Swiss Post to launch personalised newspaper
Swiss Post is expanding its retail portfolio by pushing ahead with plans to launch a personalised daily newspaper for Swiss readers at the end of November. MyNewspaper enables readers to compile a personalised daily newspaper based on around 30 publications.
Subscribers select the content they want on the MyNewspaper Internet platform, for example by area of interest, such as local news, economy, culture and sport, before Swiss Post print and deliver the product.
As a part of the one-year pilot project, MyNewspaper will also be available in an online format in Germany.
Head of press/publishers at Swiss Post International, Carsten Vossmeyer said: “This means that readers can combine information from different publishers, depending on what they are interested in and their reading habits.”
Swiss Post confirmed that readers can determine the number of pages they receive, with 24, 36 or 64-page options available.
MyNewspaper is digitally printed at Swiss Post Solutions in the Härkingen mail centre in Switzerland, before being delivered by Swiss Post across the following regions: Aarau, Basle, Berne, Lucerne, Solothurn and Zurich.
The online version will be available worldwide with the publication sent by e-mail in the format of a PDF e-paper file. Versions are also available for tablet PCs, such as the iPad and other e-readers.
Swiss Post has yet to set a final subscription price, but the company expects around 1,000 readers to subscribe to the print edition during the pilot phase.
In Switzerland, several publishers have already signed up to the project. Vossmeyer added: “MyNewspaper offers an opportunity for German media companies to attract new readers at no additional cost.”
Swiss Post already tested the personalised paper successfully in 2009 under the name Personal News. At that time, around 1,200 readers ordered their personalised copy.
“The experience with Personal News and surveys has shown that most readers will continue to pay for their existing newspaper subscription. MyNewspaper is not to be understood as competition for existing publication. Instead it is the ideal platform for publishers to expand the reach of their titles on the basis of innovative products.”
