In April this year a new regional weekly appeared on newsstands in Ghana. Despite initial financial losses and ongoing challenges to attract new advertisers, the man behind The Effia Kwesimintsim Observer is hopeful that these obstacles can be overcome. RAP 21 spoke to publisher Nana Kofi Coomson about staying close to his readers, developing his advertising sales network and drawing on the infrastructure of his other publication, the Ghanaian Chronicle.
“I felt there was a need for a newspaper of its type because it addresses questions which are largely ignored at national level and by the national media, stories like that of a pack of vultures infesting a local school,” says Coomson. The Effia Kwesimintsim Observer, named after the hometown of its owner and publisher, seeks to touch communities rather than achieve national appeal.
The newspaper, which appears in Ghana’s Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan region, also tackles subjects that national newspapers tend to leave off their front pages such as local crime, unemployment, local politics and issues such as the environmental concerns in the region.
Coomson has taken a significant personal risk with the launch of the publication. “I financed the launch of The Observer with my own money. This project is something I had in my head for quite some time, however I would estimate it took approximately two months of planning to launch the newspaper,” he says.
The promotional strategy, like the target audience for the publication, focused on the community. Free copies of the newspaper were distributed to local companies, local MP’s and to advertising agencies during the launch period. There was no cross promotional effort within other publications that form part of Chronicle Communications, The Observer’s parent company and the largest newspaper group in the country.
Four months after the launch of the weekly, circulation stands at around 2,500 copies per issue and copy sales account for approximately 30 percent of the newspaper’s overall revenue, meaning that Coomson is left to subsidize the majority of the paper’s revenue from his own pocket.
“The Observer has succeeded in attracting some advertisers, some examples being a local hotel and a local automobile garage, which is a branch of the national Kwik-Fit tyre garage chain. Currently, however, only 2 percent of our revenues comes from advertising.”
Coomson recognises this is not sufficient to keep the newspaper afloat. His goal is to boost revenues from advertising to 50 percent. The publisher intends to send out more canvassers on the field and feels that the newspaper has already established a good working relationship with local businesses and advertising agencies, who were the recipients of free copies of the Observer during its launch period.
One significant advantage for the Effia Kwesimintsim Observer is that it is able to rely on the established infrastructure of its sister publication, The Ghanaian Chronicle. The Observer is printed on the same printing press as The Chronicle, distributed through the same distribution networks as The Chronicle and shares the same sales team. As such, the newspaper’s office, based in the city of Takoradi, has only two fulltime staff and a network of five freelance correspondents who operate throughout the region.
The publisher feels that the newspaper, although still young, has already had an impact on the community. This will hopefully lead to a steady increase in circulation figures as well. “We have quite a reliable informal method for keeping in touch with our audience, which to listen to the feedback on the newspaper that comes from local television and radio commentary and review programmes,” says Coomson. He hopes to build on this momentum: “The Observer is well-known and liked newspaper, and its journalists have been very successful at interacting with the local community”.
Despite the challenges facing the young publication, Coomson is hopeful that by staying in touch with the needs of the community and employing viable business strategies The Effia Kwesimintsim Observer will be able to attract new readers and advertisers and will reverse current losses in the coming months.
“I know we won’t break even overnight. It is going to take a breakthrough - and a bit of luck”.