REL Field Marketing establishes a sales force for News International
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REL Field Marketing announced today that it has been selected by News International to manage the industry’s biggest field force to help boost sales across the news category.
The publisher of The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times has recruited 25 specialist field sales reps and three managers who will regularly visit a national network of independent retailers to help maximise newspaper sales and improve category management.
The sales force will initially visit 5,000 retailers across Britain who are committed to growing their newspaper sales. They will assist with in-store display and help them set up sales-driving initiatives such as home news delivery. The team will also be approaching stores which do not currently sell newspapers to demonstrate the benefits of setting up a news service.
The launch event was held in News International’s Wapping offices where NI chief executive Tom Mockridge spoke to the new team.
Tom Mockridge said: “We want the new field sales team to be the interface with our customers, the retailers. Being a retailer is tough at the moment, but they do a great job for us and it’s important for us to help them improve and grow their businesses. Newspapers are still an incredibly important asset for this country and are a key part in defining our broader society. I believe it’s crucial to continue to promote the selling of newspapers and keep them in the strong position they have enjoyed for the past 100 years.”
Lizzie Unsworth, partner sales manager, News International, said: “This is a very exciting initiative and proves our commitment to selling newspapers. As the category leader, it is important for us to help increase sales across the news category – we are not aiming to convert readers away from other titles. Over the next few months our team will be working with retailers to help maximise sales during the Olympics period.”
Laurence Clube, MD, REL Field Marketing, commented: “We are delighted to be working with News International to support its sales and the wider category in this channel.”
