Strategies for newspaper success from Australia, South Africa

At the new World Association of Newspapers Power of Print Conference in May 2009 in Barcelona, Spain, not only will Kylie Davis of the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun-Herald be drawing on her own experience of customised editorial products for curing ad revenue blues, but Fergus Sampson, Media24 emerging markets CEO and Daily Sun publisher, will describe how the tabloid launched in 2002 to become South Africa's largest daily newspaper.

Kylie Davis, who ensures that the editorial and advertising departments of the Sydney Morning Herald work together to produce lucrative new print publications for special clients - without compromising editorial integrity - has joined the programme of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) new Power of Print Conference, to be held on 27 and 28 May in Barcelona, Spain.

Davis, the managing editor for Editorial Business Development and Strategic Publishing for the Herald and the Sun-Herald, oversees a project that has brought in close to $5 million Australian (€2.54 million) of new revenue in under 12 months.

Far from being standard "advertorials" or special reports, the new print products are high-quality, customised publications that are charged at a premium.

Although digital innovation is a primary area of newspaper industry development, print and advertising continue to fund these new ventures, as well as being the profit centres for the vast majority of newspaper companies, even in these tough times.

Full details of the Power of Print Conference can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/powerofprint2009/home.php, while the Advertising Conference details can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/advertising2009/home.php.