Newspapers in demand ... for the coupons, naturally

Our ME has sent out at least two memos reminding employees that bad things will happen to those who hoist inserts out of the mail room.

 

Just talked to the city editor, she said the circ people think people are stealing entire racks worth of newspapers just for the coupons. They're hitting early, paying for one and emptying the rack.

 

New marketing ploy: coupons available to subscribers only!

 

Unlike other inserts in the Sunday paper, I believe our shop (and other papers?) pays to obtain the glossy coupon packets we put in each week.

And yeah, we run a "$168 in coupons in today's Podunk Press" teaser in the rail, too.

 

Newspapers really should have to run a "This is how much you'd actually have to spend to 'save' $145" graphic with those.

 

Of course, two things are key with coupons: whether they're for stuff you'd buy anyway, and whether the store-brand equivalent is still cheaper even with the coupon savings for a name brand.

 

I subscribe to the Sunday paper just for the coupons. Save about $3 a week. Pays for the paper.

 

Damn straight.

 

In essence, your audience is a trash can.

 

Had a circulation director who once made us take pictures of direct-mail flyers in the trash can at the post office.

 

This is a good idea.

If the coupons are a huge attraction, give the subscribers a leg up or increase the price of the Sunday paper. If it has $120 worth of coupons each week then charge $4 or $5 on the rack, or don't put the coupons in there and have a lower prices.

 

I was a newspaper boy for the local Gannett paper nearly 30 years ago.

On Sundays, you could barely fit all the copies of the paper in your 10 speed's rat trap.

As a reader of newspapers, the first thing I always did was to sort out the coupons and other inserts, throw them away, and then dig in.

So, one week, I came up with the brilliant idea to sort out all the coupons from the Sunday paper ahead of time. This would help them all fit, make my job easier, and I'd be doing my customers a favor (or so I thought).

Boy was I wrong. People freaked the fuck out. I had no idea. So, I had to run around town dropping of coupons to the folks who wanted them.

Never did that again.