CTVglobemedia’s Globe and Mail has just announced the launch of a new interactive Books site, expected to enhance the weekly section currently published on Saturdays.
As of Jan. 10, readers can find interactive features like videos and podcasts of book events, daily reviews, book news and comments gathered from every section of the paper both in print and online, bestseller and rotating themed lists, plus searchable archives. Plans are also in the works for a spring bookclub featuring the most prominent books read by Globe readers.
‘At a time when other newspapers are cutting back, the Globe and Mail is committed to investing in Books coverage and expanding its reader audience,’ said Ed Greenspon, editor-in-chief, The Globe and Mail. ‘Book lovers will have greater access to even more thought provoking reviews, as well as engaging commentary and other new elements on the books website.’
‘We are launching this site as part of a long-term strategy to extend our digital capabilities and our audience reach,’ Globe director of marketing, Sean Humphrey, tells MiC. ‘Readers who love books will now have a new online forum that they will be able to visit and participate in debate and conversations.’
Banner ads, sponsorships and video ad opportunities are currently available on the site which also targets professionals with higher than average income and education levels. ‘We know that Globe readers are highly engaged readers and book buyers,’ adds Humphrey. ‘Seventy per cent are frequent book buyers vs. 59.5% of the general population,’ quoting NADbank 2007 numbers.
To further expand audience reach, the Books section will physically join Globe‘s high-profile Focus section, one of the paper’s best-read sections, on Saturdays.
While the readership data (NADbank and PMB) doesn’t provide breakouts by section, the Globe‘s overall current readership is 2.8 million 6-day cume and with a strong over-indexing on managers and professionals (34% of Globe readers vs. 18% of the general population); university education and higher (65% vs. 32% for the general population); annual household incomes of $100K and higher (45% vs. 25% of the general population); and personal incomes of $100K and greater (18% vs. 5% of the general pop.) – source: PMB 2008.
