London Evening Standard unveils new look
The relaunch issue of the London Evening Standard is being distributed free to Londoners today (11 May) in a bid to re-engage with potential readers backed by an advertising campaign titled “Promise”
The campaign tells readers they can expect “to be served better” by the newspaper
Today’s issue is the first of the much-trailed “up-beat, representative and positive” evening paper under new owner Alexander Lebedev, who bought the title from Associated Newspapers.
New editor Geordie Greig, who joined from Tatler where he was editor in March, says the re-launch represents the paper’s bid to “reconnect with the greatest city in the world.”
The title has already run an outdoor teaser campaign ahead of today’s relaunch saying “Sorry” for losing touch with its London readers in a bid. The title has seen its sales weaken even further in the latest ABCs, with average net circulation for April showing a 6.11% drop on March to 263,312.
Circulation was down 1.01% for the six months November to April, year-on-year.
The paper’s redesign includes new specialist sections covering areas such as trends, health and fashion and style running through the week, and new columnists including stand-up comic and actor Chris Addison.
The ES magazine will continue to be published with the paper on Fridays, but will be “punchier, funkier and more stylish” the new team says. The paper’s website has also been relaunched with new features including an “entertainment channel.”
