Metro International, a division of Swedish publisher Modern Times,
is recruiting an ad director and a sales team of 15 for its free
North-eastern morning paper to be launched in the spring.
The staff, to be based in Newcastle, will target local advertisers in
the Tyne and Wear region, particularly retailers. Metro International’s
chief operating officer, Jens Torpe, said: ’We will be starting
presentations after Christmas and we hope to have the majority of the
staff on board by then.’
National advertising will be initially covered by the Newcastle-based
staff. A national sales strategy has yet to be decided and will be
developed as other regional titles are launched. Torpe said that they
could link up with an existing national sales house or launch their
own.
The Newcastle paper is expected to be the first of many forays into UK
regional publishing for Metro International, which is busy signing up
distribution deals with local transport companies in major cities.
Modern Times produces Metro editions in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Prague,
Budapest, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Helsinki with a combined circulation
of around 1.2 million. And it is about to launch editions in Zurich,
Philadelphia and Santiago. Torpe revealed that a global advertising
strategy will be implemented soon with the targeting of international
brands.
The Newcastle Chronicle and Journal responded last week by appointing
the general manager of Liverpool’s Channel One TV station, David Simms,
to fill its ad director vacancy. Simms, who will join in January, was
previously assistant ad director at the Liverpool Daily Post and
Echo.
As the Chronicle and Journal faces new threats, the new media vision he
acquired during his two- year stint at Channel One will be highly
valued.
The vacancy was caused by Shaun Bowron’s move to Scotland in the
summer.
The Newcastle Chronicle and Journal’s managing director Steven Brown
commented: ’Metro will no doubt be a serious competitor and both the
Chronicle and the Journal will be affected. But we intend to do
everything possible to meet the threat.’
He added: ’This will require us to put together the strongest team
possible and David is an important part of that.’
