In the face of static or falling circulations experienced by almost all print media in South Africa, the Mail & Guardian has seen its circulation figures steadily climb over the past 18 months to reach record highs in the publication’s 16-year history.
From a circulation base that dropped to a monthly low of some 32 000 in 1999, the M&G has experienced a growth of more than 30% (unaudited) measured against its lowest circulation figures of 1999. Circulation for the last week in April reached an unprecedented 51 000 (unaudited).
“The newspaper’s success is a clear indication that a thorough understanding of the market, the product and the targeted use of the tools of communications can make a major and positive difference, even when resources are limited,” says Thys Botha of O2 Communications, the M&G‘s marketing and communications consultancy.
O2 developed a marketing strategy for the M&G and launched an advertising campaign for the M&G in May this year, with radio as lead medium. The purpose of the campaign was to reinforce M&G as the “thinking person’s read”, and to re-establish the paper as a must-read for those South Africans who take a serious interest in issues of the day.