Archant’s Will Hattam explains how The New European went from idea to published product in a little over a week
In July of this year Archant launched The New European, a brand new national newspaper aimed at the 48% of the UK population who voted to remain.
We felt at the time that this populous felt disorientated, disenfranchised and without significant representation in UK media. Certainly there was no galvanising voice to reflect their views and concerns. In short, we felt a new community had been created overnight.
So, in a meeting seven days after the referendum we came up with two ideas. The first was The New European and the second was its business plan: we called it ‘pop-up publishing’.
While we were taken with the idea of a newspaper, we were also concerned that a) it needed to hit the streets quick (and it did – nine days later); and b) we needed to give it the opportunity for an elegant exit if and when the mood dissipated.
Pop-up publishing was our answer: a fast entry on the back of a new opportunity along with an announcement that we would commit to just four issues – after that every issue would be a referendum on the next.
Pop-up publishing therefore gave us three things. First we had a capped risk. Four issues were costed and the downside was minimal if it didn’t work.
We knew our maximum exposure and we were comfortable with it. Our cost base was low, everything done from existing resource, low marketing spend (everything was about PR, social and retail presence).
Secondly, it gave us that elegant exit if it didn’t work out (after all we only committed to four issues in the first place).
Third we had a vehicle for live market research, rather than test an idea through dummies, focus groups, desk research, with all of the attendant cost and delay, we decided to back our instinct and see where it took us.
As it turned out, it worked and publishing was suddenly frantic and fun again. The business plan was signed off on the Wednesday, commissioning and mastheads came Thursday, marketing, PR and retail discussions started simultaneously.
We had a major PR boost at the start: it was announced on BuzzFeed on Sunday night and picked up right across the UK media early the following week.
Our editor, Matt Kelly, toured TV and radio stations, banging the drum. By Wednesday we had secured presence in 17,000 UK retailers, multiples and independents, for the launch and we went on sale on Friday.
The interest generated was enormous, and the sale surprised us. Over the coming weeks we expanded our distribution (we moved across England, into Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and even into parts of Europe – you can buy us in Paris, Dusseldorf, Berlin to name a few) and we are now stocked in 40,000 retailers.
Three months in we are still here, and profitable. At this stage we have little idea how long this pop-up paper will last. When the mood moves on, we will too, and we are fine with that.
Will Hattam is chief marketing officer, Archant
