On 10 July, the News of the World the UK's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper ran its final issue. The closure followed an incredible two weeks, during which headlines were dominated by the phone-hacking scandal engulfing its publisher News International.
Retailers were caught up in the mayhem as the public urged shops to pull News International titles from shelves, launching a social media campaign demanding advertisers pull out, too. One of the first retailers to do so was The Co-operative Group, which said it was temporarily suspending advertising because the allegations "have been met with revulsion by the vast majority of members".
Quick to follow was Sainsbury's, which cited the "rising concerns" of customers. It was a good decision, says Mark Rae, business development director for Brandhouse. "Companies needed to know to what level their consumers were emotionally engaged with the brand."
Advertisers were eventually let off the hook, with News International opting to give ad revenue from the last issue to charity. The retailers still had to decide whether to sell it though. All the multiples decided they would, and sales are understood to have been the highest for the paper since 1998, with 4.5 million copies sold but a number of independents refused to stock it. One of those was Jonathan James, who owns a number of Budgens and Spar stores in Cambridgeshire.
"When we took the decision to cancel the last edition we also increased the orders on other publications," he says. "We didn't get any adverse feedback from our stores. Many people said they fully supported our stance. We didn't miss sales either as customers bought the other publications instead. I once read a book called 'It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Stand For'. In this case, I am confident I made the correct decision."
Focus On Newspapers & Magazines
Retailers were caught up in the mayhem as the public urged shops to pull News International titles from shelves, launching a social media campaign demanding advertisers pull out, too. One of the first retailers to do so was The Co-operative Group, which said it was temporarily suspending advertising because the allegations "have been met with revulsion by the vast majority of members".
Quick to follow was Sainsbury's, which cited the "rising concerns" of customers. It was a good decision, says Mark Rae, business development director for Brandhouse. "Companies needed to know to what level their consumers were emotionally engaged with the brand."
Advertisers were eventually let off the hook, with News International opting to give ad revenue from the last issue to charity. The retailers still had to decide whether to sell it though. All the multiples decided they would, and sales are understood to have been the highest for the paper since 1998, with 4.5 million copies sold but a number of independents refused to stock it. One of those was Jonathan James, who owns a number of Budgens and Spar stores in Cambridgeshire.
"When we took the decision to cancel the last edition we also increased the orders on other publications," he says. "We didn't get any adverse feedback from our stores. Many people said they fully supported our stance. We didn't miss sales either as customers bought the other publications instead. I once read a book called 'It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Stand For'. In this case, I am confident I made the correct decision."
Focus On Newspapers & Magazines
No comments yet