to that effect. Titles like Auto Freeway, and the rival Auto Exchange, do not satisfy the full need, but whet the reader’s appetite for more.

The travel publisher, Merricks Publishing, has adopted a slightly different approach to its sampling strategy. Rather than publish a dedicated free distribution title, they simply recycle returns of some of their overseas property guides. They cover up the bar code and affix a ‘FREE SAMPLE COPY’ sticker to the front. This means less waste, more response for the advertisers and it acts as a sampler for the next issue.

With sampling being such a major part of most large consumer magazine launches, Andy Barker sees potential to develop this further. For many recent launches, such as Nuts, publishers produced completely free pre-launch issues and inserted them into sister titles, where appropriate, or gave them away at major retail outlets. A nationwide availability, via the free supermarket racks, of the free sampler, with an associated mention in the wider publicity campaign, could be a highly effective way of building awareness quickly for a new title.

* Product package.
For some brands, like Auto Trader, free supermarket distribution is simply part of an overall product strategy and offering – in the same way that the website, DTV and WAP services are. As Neil Hedges says, ‘ultimately, what we’re about is providing the best possible media marketplace for buyers and sellers of motor vehicles and associated products and services through whichever channel they choose. In offering Auto Freeway, we fulfil one of those objectives. We think that the strength of our business is that we have all the areas covered and we continue to develop them, bringing buyers, sellers and advertisers together, by whatever means possible. We want to continue to be part of every channel that exists.’

* Subscription promotions.
Free supermarket distribution can be an effective subscriptions driver, especially for those titles that can’t break onto the paid-for shelves. The free racks will give them exposure to supermarket customers, with subscription sign up being the goal. Canine lifestyle magazine, K9, placed copies with a bound-in insert card telling the reader how they could get future issues. The distribution also had the by-product of providing additional response to the all-important ads.

Critical success factors

There is more to achieving success on the free racks than simply supplying the copies. In Andy Barker’s experience, there are a number of factors that, if got right, will help drive pick-up.

1. Regional emphasis.
Ideally the title should meet the needs of the local market.

2. Vary the cover image.
According to Your Move’s Dave O’Brien, it is best to ‘make each front cover as different as possible to the one that went before.’ If successive covers are too similar, your prospect will waver – will wonder ‘do I have that one already’ and pick up levels will be depressed.

3. Quality package.
‘Even though it’s free,’ says Andy, ‘it still needs to look good and not as if it’s been put together in the kid’s bedroom.’ Quality issues are often a problem with new start ups, but, put out a tatty looking publication and the title will fail.

4. Put ‘free’ on the cover.
Even though the word ‘free’ is prominent on the racks themselves, it is also advisable to have it printed clearly on the front cover; otherwise pick up rates will fall, as hesitant consumers dither before walking past.

5. Drive the brand back to the advertiser.
Make sure your publication is full of messages to the reader, urging them to ‘tell them you saw it here’ or ‘always mention us’. Do everything possible to ensure that the advertiser knows the exact source of the call.

6. Use the brand strength of the supermarkets to sell advertising.
A presence in the major supermarkets is something to shout about. Tell your advertisers about it – they will be impressed.

Don’t frighten the horses

In terms of what titles supermarkets will accept on the free racks, there are two key criteria. Firstly ‘decency,’ and this relates both to the cover and the contents. Anything deemed unsuitable for children is a no no. The other criterion is – avoid anything that will under-cut sales of the paid-for titles. Supermarkets are more flexible than you might expect in this area, and the only actual forbidden category is TV listings.

The supermarket view

And how do the supermarkets themselves view this channel? According to David Cooke, newspaper and magazines buyer at Tesco, ‘we believe that the free paper stand offers a service to customers by supplying local papers, relevant to each area and store. ‘Local’ is a key part of our customer plan. We are now looking to expand this to our Express stores and also, through T & S, into One Stop stores. Additionally it provides us with a revenue stream. ALR provides a good service in taking on the management of this range and ensuring that the racks are fully restocked and kept looking good. We’ve seen no evidence regarding cannibalization; we have had these in stores for over five years with no issues.’

The free racks in supermarkets offer a viable route to market for free title publishers, as well as an additional marketing tool for publishers with which to drive sales of the paid-for product. For more information about opportunities with free supermarket distribution, contact Andy Barker of ALR on 01204 667 123 / andy@alruk.co.uk