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The release of the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures showed that the Sunday Mirror was the only national popular tabloid – either daily or Sunday – to grow its copy sales, with a 0.23%increase.

News was not as good for The People, also owned by Trinity Mirror, which saw its circulation dip below the million mark for the first time as it fell by more than 10% to 931,019.

Its only solace was that its rival News of the World fell by nearly as much, dropping by more than 9% to 3,631,057, while the Sunday Sport nosedived by 14.5% to 154,572.

Among the popular dailies, the Daily Mirror led the overall downward spiral, dropping by more than 8% to a historic low of 1,748,026 while, in Scotland, cir Price hikes help group increase revenue as only one of its titles holds up in the circulation war A tough month at Trinity Mirror culation for stablemate the Daily Record fell by just over 5% to 467,421.

A Mirror insider attributed some of the title’s downturn to the ill effects of the fake Iraqi pictures published under former editor Piers Morgan last May.

Morgan’s nine-year reign at the Mirror ended when the photos, which Mirror Group said were published in good faith, were exposed as fakes, causing an estimated 3% fall in circulation, according to insiders.

The Mirror ’s declining circulation was also not helped by its continually changing editorial stance over the past year, coupled with a period of five weeks without an official editor following Morgan’s departure.

Tim Irwin, managing partner at BJK&E, believes the Mirror is falling victim to the downward market trend of tabloids amid the rise of celebrity magazines.

“It’s not as good a product as its rivals and they’re all operating in a declining market,” he said. “While there’s plenty of need for gossipy celebrity stuff, I think there’s a decreasing need for gossipy news as people are becoming more educated.”

Celebrity magazines may be a rising force in publishing, but as a further blow to Trinity Mirror, its entry in the market sector has failed to live up to expectations. Last week, Trinity Mirror announced that it was to axe its weekly 3am magazine because it had not hit its circulation and advertising targets.

Despite Trinity Mirror’s general circulation downturn, a recent trading update from the group did show rises in circulation and advertising revenues.

The increase is largely down to the 3p price hike to 35p for the Daily Mirror (up 5p to 50p for the Saturday edition) in March.

The group had already raised the price of the Sunday Mirror from 70p to 80p and The People from 70p to 75p in January.

As a result, group circulation revenues for the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People were up 3.3% during the five months ending November 2004.

A Trinity Mirror spokesman said: “The strong circulation revenue performance reflects the benefit of increased cover prices, partially offset by circulation declines.”

The trading statement also showed that Trinity Mirror’s nationals division achieved advertising revenue growth of 2.8% year on year during the same period, while the regional arm achieved a rise of 4.5%.

By Sheelagh Doyle

Mirror colours

The Daily Mirror is undergoing a front cover redesign – at least for one day – thanks to a tie up withMindShare and its client Gillette.

Tomorrow’s edition of the paper includes sponsorship both on the front and inside the paper, featuring Gillette’s new M3 Power Razor, including a green cover.

It is the second time the paper has changed colour due to an advertiser, once going blue on the back of a deal with former OMD client Pepsi.

Gillette also features throughout the TV and sports pages and the deal includes an unusual curtain call for the Mirror ’s ill-fated 3am magazine, which will be twinned, for its last issue, with a Gillette M3 Power issue of 3pm, a 25-page supplement for men.

The one-off issue will feature Gillette focused content throughout, including features such as “Top Ten Sporting Close Shaves”.

Clare Dove, director of advertising at MGN, said: “For some time now, newspapers have been saying to advertisers: ‘Give us the opportunity and we will deliver truly creative brand advertising solutions.’ “This deal is a perfect illustration of how brands can make innovative use of newspapers to get their message across effectively.”