Anna Woodhams, the founder and MD of Aintree Publishing, has spoken to How-Do about being ‘mad’, the firm’s ambitions for new title ‘On the Move’ and having ‘the balls’ to go against established regional players like Trinity Mirror.
Woodhams set up the Netherton-based firm with a partner late last year, launching the 40,000 circulation Liverpool Lifestyle Magazine in March to target Merseyside’s most affluent households.
Last Thursday marked the next step for the clearly ambitious Aintree - and Woodhams - with the emergence of new property title ‘On the Move’.
On the Move has a circulation of 27,000 and targets ABC1 households – all homes other than council houses basically – in the North Merseyside area.
On The Move: hot property
With a fortnightly distribution (courtesy of Birkenhead door drop firm LinkDirect), the paper aims to challenge a market traditionally serviced by local newspapers and provide estate agents with a single platform for targeting large geographic areas.
Woodhams explained: “The distribution was basically decided by the estate agents that we talked to.
“By advertising with us they can double the distribution and half the price that they’ve had to pay when using local newspapers.
“The idea is to start with this area and then roll the title out across Merseyside very quickly.”
Just how quickly Woodhams didn’t say, but she stressed there would definitely be further launches “within the year.”
With the property bubble a fast-fading memory – along with a host of high street banks – How-Do put it to her that it was a difficult time to start such a venture.
“You mean a mad time,” she retorted, “well, yes it is.
“But if we can successfully start this up during a recession, then we know it will do well when better times return.
“We have a better distribution and a more targeted and direct product than local papers, and, importantly, we’re cheaper.
“Estate agents have to advertise to sell their product, so it makes a lot of sense for them to do that with us.”
“In many ways we couldn’t have picked a better time to launch. Somebody just needed the balls to go up against established players like Trinity Mirror… and that’s what we’ve done.”
On the Move is edited by Des Fitzpatrick. Aintree currently employs eight members of staff and is looking to expand in line with the rate of the titles it produces.
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