Cape Town Festival selects Big Issue as official publication

"The magazine is incredibly popular amongst Capetonians, in fact its' vendors have almost become part of the cityscape," said Trudy Vlok, Marketing Manager for The Big Issue. The special March edition will feature the festivals' full programme as a dual cover on the flip side of the magazine. The festival organisers are allowing vendors to trade at all the events during the festival, hoping to further increase the circulation.

The Big Issue is not only a commendable cause in its job creation statistics for the unemployed, but the publication has also become a reputable medium for advertisers. In early 2002 sales were up to 14 000 a month, which showed an increase of 12.8% on the previous period. This excluded the 3000 - 4000 copies per month used to incentivise its unique distribution team, bringing the total circulation up to an impressive 18 000 per month.

A revised editorial content and a new look to the publication have been attributed to the steady increase in sales. A greater awareness within the industry of the merits in targeting the magazine's somewhat unique readership has made The Big Issue a alternative advertising forum.