City AM strikes first back page ad deal with ITV

Free daily business newspaper City AM has signed a one-year deal with ITV to allow the broadcaster the exclusive right to use its back page to promote its shows.

The deal marks the first time that City AM has used its back page for advertising and it comes after media buyers warned the paper that it needed to “work hard to attract advertisers while doing more to build the relationship with its readers”.

ITV will use the deal for the first time to promote its “Where’s My Pension Gone” show, which will air on January 25.

MindShare managing partner Paul Thomas says: “My view of City AM is that it has found a niche way of reporting business news to those that need it, positioned itself very cleverly by predicting the success of ‘free’ newspapers and will continue to grow.

“I do think though that the newspaper is guilty of being content to chase display revenue and forgetting the specialised audience it is able to engage with every morning.”

He adds that the male, AB 35to 54-year-old audience are not just readers but heavy consumers of premium products, and says City AM should be thinking laterally to make the most of that audience for advertisers.

He says: “The newspaper is hand-distributed every day to these wealthy young men. So why not choose, say, a male grooming product for a sampling exercise and give it out with the newspaper? Advertisers crave that special relationship with consumers that can come about when somebody at the newspaper takes a step back from the obvious and looks for other opportunities.”