Galway Advertiser 2006/2006_09_07/GA_0709_E1_008.pdf 

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8 N E W S

www.galwayadvertiser.ie

September 7 2006

Galway Advertiser is highest circulation regional newspaper in Irish history
The Galway Advertiser is now the largest circulation regional newspaper in the history of the country, according to latest audited figures released this week. Never before has a newspaper received an audited circulation figure as high as the almost 61,000 copies of the newspaper published weekly by the Advertiser between January and June this year. And this figure is set to soar because last night at The Irish Times printing plant at Citywest in Dublin, in excess of 70,000 copies of The Galway Advertiser were printed for the first time. The massive print order is part of the most valuable print contracts held by The Irish Times and is in addition to 24,300 copies of the Athlone Advertiser and 19,500 copies of the Kilkenny Advertiser, sister papers of the Galway newspapers which were both established in the last few months. That brings the total number of Advertiser group newspapers printed this week to a staggering 120,000 newspapers, making the Advertiser group by far the most successful and highly regarded free newspaper group in the country. Company Managing Director Peter Timmins welcomed the publication of the figures, and thanked all those involved in the company's distribution network. Pointing out that the door-to-door circulation of the Galway Advertiser, combined with the drops to shops and offices, now gave the paper the highest independently audited circulation of any regional newspaper in the country, Mr Timmins said The Galway Advertiser had held the number one position for over two decades and was determined to stay there. Mr Timmins thanked the people of Galway for their enduring loyalty to The Galway Advertiser, and for continuing to make Thursday `Advertiser Day'. He also emphasised the value which the paper was providing for those who placed advertisements. "Our audited circulation is in excess of 60,000 papers, but this week we are printing 70,000 copies, and commencing door-to-door distribution in a number of county towns. This gives advertisers an u np r e c e d e n t e d penetration of the Galway city and county market, with our total readership now in excess of 250,000 people". "The average circulation of weekly regional newspapers around the country is of the order of 11,000 copies, less than one fifth of The Galway Advertiser figure. This shows the tremendous value for money for advertisers who use our publication, with readership numbers unprecedented in the regional press", continued Mr Timmins. Research has shown that every Galway Advertiser which is printed is brought into a household or workplace, and it is therefore one of the few regional newspapers where advertisers are guaranteed that every copy has the ability to connect them with potential customers. Mr Timmins also referred to the launch earlier this year of The Athlone Advertiser and The Kilkenny Advertiser, both of which are progressing along expected lines. "Already, both our Athlone and Kilkenny publications have a higher circulation than any of the other local papers operating in their area, though obviously audited figures are not available at the moment. "However, we are confident that these papers will eventually mirror the success of The Galway Advertiser, and the large readership offered by them is available at preferential advertising rates to customers of The Galway Advertiser. "All our publications will continue to offer higher circulation than any competitor, lower real cost than any competitor, the convenience of doorto-door delivery as well as shop and business delivery, top quality print with full colour advertising as well as superior design and editorial content; all advertising also appears on our Advertiser websites, which have in excess of 2.5 million hits per month", concluded Mr Timmins. The latest officially audited figures published last week show that almost 25,000 copies of the Galway Advertiser were delivered door to door in Galway city last week, while an additional 36,285 were distributed in shops, offices and other outlets. Editor Declan Varley said that the demand for the paper has grown in line with the development of Galway city. "This week the printers will print more than 70,000 copies of the Galway Advertiser and yet, all copies will be snapped up, illustrating the massive demand and loyalty that exists for the newspaper. "And as regards our overseas readers, they can now get a full copy of the newspaper online on Thursday morning. Their strength is currently being felt in the campaign to keep Galway girl Aoife Mulholland in the How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria TV show, as UK readers have been given special online ads to allow them to text their votes to the show. "Already our figures have shown that thousands have done so," he said, adding that the Advertiser website is also offering readers the chance to download free music from as yet unsigned new local bands.

114,000 copies of Advertiser newspapers were printed at the Irish Times plant at City West over the past 48 hours.

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