Having put together a strong team to take on the mighty 'i', throughly read through the brief to identify all problem areas, it was time to get down and dirty with as much research as possible. After a few group meetings we decided what the weaknesses of i were. The independent had aimed to produce a paper that would be a short but good 20 or so minute read that had informative articles on basic daily news and current affairs. This aim also dwindled on business, leisure, sports and entertainment sections but although it may have created a decent enough interest in large cities, it failed to grab sufficient interest throughout the nation.
As we felt the each issue would contain only short, but informative articles, the paper should be used for people that are always on the move or have a small amount of time in their day when they are looking to do something, for example, commuters going to work. This caused a major concern as it would then be placed in a field of competitors such as City AM and the Metro, both well known and very liked papers for such purposes of a quick read. So how often are these papers sold? Like said before, the papers are bought for those who look for something to do on a daily commute. The Metro is probably one of the most popular as its meets the target audiences needs, as well as it being completely free. The i only tends to rise in sales when competing papers are sold out. The Guardian, Times and Independent have recently played a large role within the aid of online reading and have surprisingly generated a lot of interest amongst students. If the i takes on this same role within the online community and re-think how to gain student interest, it will go very far. Then again, the i is only 20 pence, students love a bargain and that certainly is one.
As Dundee is a largely populated student city, as a group, we decided to go out and individually explore where the i was sold in Dundee. I retrieved my information by going into shops I knew students would take notice in when walking to and from University.
My first stop was at the Premier shop outside the union as it is right beside halls of residence and is passed by a large majority of students daily. Although the premier did have a few in stock, it certainly would not be enough to satisfy the amount of readers that other leading newspapers currently sell. That is if the i could even reach that stage of popularity. Another thing that was noted was the positioning of the i newspaper within the shop. The more dominant newspapers seemed to be place over the i, making the headline logo less visible to the eye. This could also be a design flaw within the newspaper. The i logo is positioned vertically down the left hand side of the page, making it almost impossible to view when one paper is stacked on top of another.
The next stop on my journey was a visit to the canteena. Their selection of newspapers was limited as it was never mind having a single i. I questioned the lady at the cash desk to see if I had just been the unfortunate one unable to get my hands on one. The lady explained that the canteena's stock had nothing to do with them and that the premier was in charge of it all. They also explained that is assumed from previous sales that it would be a waste to get some in without insured sales of the i.
Perth road of Dundee is another area highly populated with student as well as myself. I visit Nisa (previously Londis) numerous times a week for snacks and drinks. If I was going there to buy a newspaper, I know for a fact it wouldn't be the only thing I would leave with. The idea of product placement within a shop became noticeable to me when I stepped into Nisa the other week. As a student, it would make more sense to have the newspaper/magazine stall placed closer to snacks and drinks (areas in which I mainly go straight to when in Nisa like mentioned before) instead of where they are currently situated (beside fruit/veg and breads etc.
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