Swiss Post has launched the country’s first personalised daily newspaper combining theadvantages of the electronic and physical information channels. The postal operator will also take
over the printing and delivery of “MyNewspaper” to the subscribers.MyNewspaper will be initially tested on the market for one year. Swiss Post closely cooperateswith various publishers providing the content of their news publications for the new product.
Via the website www.swisspost.ch/mynewspaper, subscribers cancompile their own newspaper selecting from diverse national and international newspapers thecontent of interest to them. For instance, they can choose the sports section from newspaper A, thepolitics section from newspaper B and the local section from newspaper C. Thereby, they profit fromthe advantages of a printed newspaper: the day after the order is placed, Swiss Post delivers theprinted personal newspaper either to the subscriber’s home together with the daily delivery or to aP.O. box early in the morning. Alternatively, “MyNewspaper” is also available for subscription asan e-paper.
As part of the current one-year pilot run on the Swiss market, the printed version ofMyNewspaper is available in the regions of Zurich, Basel, Berne, Lucerne and Aarau from CHF 60 permonth (€48.85). The e-paper, which can be read on tablet PCs such as iPads or e-readers, can beordered from anywhere in the world from CHF 21 (€17.90). The market test is intended to show howhigh the demand is for a printed personalised newspaper with the subscription prices offered, SwissPost explained.
Currently, almost a dozen of different publishers in Switzerland and abroad contribute toMyNewspaper. Swiss Post said it aims to offers as broad a range of publications as possible andwill continue expanding it.
The postal operator stressed that the first personalised newspaper on the Swiss market shouldnot be regarded as competition for existing publications. “Instead, it will allow publishers toextend the reach of their newspapers and attract new readers.” For its part, Swiss Post providesits logistics competence and manages the interface between publishers and readers.
Through a software developed by a company in Lucerne, the newspaper contents are collected intoa file according to the subscribers’ orders and then transmitted to Swiss Post. The individualnewspapers are digitally printed on a printing machine in the Härkingen mail centre overnight andthen sent out from there.
