Several leading Sunday tabloids could have their market share eroded as the Star unveils its new Sunday edition this week.
About 150,000 copies are due to roll off the presses on Saturday evening, with columnists like Gerry Ryan, hurler DJ Carey and Louis Walsh peering out from the pages.
With a cover price of €1.30 the Sunday Star will be cheaper than Ireland on Sunday, which retails at €1.50, while the Sunday World sells at € 1.70. The managing director of Independent Star Ltd, Mr Paul Cooke, hopes the cover price, a free 1980s CD and a 56-page celebrity magazine, Star Celebs, will be enough to persuade buyers of Ireland on Sunday, the Sunday World and the News of the World to switch their allegiance.
According to recently lodged accounts the Star is having some success attracting daily readers. The company made pre-tax profits of €3.3 million in 2002, the highest level in its history. A fat dividend of €3.2 million was paid out to joint owners Independent News & Media and Richard Desmond's Express Group.
While Independent will be happy to collect the €1.6 million dividend, it also owns the Sunday World . Surely the Star on Sunday will simply cannibalise the circulation of its Independent stable mate?
"I don't think so. Obviously there is an overlap and there is no point in hiding that, but we believe we can grow the market. Look at the tabloid market - it has just grown and grown in Ireland," says Mr Cooke.
While the Sunday World will be concerned, Mr Cooke says other titles will be more nervous. "We believe the Ireland on Sunday readership could be vulnerable. There are questions over how loyal its readers are," he states.
Edited by Ger Colleran, Mr Cooke describes the Sunday edition as a more leisurely read than the daily version.
With a staff of 17 the paper will not impose massive additional costs on the Star. Meanwhile, a printing agreement has been reached with The Irish Times, which will publish the paper at its City West plant.Ms Martina Stenson of media buyer Universal McCann said it could be difficult for the Star to map out its own territory.
"My view is that while they have a very successful product in the daily market, the environment is somewhat more cluttered in the Sunday market, and it will require significant investment in competitive pricing and giveaways to get recognition in this market."
She added: "Their aim will be to lure readers away from the Sunday World and the News of the World, but according to research, 50 per cent of Sunday World readers claim they would not change the newspaper they read.
"The News of the World has a similar figure. This, coupled with an expected fight-back from competitors, will mean there could be tough times ahead for the Sunday Star," she cautioned.
Billetts warning to marketers
Media auditing firm Billetts, which set up shop in Dublin earlier this year, says Irish marketers suffer from a serious shortage of data, which means they cannot fully assess the impact of their marketing.
Senior figures at Billetts spoke to leading marketing managers and directors at a seminar last week and delivered the blunt message.
Many of the marketing professionals, mainly working in the fast-moving consumers goods (FMCG) sector, agreed with the assessment.
"The mood of the participants at the seminar was clearly that FMCG marketers in Ireland suffer from a real paucity of data," said Mr David Bridges, chief executive of Billetts Marketing Sciences, after the meeting.
He said some companies did not know how their products were presented on the shelves and how well promotions were performing in individual stores.
Terence Conran comes to Dublin
The British designer Mr Terence Conran is in Dublin tonight speaking at the JC Decaux Forum.
He is the second speaker in the 2003 series of presentations by leading brand experts. He is speaking at 6 p.m. in the Merrion Hotel and is expected to talk about how to bring various businesses in a single brand.
eoliver@irish-times.ie
