A series of free newspapers which enjoyed a 15.9pc circulation rise last year have been relaunched under a new title.

The Gravesend, Dartford & Swanley Extra recorded a circulation of 48,018 in the most recent ABC figures.

Now the title has been relaunched as Messenger Extra and from next month will be available as a pick-up as well as via home delivery.

A KM Group spokesman said the Extra would play and important marketing role in driving sales of the area’s paid-for companion title, the Gravesend & Dartford Messenger.

“The Messenger Extra offers unrivalled local media service, further demonstrating the commitment of KM Group to develop its products to meet the specific wants and needs of the communities it serves,” he added.

“It now boasts more editorial content than ever before, in addition to entertainment information, homes and motors, sales and services information, competitions and special offers.”

Comments

IJ (20/05/2009 12:23:53)
I am confused by this story – are they paid fors, frees or part-paid, part-free? If they are free, which is what it looks like, how can they have enjoyed a circulation boost in the latest ABCS? Surely they’ve just printed some more papers, which means their distribution has increased – and that would be goverened by the VFD figure, not ABC. Any papers that record a 15% ABC increase should be congratulated, but I don’t think that’s the case here. Explanation please!

AC (20/05/2009 12:52:05)
IJ – I’m afraid you are behind the times! VFD doesn’t exist anymore it has all been merged into ABC. Under the new ABC rules, all titles are now allowed to have a mixture of paid, multiple, free door-to-door, free pick-up, subscriptions and even digital editions – all reported under one figure.