The News of the World's decision to revamp its ailing Sunday magazine - perhaps the worst kept secret in newspapers - has divided advertisers.
While all agree it is time the 20-year-old had a facelift, there are doubts whether the plan to fold in the paper's Big On TV supplement and change its name will make the magazine more attractive than younger, perkier rivals when it comes to enticing ABC1 women and the brand advertisers keen to seduce them.
And that is the nub of the issue facing the "dream team" behind the relaunch - NoW deputy editor Jane Johnson and her deputy Mandy Appleyard, both of whom worked on the launches of Closer, Grazia and First. Although the newspaper delivers the numbers (its readership is 8.3 million according to the National Readership Survey), doubts remain that, even with an upmarket supplement, it can deliver the demographics brand advertisers demand.
Attracting readership
So can a supplement encourage ABC1 women to buy a newspaper better known for its blokey mix of sex, scandal and sport?
Manning Gottlieb OMD executive director of press Mark Gallagher comments: "There is only so upmarket it can go. Remember this is the News of the World - it's not going to suddenly start attracting upmarket readers."
A well-targeted supplement can extend a newspaper brand and add value for readers, as The Mail on Sunday proved with You, which doubled the circulation of the struggling, six-month-old newspaper to 1.2 million when it launched in October 1982. If Johnson and Appleyard get it right, the rewards can be great.
More recently, revamps at You and the launch of lifestyle supplements by rivals, notably The Sunday Times' Style, have helped their host newspapers weather the storm of a declining market, as Claudine Collins, managing partner at MediaCom, points out: "Definitely there is a perception in the market that successful magazine supplements are helping stop the sales slide experienced by others in the market."
The appointments of Johnson and Appleyard have sent a strong signal to advertisers that they are creating a serious contender for their cash, Collins adds. "They have a fantastic deputy editor in Johnson. Everything she has touched has turned to gold."
Helen Johnston, editor of Now, worked with both at Emap. "I am sure they will create something very interesting and impressive. They have an incredible track record."
However, in a market where well-established newspaper supplements are competing for ad spend with successful brands such as Heat and Closer, their track record is no guarantee of success. "The market is incredibly saturated," Johnston observes. "A lot of our readers wouldn't necessarily buy the NoW. They are looking for something more fashion oriented."
At Walker Media, whose clients include Marks & Spencer, national press officer David Casson says the agency would want to see results before switching to a revamped NoW supplement: "We wouldn't change our strategy overnight. We would look to see how it goes to make sure it can deliver what it promises."
One way in which the NoW is expected to move Sunday upmarket is to ditch advertising for mail order and telephone sex lines. While this would make a more attractive environment for brands, it is a risky strategy. Display advertising at rate card is more than £30,000 a page at Sunday, the cost justified by NoW's 3.2 million circulation; but, as one ad exec points out: "You can get three pages in Heat for that."
Advertisement policy
Direct response companies are willing to pay because opportunities to advertise are limited. A move upmarket would mean turning away such lucrative, if less than chichi advertising. But if the brands do not bite, as the Mirror's upmarket women's magazine M proved, the supplement may prove short-lived.
It is an issue Stephen Miron, managing director of The Mail on Sunday, acknowledges.
"The challenge for the News of the World may be greater than it envisages," he says, because refusing tacky ads is easy to promise, but hard to maintain.
"It is easy, under pressure, when you need the money in the bank, to let a few in, but if you do that, you are on a rocky road," he explains. "You risk damaging readers' expectations and advertisers' perceptions of your audience, and all that hard work is wasted."
If the revamped Sunday brings in the brands and reassigns the drab ads for mail order and chat lines to other parts of the paper, it will have discovered the most important secret in newspapers: how to make profits in a declining market.
SUPPLEMENTS: SIX OF THE BEST
NEWS OF THE WORLD: Sunday Twenty-year-old showing her age and due for a revamp. Total readership: 7.08 million. Female readership: 3.68 million
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: You Glossy women's weekly that sees itself as a cut above other supplements. Total readership: 4.97 million. Female readership: 2.82 million
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Style Uber-upmarket fashion and lifestyle guide. Total readership: 2.57 million. Female readership: 1.37 million
SUNDAY MIRROR: Celebs on Sunday Aimed firmly at the celebrity market usually left to the women's weeklies. Total readership: 3.08 million. Female readership: 1.71 million
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Stella Revamped lifestyle mag aimed at younger women Total readership: 1.12 million. Female readership: 0.62 million
Source: NRS.