In stark contrast, Capricorn Voice achieved a growth of 45% while Bosvelder Review achieved 12% growth, despite competing against other local newspapers which have been in the area for a longer period.

According to Hannes Cilliers, branch manager at Northern Media Group; “We can attribute this growth to our taking advantage of, and managing distribution in areas with growth potential. In addition, unique local editorial content was boosted through the use of additional freelance journalists. This strategy has clearly paid off as Thoyando experienced a significant increase where an additional 2000 copies were sold. Bosvelder Review underwent a comprehensive change of character, offering a less conservative and more market-related news approach which has seen better acceptance by our readers.”

“This is good news for our Limpopo advertisers,” says SPARK Media’s CEO Gill Randall. “These papers know that providing localised information in a format that’s easy to refer to, and that is relevant to consumers, is vital to the publications growth.”

“As our local papers continue to grow, we look forward to helping our advertising clients leverage their messages in our growing media category,” Randall says.

For more information, visit www.sparkmedia.co.za. Alternatively connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.