4 why stitch
www.tolerans.com | NEWSBOUND | no 1 2010
reasons to stitch What two staples can do for your newspaper Happier readers rule
For a higher quality newspaper
What advertisers want
There is no doubt that a newspaper that stays intact gives a feeling of superior quality. It lasts longer, keeping it fresh, easy to handle and refer to at various times of the day. Industry experts, like Carlos Soria, newspaper design expert and Chairman at Innovation Media Consulting Group emphasis the physical quality of the printed newspaper. “The modern newspaper must be stapled or perfect bound along the spine.” According to research from the Poynter Institute (2007) - a journalist academy based in Florida - there has been a shift in reader behavior. In a world were news is more readily consumed, a paper is read several times a day instead of once. These new consumption trends underline the importance of stitching.
Increased exposure is at the top of any advertiser’s wish list. The stitched format makes newspapers a lot more attractive and effective for advertisers whilst improving the financial picture for publishers. One example is the greater design flexibility that stitching provides. It expands the variety of advertising options available, as Germany’s leading financial daily Handelsblatt discovered when it relaunched as a stitched compact in November 2009. The layout and design accommodates high impact ads spread over pages two – three for example. “We created a complete new situation of consumption, based on a high quality product with a double page layout and even more opulence,” says Mike Boedger, the paper’s advertising director. There’s also the eye-catching draw of variously sized and configured pages—including full-spread ads that don’t have to be located in the center of the paper. Suddenly, the job of selling ad space becomes a whole lot easier with a new array of effective arguments. More often than not, an unstitched paper is ‘consumed’ by one reader and cast aside – consumer behaviour shows that scattered pages make it less likely to be picked up and re-read by someone else. Stitched papers simply reach more people. More readers equal more eyeballs, which results in a more lucrative investment with which to attract advertising.
Illustration: Istockphoto
Illustration: Istockphoto
Quite rightly, it makes sense to start with the readers, whose loyalty determines the continued success of any newspaper. The most obvious and compelling reason to switch to a stitched publication is that the finished product provides an improved reader experience. A simple and straightforward yet effective addition, stitching keeps pages neatly together, creating a magazine-like format that is far more accessible. Navigating an unstitched newspaper is a challenging skill. Stitching prevents that falling apart feeling in a reader’s hand and pages flying away on the commute to work. Case studies have proven a stitched publication provides a superior product for a happier reader, which is key to maintaining and even increasing circulation figures. Take Sweden for example, a country with one of the world’s highest newspaper readerships. When papers converted to a compact and stitched format, eight out of ten readers thought the format had improved and customer satisfaction increased by 100 percent.
why stitch 5
no 1 2010 | NEWSBOUND | www.tolerans.com
Stitch for innovative layout and design Stitching is making headline news in the industry and opens the doors for new editorial opportunities. The use of images and headlines make a bigger impact across a double spread, which stays intact through stitching. Newspapers are starting to experiment with success. Portuguese newspaper ‘i’ is a case in point. Launched in 2009, the award-winning Lisbon-based daily has turned the traditional newspaper structure on its head. “Newspapers lost their inventiveness, capability of showing the real news and drive through the midst of all the information I can get from TV, radio and the web,” says Martim Avillez Figueiredo, the paper’s editor-in-chief. The title has created a product that dedicates equal space for the latest news and longer in-depth analysis – using bigger headlines, brighter imagery and infographics spread over two pages or more. Circulation numbers have been rising steadily and research shows its appeal has spread - 23 per cent of its readers did not regularly read newspapers before. To further enhance the user experience the newspaper is stitched. “It shows that people are reading something valuable something like a book that won’t fly away in the wind and is easy to flick through.” Avillez Figueiredo adds.
Stitched sections and supplements make business sense Current affairs are not only the foundation of quality newspapers today. Readers have come to expect the average paper to double up as TV guide, a sports round up, travel companion, business brief and cultural diary for example. These distinct sections are often presented as weekend or daily supplements in a compact format where stitching can provide valuable advantages. In compact format it’s a streamline production: several sections can be stitched in one print run, at full production speed. Moreover, having distinct, stitched sections separated by theme makes it much easier to navigate the newspaper and connect it to online content. Distinct, stitched sections foster consumer commitment among special-interest groups and advertisements can more accurately target their audience with related products and services. Separate, bound sections create more opportunities for attractive front- and back-page ads, as well as high-impact advertising over pages two and three or any double spread of the supplement. By having separate, theme-based sections you also have the possibility to differentiate your ad rates. In addition, broadsheet newspaper can produce compact, stitched sections, while the main paper remains in standard broadsheet format. Stitched supplements have a long lifespan and are therefore more likely to be shared by readers and be read several times, which increases advertising exposure.
To be green In the UK and Scandinavia, newspapers distributed on the subway are required to be stitched. Why? Because unstitched newspapers produce exponentially more litter. This has been particularly noted by some of the world’s free dailies, such as the Washington’s Post’s Express, a compact, stitched newspaper targeting commuters. “We made the decision to stitch in order to help minimize trash and the effort required to clean the trains when readers leave copies behind,” says Arnie Applebaum, general manager of the paper. When a newspaper is stitched, there is only one item to pick up and recycle. In addition, the steel staples are readily accommodated by normal recycling systems worldwide. A stapled newspaper is also more likely to be picked up and read more than once in a public place, as it doesn’t betray the fact that it has been used—unlike the messy, folded pages of an unstitched paper. The world is in the midst of an environmental revolution and green issues are climbing the business agenda. Stitching strengthens brand image by answering the newspaper industry’s call to follow the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Less than
40
Euro cents per 1,000 copies
How much does it cost to stitch a newspaper? To stitch a newspaper or a commercial product in-line is an affordable investment. It costs less than 40 Euro cents per 1,000 copies. That covers total cost of ownership, which includes investment in customized stitching equipment, implementation and wire consumption . (Figures based on: stitching one book, 250 000 copies per day)