Plans to extend Just Ask are being formulated by the PPA’s Retail Marketing Group (RMG) and will draw on the results of a second trial of the revised scheme which were recently presented to the PPA’s Newstrade Committee.
The latest trial of Just Ask, carried out in association with Smiths News, built on the learnings from trial one and found that in-store point-of-sale material was well received by retailers and was effective in alerting customers to their Shop Save and HND offering. It was found that the most successful results were achieved where retailers proactively sold the service to customers.
The trials showed that the majority of retailers taking part felt the scheme should be rolled out nationally.
As a first step towards national roll out, the RMG aims to establish a list of specialist retailers who have signed up to promote Just Ask. The scheme will be promoted through point-of-sale material and discussion with customers.
Kate McElroy, senior circulation & member services executive at the PPA, said: “The PPA is keen to work with proactive retailers nationally to give them the tools required to promote Just Ask to their customers and drive magazine sales. Just Ask enables retailers to effectively increase the range of titles sold and to create a real point of difference over other outlets.”
Just Ask is designed to encourage customers to order magazines and newspapers to be Shop Saved or home delivered to drive sales. It is a recognised brand for promoting Shop Save and HND and highlights the breadth and depth of magazine titles available to customers, even if they can’t be displayed in-store. The PPA is urging its members to display the Just Ask logo and in-mag advert to promote the initiative to readers. The artwork can be downloaded from the PPA website.
About PPA
The PPA says: “The Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) protects and promotes the interests of print and online publishers of consumer and business media in the UK. The PPA has around 200 publishing companies in its membership, which collectively produce more than 2,500 consumer and business magazines and journals as well as digital media, data products and events.”