Since a competing lower-priced newspaper, The Bugle, was started five years ago, The Mercury's circulation has decreased by 10,000 readers. The best way to get more people to read The Mercury is to reduce its price below that of The Bugle, at least until circulation increases to former levels. The increased circulation of The Mercury will attract more businesses to buy advertising space in the paper.
The above article tries to explain the reasons behind the declining readership of The Mercury during the past five years, with a conclusion that pricing the Mercury below the price of The Bugle will bring back readership as well as advertising revenue. While there is a certain but weak logic behind this argument, many other factors that need to be properly considered before this argument can be a logical one.
Primary, lowering the current price of The Mercury may not necessarily increase its competitiveness against The Bugle. Readers may choose The Bugle simply because it covers more interesting topics and the editorials are more sophisticated. Under such scenario, lower pricing will not bring back any meaningful readership but only causing financial damage to The Mercury.
Secondary, the overall size of newspaper readership can be dropping over the past five years due to the increasing popularity of web news portals. Traditional newspaper readers may find the online alternatives more frequently updated, with more events and information at almost zero subscription cost. Those fundamental differences between the paper and web media can not be addressed by simply lowering the price.
Finally, the assumption that more businesses will buy advertising space in The Bugle after the readership normalises is not necessarily true. Along with the readers, smart businesses are also moving towards the new mass media of internet which is better at capturing relevant potential consumers, leaving traditional newspapers as a secondary choice of advertising.
As above, there are further facts and analysis that the author should consider before reaching the current view. Such facts can include results from any reader survey of The Bugle or The Mercury, as well as feedbacks from interviewing with The Mercury's existing advertising customer.
The above article tries to explain the reasons behind the declining readership of The Mercury during the past five years, with a conclusion that pricing the Mercury below the price of The Bugle will bring back readership as well as advertising revenue. While there is a certain but weak logic behind this argument, many other factors that need to be properly considered before this argument can be a logical one.
Primary, lowering the current price of The Mercury may not necessarily increase its competitiveness against The Bugle. Readers may choose The Bugle simply because it covers more interesting topics and the editorials are more sophisticated. Under such scenario, lower pricing will not bring back any meaningful readership but only causing financial damage to The Mercury.
Secondary, the overall size of newspaper readership can be dropping over the past five years due to the increasing popularity of web news portals. Traditional newspaper readers may find the online alternatives more frequently updated, with more events and information at almost zero subscription cost. Those fundamental differences between the paper and web media can not be addressed by simply lowering the price.
Finally, the assumption that more businesses will buy advertising space in The Bugle after the readership normalises is not necessarily true. Along with the readers, smart businesses are also moving towards the new mass media of internet which is better at capturing relevant potential consumers, leaving traditional newspapers as a secondary choice of advertising.
As above, there are further facts and analysis that the author should consider before reaching the current view. Such facts can include results from any reader survey of The Bugle or The Mercury, as well as feedbacks from interviewing with The Mercury's existing advertising customer.
