How the Metro could topple the Evening Herald
Published October 19th, 2005 in PR in IrelandHistory teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap - Ronald Reagan
The first round in the battle of the freesheets in Dublin is in full swing. Every morning copies of the Metro and Herald AM are distributed across County Dublin. It has struck me though that the Metro could do more to undermine their rival.
Herald AM is effectively a watered down version of its sister publication the Evening Herald which is sold every afternoon. So why isn’t the Metro distributed at the same time? I wouldn’t normally buy the Herald on the way home, but I’d definitely take a copy of the Metro to keep me company in Dublin traffic
In my opinion the Metro would undermine the Herald pursuing a similar strategy. The Evening Herald is built in Dubliners subconscious at this stage because it’s never had any real competition. By giving the Metro away at the same time it would bite into the behavioral pattern that has been built up by Independent Newspapers and really drive home the fact that the Herald has got some serious competition.
Technorati Tags: Evening Herald, Metro, Piaras Kelly
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I think you’re right, the same thing struck me. I’d love to see them savage the Herald - it is a total rag of a paper and deserves to be done down!
The thing about it is though is that Dublin actually has a need for an evening paper. The Metro will make inroads into the Herald, but if the effect of the paper is like anywhere else, then it will also eat into the other tabloids. So it may be the case that the Herald stays around after all. The paper itself would have to evolve somewhat though.
If they did go head to head it might/should make the Herald a better product. It has gone downhill over the years and because there is no competition there is no passion to do something different.