Agency reviews: Sunday Sun

Well that was a bit under whelming wasn’t it. After all the hype and fanfare, all we got was another edition of the Sun. On a Sunday. And a rather tame one at that.

NI will probably tell us “well that’s exactly what we were aiming for”. After all the furore of phone hacking/Leveson Inquiry, they produced a safety first edition, which included a substantial editorial leader about how the readers “can trust our journalists to abide by the values of decency as they gather news”.

It was all a bit sterile wasn’t it? Even Jordan was writing under her Katie Price pseudonym. Where was the wit that made News of the World such a guilty pleasure? Where was the salaciousness that made it such an attraction – even though you knew 80% of it was piffle? Still, at least the 45 pages of sport (some of it not even on football!) were commendably strong.

But the all important part of the story is obviously the financial one. Will the advertisers continue to support it once the launch deals have stopped (it was noticeable that many of the Sun’s top 10 advertisers from the supermarket and DIY shed categories were absent) and will it match the sales of the Saturday Sun once all the marketing support has stopped?

Apparently Mr Murdoch tweeted on Sunday night that it sold over 3 million copies, which, parking over inflated expectations for one moment, is clearly staggering in this day and age. But it was definitely not a sell out, and unless they can liven up the editorial quite a bit, it could well prove to be a very tough slog for all involved.

As the dust settles following the much-hyped launch of the much-anticipated Sun on Sunday, the overwhelming feeling seems to be ‘is that it?’.

Few could argue that Murdoch, who is reported to have overseen every stage of the launch personally, has played it very safe with the first issue.

Rupert tweeted in the early hours that the newspaper sold three million copies yesterday. And today’s Sun online carries a barnstorming story celebrating the launch and asserting that ‘millions’ rushed to newsagents to buy a copy. Exact sales figures will be released at 2pm today.

Advertisers obviously welcomed the launch with the issue closing a day early on Thursday. The newspaper at 92 pages (the News of the World averaged at 86), plus 64 pages of glossy women’s magazine Fabulous, certainly trumped other Sunday tabloids in terms of size.

Crucially the paper carried a staggering nine front half colour pages, as opposed to the Sunday Mirror which only secured one, and the Mail on Sunday, which managed four. It’s very encouraging to see advertisers coming back into the Sunday market, which has struggled since the demise of the News of the World.

The paper launched with a five page exclusive on Amanda Holden and her traumatic birth experience – something probably more suited to a celebrity weekly magazine than a tabloid newspaper. However with the Leveson inquiry continuing and NI committing to high ethical standards the paper’s new soft focus certainly sets it apart from the sleaze with which the News of the World was associated.

The Holden story was picked up by other Sunday tabloids in later editions, and certainly ticked the ‘scoop’ box, but was less-than-lauded on Twitter. Former number 10 spin doctor Alastair Campbell even speculated the Holden front page was a fake, to be followed by a ‘real’ front page in later editions – that never transpired.

New columnists included Katie Price talking about kids needing love not posh schools and professing her admiration for the late Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin. As predicted, Toby Young made his debut as the newspaper’s political columnist, but managed to get himself into trouble on Twitter by referring to the Milly Dowler phone-hacking allegations as “that murdered girl thing”.

Probably the most surprising new signings were the Archbishop of York preaching that we should all embrace a new beginning and Nancy Dell’Olio being hailed as a Style Guru.

Editorially the paper felt blander than the NotW and less of a guilty pleasure, lacking in funny headlines and gossip. Gone were the salacious scoops and gossip that was the bread and butter of the NotW and in their place came soft, family-friendly stories and a coy Kelly Rowland covering her breasts on Page three.

With six days to put the paper together however, and the fact that so many eyes would be on the first issue, News International needed to be cautious but hopefully we should see more exciting content in weeks to come.

Like its predecessor the paper carried a substantial football section ‘Goals Plus’. The general consensus being this is the best football pull-out section in the tabloid market, so definitely a win with the men.

The paper launched at 50p, which is astounding value and made it one of the cheapest purchases in the supermarket or newsagent. The Sunday Mirror and Daily Star on Sunday also reduced their price to 50p and the Sunday Express decreased to 30p.

At this price point we should definitely see some lapsed readers coming back into the market and it should energise the Sunday market as a whole. The question is for how long will the price war continue? With Murdoch’s deep pockets and past price war success with The Times in the 1990s, most betting people would put their money on him.

Perhaps the biggest surprise this weekend was the the similarity of the Sun on Sunday to its weekday and Saturday editions. The scandalous stories and investigative journalism that the News of the World was famed for is now a distant memory.

The Sun’s advertising campaign strapline states: “The Sun comes out every day” – and this is certainly the case… it is not a new News of the World. Is this what we are to expect in the post Leveson era of the red tops?

There wasn’t a lack of advertising that some may have expected for the first issue, especially as the release of the title was only announced on the Sunday evening before. Some of the more cautious brands who have adopted the wait and see approach to the title will now see the newspaper as a serious contender when it comes to title selection on media plans.

Rupert Murdoch tweeted today: “Reports early but new Sun Edition sold 3m”. If the figure proves to be correct this would be considered a success – but the Sun on Sunday’s true potential will rely on the figures in the coming weeks.

We’ve been waiting all week for it – yes – “50p Sunday”! So is the Sun Sunday the start of something more than a protracted price war?

The launch edition was a very solid 92 page start with Amanda Holden providing a classic heart tugging “family” cover story, which certainly beat the Sunday Mirror’s BGT take on Holden’s nuptials that kicked off their less bulky 72 page edition.

As expected, the paper retained its weekday feel with proven favourites like Bizarre, Dear Deidre, TV Biz, Katie Price and also featured a mandatory 28-page ‘Goals Plus’ footy supplement. Fabulous apart, there were weaker attempts to inject a more family feel with a four page Sunday Woman section, an interview with Luis Suarez’s gran, war widow heartbreak and a even a column by the Archbishop of York.

The publishers have to tread a fine line due to recent scandals – so the approach was more humble, with the main feel being toned down from the headlines as well as the content. I don’t think the title will try and fill the NotW void and will find its own way – although the “Sunday Issue” article was a complete failure and perhaps a misguided nod to the investigative heritage it’s looking to replace.

Advertisers have clearly been saving their pennies up for this launch since last July and were more than willing to put their money on the table, even though the title was trying to restrict entry to those willing to commit to three of the next four issues. In fact it might have been called “Morrison’s on Sunday” – the supermarket took six pages critically placed throughout the issue from front to back. Three, Talk Talk, Harvey’s, SCS and Iceland’s pages were complimented by more than 20 other major brands (from all key sectors) taking fractional space in support – a great number of which did not feature in their competitors.

The Sunday Mirror by comparison barely mustered eight pages of display space and remains hugely reliant on its classified revenue, which was obviously absent in The Sun at this early stage. The 67 page Daily Star Sunday retained its traditionally strong advertising base.

1.3 million readers of the NotW did not decide to purchase another paper and this package will undoubtedly attract a few of these, but it’s the Sun’s weekday readership that will be critical to ensuring the title settles down above its two million target.

Whilst it’s a very bland start, it is more than enough to cause a lot of trouble for the perennially poor People and Sunday Mirror packages and will probably sell out its print run – particularly as The Sun will be more than prepared for a protracted price war to grab the NotW readers lost to MGN over the eight months. It won’t be short of advertising revenue to support this strategy!