Summary

Insertion of advertising inserts has become good busi-ness for many newspapers. However, in some newspaper publishing countries this is not current practice for traditional newspapers, or is only so in isolated cases. On the other hand, in some countries this practice is so far advanced, that insertion is done on a selective basis for small areas of the circulation, in the interests of adapting to clients’ requirements. In the view of some people, with fine zoning newspapers are losing their traditional mass medium function to become a target group medium via the mailroom. Others see fine zoning as a compromise reached with advertising clients in order to minimise coverage waste. Ifra has made insertion and fine zoning the topic of various reports and events. Back in 1992 “the pros and cons of the customised newspaper” indicated the possible trends in logical alternatives. A study of technical feasi-bility in the mailroom, “the efficiency of insertion process in relation to finely sub-divided marketing zones" followed in 1995. This report deals with the topic from the viewpoint of the market, and to that extent ties in with the 1992 conclusion: What does the market want and what are the conditions in the market for fine zoning offered by newspapers? It does not deal with the requirements imposed by its adoption and technical options in the mailroom, but its function as a marketing instrument. The question asked is what value the fine zoning offered by newspapers has for readers, advertising clients and agencies. Under what conditions is fine zoning of interest and acceptable to clients, what advantages do they expect to draw from it and what services must be provided in order to meet the needs of advertisers and their agencies? My investigation makes use of an international ap-proach. Actual practice varies from country to country. General market conditions for fine zoning can be deduced by examining the reasons for this variation. They should enable individual newspaper publishing houses to analyse and assess their actual situation on the relevant markets in their own countries.