The SKWAWKBOX has featured the decision by Pizza Hut Delivery outlets on Merseyside to boycott an offer made by their national office via the S*n newspaper – the national office apologised on social media for the promotion after a public outcry, but did not withdraw it. The Paperchase stationery company had already apologised for running a promotion in the Daily Mail and promised not to repeat the exercise.
Such decisions have been greeted with outrage from various right-wing commentators, even though advertising clients and their consumers have expressed their choice in a way that free-marketeers would normally tout as a positive.
It seems press giants may be feeling the effects.
A marketing agency that sells online and offline press advertising space has been sending out emails with ‘last-minute’ offers for advertising in some of the largest right-wing publications.
One series of such emails has been sent to at least one well-known left-wing group – with ‘jaw-dropping’ pricing that suggests that some of the large publications may be finding it harder to sell ad space:
A follow-up email also suggests the agency is aware that many people and organisations have a low regard for the brands it is trying to sell:
An enquiry to the advertising agency confirmed that, in spite of the time-limited, ‘last-minute’ nature of the offer, it is in fact an ongoing promotion with similar rates expected to remain available. An employee at the agency told the SKWAWKBOX:
Look at pretty much any page in these publications and you’ll see a number of ads. They’re struggling to sell that advertising space, so they’re offering extremely low rates. The November rates are still available now and we expect that to continue.
The problem is likely to be compounded by falling readership rates in their print editions:
The existence of these ‘jaw-dropping’ offers may suggest that the campaigns by pressure-groups are succeeding in more than isolated instances, creating a shift in public opinion – and therefore in advertiser demand. Combine this with the reduced value of print ads to potential advertisers because of falling circulations and the right-wing media could be feeling the pain.
Moreover, attempts to sell advertising space in right-wing publications to left-wing groups that would ‘rather step on a rusty nail’ may suggest a certain desperation – if only on the part of agencies trying to sell it.
The SKWAWKBOX contacted the Mail and Telegraph for comment, but they did not respond by the time of publication.
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These type of reactionary publications are facing multiple threats to their circulation numbers, I would suggest four threats just for starters:
1) Their content is reactionary pro-establishment garbage.
2) Their aging readers which lap up the type of right wing propaganda they spew out are literally dropping like flies – Bill O’Reilly’s Fox TV show had an average viewer age of 72, the Mail and Telegraph’s readers’ average is probably around that number too.
3) The industry has a huge number of disrupters operating in the market who, thanks to technology, can achieve the same distribution scale without the overheads.
4) Companies just don’t want to be associated with these grubby publications for fear of reputational damage.
Those factors alone suggest their business model is not economically viable and that they will go out of business without subsidies.
Can’t we crowdfund one in the Mail? Something like: Don’t Buy This Tory Shitrag! Would be nice.
Good.
As a young boy learning how to wipe my bottom, my elderly Grandparents wouldn’t give toilet room, to any right wing newspaper and I came from a very large family!
Let me say, “they where not alone”!
I hold that Philosophy close to my heart!
They are not worthy!
Hey, SB, if the space is so cheap, how about crowdfunding some adverts in these rags to promote Skwawkbox?
I’d chip in for that in a second and it’d a great way to rub their noses in their own graveyard dirt!
Would they even accept the ad? I guess it’d be a funny and newsworthy event either way =)
Just for fun you should have started pushing them for a better deal.
Bet I could have negotiated them up to a fortnight for two in the Seychelles and free advertising for the first three months inside five minutes.
What salesman wouldn’t want to give the editorial department the gift of
“MARXIST HYPOCRITES ADVERTISE WITH US!!”