"This is a great time to launch an afternoon edition of Beeld," says Lucille van Niekerk, General Manager. "An afternoon daily Afrikaans newspaper doesn't exist and we are pleased that we will be the first, and additionally, the launch in September celebrates our birthday month. The Beeld brand is already well established and respected in the market and we anticipate an almost immediate acceptance of the afternoon edition into our readers' daily repertoire. We look forward to Afrikaans readers of English afternoon titles purchasing Beeld and becoming regular readers."
Tapping into the lucrative 25-39 year old, info-hungry current and potential readers, Beeld's Afternoon Edition features fresher, younger and sexier content with more focus on sports, celebrities, including a celebrity photo page, and updates on the morning's business markets. The Afternoon issue will be available from 15h00 Monday to Friday, via street sellers and selected outlets.
Editor for the afternoon paper, Willem Kempen, says that page two in the current paper has traditionally seen a focus on politics. "The late edition will see more of a business focus on the second page, with an update on the morning's business happenings. An added advantage of the later issue is that we will be able to offer our readers insight into breaking international and national stories more effectively, and at a time when it suits our readers."
"The afternoon edition will be the 'cherry on top' for advertisers, enjoying exposure twice a day in the greater Johannesburg and Pretoria areas, added to Beeld's average 101 972 morning papers," says Pieter Bruwer, Advertising Manager for Beeld. "Once the market is comfortable our afternoon edition is here to stay and sales increase, advertising rates will be adjusted accordingly. In the meantime, existing and current advertisers will benefit over and above their morning exposure with bonus exposure in afternoon editions at no extra cost - Beeld loves to offer value-added benefits to our clients and readers."
Beeld's afternoon edition will be distinguished by a 1cm lime green border around the paper and subtle changes to the masthead will more easily identify the paper among competitors. The newspaper will maintain its broadsheet format, and all supplements currently in the morning issue, with the exception of Beeld Huisgids, will be carried in the afternoon paper. A regional advertising campaign kicks off on the 1 September encompassing television, radio, billboards (electronic and traditional), and street pole ads to alert consumers and advertisers to Beeld's latest addition.
