DAILY MAIL AND GENERAL TRUST’S METRO PERSEVERES THROUGH LOCKDOWN

By Jackie Robinson

No matter what 2020 has thrown at us in the Newspaper industry, we are proud to see how many Publishers have responded to such a difficult trading period and would like to congratulate DMGT on how they acutely adapted their business strategy to help put Metro back on track during challenging times to retain their footprint.

What will soon again be the biggest circulating newspaper in the country, Metro continues to print throughout the pandemic and has focused on targeting key workers while they commute. While a large chunk of a reduced audience continues to work from home and the circulation went from a staggering 1.42m to 350,000 copies back in February, DMGT rose to the challenge by putting a backup plan in place and is currently producing 800,000 copies per day.

Thankfully acting quickly, having robust IT systems to produce a paper from home and working closely with their national rail and bus partners meant that DMGT were able to understand footfall at a granular level, which helped to get the distribution numbers on point. The Publisher responded to readers who were missing their daily copy of Metro and recognised the necessity to increase the circulation to keep the brand alive. DMGT worked relentlessly to produce creative content and compassionate headlines that engaged with front line workers and remained loyal to their advertisers.   

DMGT’s behaviour throughout the pandemic has been commendable, having donated 48 premium ad spots to charities as well as Mail Metro Media who gave away five million pounds in advertising inventory to small businesses. In return, they have seen advertisers gradually coming back to the market with Argos, Uber and HSBC all booking high impact formats and today they achieve delivery to 93% of the 3,300 original locations across the country (Campaign, 24 November 2020).

It is success stories like these that give hope to Newspapers for a bright future with DMGT leading the way in being flexible and adaptable in times of change and uncertainty in order to thrive. Newspapers still have a great deal of autonomy, they provide the best possible UK wide news, sports coverage and unrivalled reach. They also serve local communities and have the very best connections with readers, businesses, councils, schools and community groups. With more interest in news than ever before and by telling stories that people want to read means the outlook for Newspapers could have greater longevity than many would have ever predicted.

With confidence gradually returning for advertisers, and our Publishers demonstrating a professional and exemplary response to how they are navigating their way through the Covid-19 pandemic, why not find out more about the direct marketing services and display opportunities The Insert Company and Mediaforce has to offer.

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