Media&Marketing: Ireland on Sunday, which pioneered the now ubiquitous CD giveaway, will this weekend try a new marketing technique by giving away a free Maeve Binchy novel with the newspaper.
Associated Newspapers, which owns the title, said the promotion was "a complete first for the Irish newspaper industry". It described the move as upping the ante against its competitors, which includes various titles owned by the Independent group (the Sunday World, the Sunday Independent and the Star on Sunday).
Maeve Binchy's Silver Wedding will come with all copies of the newspaper. The book normally retails at €9 in Irish shops.
The company is supporting the promotion with a TV advertising campaign running on RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2 and TV3, as well as some satellite channels. The newspaper is also teaming up with TV3 for a holiday giveway.
Mr John Thompson, chief executive of Ireland on Sunday said: "We pioneered free CDs in Ireland and we are now doing it again with books. We're delighted to be upping the ante yet again in the area of newspaper promotions in Ireland."
The move by Ireland on Sunday comes at an interesting time for the newspaper. While it has made massive circulation gains in recent years, the sales figures have started to pleateau recently. In the six months to the end of June 2003 the paper's ABC circulation hit a record peak of 167,996. But in the six months to the end of June 2004 this figure fell to 151,899.
The former editor-in-chief of the paper, Mr Martin Clarke, has also departed to take up a position with the Mail on Sunday.
Big mobile spend
The appetite for advertising spending among Ireland's mobile companies seems to be limitless.
The latest third-quarter figures for spending on outdoor advertising in the Republic puts all three mobile companies in the top 10 overall spenders. The figures are collected by Poster Management Limited.
Of the mobile companies, Vodafone spent the most in the third quarter with a total of €1.6 million, while O2 spent €1.5 million. For O2 this was a 19 per cent increase, while Vodafone's spend actually dropped by 20 per cent. But the largest increase (61 per cent) was recorded by Meteor.
Meteor now has nationwide coverage after signing a deal with O2 which allows its customers to roam where Meteor has no network.
Meteor is stepping up its marketing activity. But why now? One reason may be that Hutchinson 3 Ireland is preparing to enter the mobile market early next year. Some sources suggest the next few months are critical for Meteor. The company currently has 6 per cent of the mobile market, but would like to increase this to 10 per cent next year.
Media ad awards
Agencies have until Wednesday, November 17th to make their submissions for this year's marketing media awards honouring the top media advertising campaigns across five categories. Campaigns which have run sometime between the end of November 2003 and the start of November 2004 are eligible.
Marketing consultant Catherine Bent will chair the award's panel of judges, which also comprises Niall O'Grady, Permanent tsb; Clodagh Coffey, O2; Leo Moore, Diageo; Eoin Doyle, Glanbia; Brian Keating, Cola-Cola and Alison Healy, Nestle Cereals. Organised by Marketing magazine, the awards will be presented in January 2005.
Late Late bookings
It may seem outrageously early to be talking about Christmas advertising campaigns, but RTÉ is already taking bookings for its Late Late Toy Show special.
Presented by Pat Kenny, the show is traditionally a ratings winner for the station, although with new BCI regulations coming into force next year, one wonders how long it will be able to accept certain types of advertising.
According to Dublin agency AFA O'Meara, "the show is one of the nation's all-time top ten most watched annual TV programmes". But the agency warns that with 267,000 children watching the programme, RTÉ will have to be careful in choosing its advertising next year.
KitKat changes
Nestlé Ireland is making changes to arguably its most famous brand offering, KitKat. In future it will offer a new range called KitKat Editions. The new KitKat Editions range is comprised of two new products with different fillings to the traditional product.
The launch of KitKat Editions will be supported by a campaign worth approximately €500,000.
Speaking at the launch of KitKat editions, Carol Anne Deasy, Nestlé's category manager said: "Our latest range has been developed to cater for a gap in the market for a more indulgent KitKat."
Emmet Oliver can be contacted at eoliver@irish-times.ie
