City AM has struck a deal to take up the vacant spots in the Evening Standard’s distribution network across London when the latter paper launches its new weekly edition. City AM will be available from 6am on Mondays to Thursdays, having dropped its Friday edition last year as many commuters continued to prefer ending the week working at home. The new-look weekly edition of The London Standard, as it will be renamed, will then be distributed from 4pm on Thursday afternoons starting on 26 September and be available until Monday morning each week.
City AM will continue to distribute about 70,000 copies per edition. Its latest ABC figure for August shows an average distribution of 68,144. The London Standard will drop its distribution to 150,000 copies per week.
In July, before it began to reduce its frequency down from five days a week, the Evening Standard was putting out an average of 276,885 copies each weekday. The new co-branded bins will be found at 530 distribution points across Zone 1 to 6 of London. Currently City AM goes out to 430 bins.
The bins are also deeper than those City AM is currently distributed in so they can accommodate the London Standard’s larger run. City AM chief operating officer Harry Owen said the deal reflected the industry “moving into a more collaborative space” and will mean “high quality print content is available seven days a week across London”. “Alongside our ever-growing focus on digital reach, there remains an undeniably special and valuable place for print.
This new partnership between two of London’s most iconic media brands will ensure that residents and commuters continue to be served by quality newspapers and magazines.” The Standard’s new executive chairman Albert Read said: “As the Standard embarks on the next phase of its journey, its new weekly print publication will set the bar high, reaching new readers, and reflecting the dynamism and excitement of London.” City AM is simultaneously launching a major brand refresh including its first logo change since its September 2005 launch.
It comes just over a year after it was bought out of administration by online beauty and nutrition group THG, the owner of Myprotein and Cult Beauty. THG helped City AM launch its first app within six weeks of the takeover. The app is now said to have been downloaded by more than 20,000 users and a “major upgrade” of its functionality and layout is coming soon.
The brand refresh has been in the works for six months but the rollout has been timed to coincide with the new distribution bins being readied. As well as the logo which goes live on the site from 26 September, it includes a redesigned print edition, new masthead and a full website redesign and user experience overhaul rolling out across the autumn. The publisher said this will result in better brand consistency across print, website, apps and social channels.
Owen said: “The changes we’re starting to unveil from September 26 constitute the biggest update to our visual identity in our 20 year existence. All of us at City AM are excited by the bold new design but also by what this investment says about our confidence in the future. “Our commitment to print is underscored by the paper’s eye-catching new layout and design, but this is more than a rebrand; we’re overhauling the functionality and user experience of our website and app, and investing in bespoke studio space in our City offices and at THG in Manchester, to boost our video and audio output.
“The brand roll-out will also include our partnership content with Reach plc and the daily business and financial news coverage City AM provides across both print and digital titles.” City AM is now providing business and financial news for many of Reach’s biggest newspapers including the Daily Express where the City & Business page now says “powered by City AM” and features content from its journalists. Also within the past few weeks former editor Christian May has returned as editor-in-chief to lead the title as it aims to become “truly national”.
It also has plans to bolster its video and audio output using a custom-made studio in its new offices shared with THG on Cheapside in the City of London. Email [email protected].
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