With the advent of two new free evening papers, the Evening Standard is finding it hard to compete. This week it’s offering a free DAB radio every night. A fine prize certainly, but not really in the realms of free cars every night that it’s managed in the past.
But I digress. One of the things that Associated did to let it compete better in a free newspaper world, was to put its price up to 50p. The idea is that the extra revenue gives them a warchest of cash to spend.
However, walking past one newsagent just off Leicester Square last night revealed a special offer for that night only with the Standard priced at 40p. Yet the next street seller I saw near Charing Cross Station, was firmly selling the paper for 50p. And by the time I reached Embankment Tube, vendors were passing out the Standard for free for “one hour only” in a deal done with Nokia (who’d taken every display ad in the paper).
So 40p, 50p or free – all within about 150m of each other. It’s that kind of joined up thinking that’s going to let the Standard stay afloat in the newspaper wars.