Sunday Times increases focus on online sales

Gavin Emes

Commenting on this new appointment to Johncom Media Group Sales Division, Gisele Wertheim Aymes, GM advertising strategy and trade marketing for Johncom Media, says: "The sales division will be placing increasing emphasis on online, given the growing importance of this media in the media mix and to strengthen this important brand extension to our newspaper products. We have extended our special projects, surveys and inserts team under chief sales officer Mauro Black to include online.

"Anyone who doubts the growing importance of this media is reminded of the phenomenal growth in advertising revenue over the past few years. Indeed Arthur Goldstuck of World Wide Worx confirms that online advertising in South Africa has come of age. It passed the R100 million mark for the first time ever in 2004, grew by 45% in 2005 and is set to pass the R200 million mark in 2007."

Ames worked in the UK on the Guardian newspaper at a time when both the Guardian newspaper and website underwent major strategic changes: the newspaper moved from broadsheet to Berliner format and the website was re-branded to align itself with this new format.

Redesign

According to Juliette Saunders, editor for Johncom Digital Media Division, the focus of the redesign is a simpler, more elegant and efficient www.sundaytimes.co.za which is very user-friendly.

"Much of the improvement in the website will be invisible but the visible components will give a far richer and more pleasant experience. We have removed much of the clutter that made the website at times hard to navigate and read. We have also simplified the navigation so finding the news, pictures, columns and interactive features will be a lot easier," she says.