It is often said that particularly cold winters lead to a dip in The Telegraph's circulation as its typically older readers succumb to flu. While this alleged statistical anomaly, often touted by rival news-papers, is perhaps apocryphal, there is no doubt the paper has struggled to shake off its 'Torygraph' reputation and appeal to the lucrative 16- to 34-year-old demographic so loved by advertisers.
Last week it was revealed that Barry Flanigan, director of marketing and communications at AOL UK, is joining Telegraph Media Group as marketing director, replacing Katie Vanneck, who returned to Times Media as sales and marketing director last summer. Flanigan faces a challenging brief, and with the newspaper's creative ad account up for pitch, changes are afoot at the paper.
Crucially, while The Independent and The Times have adopted a more compact format and The Guardian is now Berliner size, The Telegraph has stuck resolutely to remaining a broadsheet.
While this has been praised by some who believe that the paper should celebrate this difference, one former Telegraph marketer claims it is this unwillingness to change that is the crux of the problem for the brand. 'The trouble is that successive teams have come in and tried to make it more attractive to a younger market, without adapting any of the fundamentals such as size, format and fonts,' she says.
Alan Brydon, head of press communication at MPG, says that although The Telegraph's sales team has done a fantastic job over the years of arguing that while the paper's audience may be older, it is also more affluent, the publication still faces a number of issues.
'The Sunday Times, The Guardian and The Independent have all invested in marketing activity that reflects their brands, but The Telegraph's marketing is often at odds with what the paper stands for,' he says.
Marc Sands, director of marketing at Guardian News and Media, believes the real challenge is to ensure the link between marketing initiatives and editorial style is seamless. 'The Telegraph's promotional activity and editorial does not sit well together and the paper appears slightly schizophrenic,' he says. Recent promotions have included giving away Paddington Bear and Dr Seuss books in order to appeal to mothers with young children.
Despite these criticisms, the paper has invested substantially in its web offering as well as creating a multimedia editorial operation where journalists contribute to both the newspaper and the web. One senior trading director says that in this respect The Telegraph is 'ahead of the game'. 'Its entire infrastructure, encompassing sales and editorial, is well placed to deliver a truly multimedia experience,' he adds.
Alex Randall, head of press at Vizeum, points out that, crucially, the newspaper's website reaches a significantly younger audience compared with the print edition, meaning it doesn't face issues of cannibalisation. 'It is certainly commendable that without alienating its core readers it has significantly broadened its offering, with an increased focus on sports, fantasy football and fresh products such as The Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine,' he says. For advertisers, this means a cross-media buy for The Telegraph offers them a genuinely wider reach.
However, The Telegraph's reliance on bulks - discounted subscription and voucher schemes - while not unique in the market, worries buyers, and some believe it is using them to prop up its circulation. 'A lot of buyers are concerned about the number of newspapers sold at a discounted price, or distributed via hotels and gyms; it really needs to address that,' says one trading director.
However, Vanneck argues that if bulks are managed appropriately they are an important part of the sub-scriptions mix. 'The key is to have a targeted approach to reach the right audience, whether that is the first-class carriage on trains or airport lounges,' she says. She also points to the magazine market, where the argument that subscriptions models provide valuable readers is never questioned.
Agencies claim the challenge for Flanigan will be to grow the paper's audience and appeal among 16- to 34-year-olds. While there is no doubt that all quality papers are chasing this market, it may present a bigger hurdle for The Telegraph. 'It is an almost irresolvable issue, as young people are abandoning newspapers,' says Brydon.
Nonetheless, Vanneck warns against focusing on age, adding that the biggest mistake any brand can make is to recklessly chase young people as a market. 'It would be a mistake to cate-gorise our readers as either young or old. I don't subscribe to the idea that the youth market wants totally different things from the older market. News-papers are rich entertainment products that transcend class, sex and age,' she says.
There is no doubt that The Telegraph faces a marketing conundrum. Some believe it should embrace its older readership and maintain its position as a British broadsheet institution, others that it is time for a change. The challenge for Flannigan will be how he chooses to navigate this tightrope.
Datafile: ABCs
- In the latest ABCs for December 2007, The Daily Telegraph recorded a circulation decrease of 1.06% to 873,523 copies; its six-month average was down 1.69% to 884,601.
- The Daily Telegraph distributed an average of 99,616 bulk copies a day in December, an increase of more than 3000 compared with November. In the same period The Times distributed 48,077 bulk copies, The Independent 41,229 and the FT 35,929.
- According to the latest ABCe newspaper website figures, Telegraph.co.uk, which rose to third place during November with 12.8m unique users, fell back to fourth, attracting 10.5m unique users during December.