New Fairfax papers for QLD and WA

One-day-only free Fairfax newspapers hit the streets of Queensland and Western Australia.

On 20 April, the latest local news from Fairfax websites, brisbanetimes.com.au and WAtoday.com.au was printed in 15,000, 24-page tabloid special-edition newspapers distributed by promotional actors around business districts in Brisbane and Perth.

Fairfax's venture in to print in these markets was driven by ING Direct, to coincide with National Savings Week. According to Shaun Morgan, manager of Fairfax Media’s business development unit, ING Direct needed to extend its message to new mediums.

“Fairfax has a strong offline presence in NSW and Victoria with its newspapers, and a strong online presence with our websites in Queensland and Western Australia,” he said. “We needed to create mass awareness and newspapers are a powerful communication tool.”

Extra, extra, read all about it in print ... for one day only. The WAToday distribution team in Perth.

ING is also sponsoring 15,000 cover-wraps of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, using the same distribution method in Sydney and Melbourne.

At the time of launching brisbanetimes.com.au, Fairfax came under fire from opposition, News Limited, for choosing a website rather than print. A spokesman from Fairfax defended the move, saying that launching a newspaper would have been “a suicide mission.” In Brisbane, the print edition of brisbanetimes.com.au went head-to-head with News Limited’s Brisbane mX.

Morgan, who was in Brisbane when the print editions were released, said that audiences were interested in the papers. In Western Australian, some readers had called radio stations and the head office asking whether they could get a copy.

“It’s a bit different when you take a product that exists in a digital space and put it out there in a different form,” he said.

Morgan was unable to confirm whether the printed editions had increased traffic to both websites.