Manchester Confidential suicide?
As more publishers think about absenting themselves from Google and a major UK local newspaper business plans its pay walls, Manchester is playing host to an ambitious experiment of it’s own. Manchester Confidential is set to charge up to £11.20 per month.
A couple of years ago, I was full of praise for Manchester Confidential as the then innovative website seemed to be establishing itself as more than a vehicle for advertorial. But little has happened since and Manchester Confidential is continually forced to defend itself against charges that it sells its reviews. This is because Manchester Confidential now looks rather cheap.
I skim Manchester Confidential reviews, keep an eye on the special offers and enter competitions with decent prizes. It’s not clear what part of that will be placed behind the pay wall, as publisher Mark Garner has commented on here: ‘…there will be 2,000 Heroes by launch of new site, and approximately 10,000 friends, who will be paying half the heroes subs. Then there will still be the “free to air” stories…’
For £11.20 per month, I could be on various ‘uVIP’ lists and receive special offers by email before everyone else. Manchester Confidential’s eConcierge will book restaurants and buy tickets for me. That’s a very weak offer and anyone considering it will surely want to wait and see exactly what these friends are getting for half price.
Subscribing to offers is not new. Hi-Life cards have been around for 25 years now. They claim a national membership of 100,000 who pay around £50 per year and can claim two meals for the price of one at participating restaurants, of which there are a great many.
Mark Garner is dismissive of Hi-Life (‘Low Life’), pointing out that his Strictly Confidential offers are tailor made. Manchester Confidential has secured these exclusive menus with maybe half-a-dozen restaurants so far. That’s a long way off having the capacity to give 2,000 heroes and 10,000 friends a chance to earn their subs back every month. Hi-Life is accepted by nearly 650 restaurants in the north west.
Manchester Confidential’s paid-for offer looks ill-defined and weak. The price point is high, especially in a market where consumers have gotten used to free. This bold, radical move has a whiff of desperation, like a last roll of the dice. It’s unlikely Manchester Confidential will survive 2010.
Comments (2 comments)
Interesting comments but I was looking at the feature writer ad they ran last week and it said this: ‘We’re becoming a membership site – not a subscription site. We’re going to blow members away with extraordinary offers, great events and lots of surprises. BUT there will be free to read access on nearly all the stories for all those who care about Manchester and the region. This way we’ll build readership and gain more members.
At the same time we want to be the automatic choice for Manchester when it comes to exciting media.’
I like Mancon because it is independent. Also because I like the stuff they write on architecture, which no-one covers in the slightest on any other general media for Manchester. And while its not the finished article I admire that they allow negative comments on their site about themselves, it’s sort of stupid perhaps but noble.
James Kennedy / November 30th, 2009, 11:36 am / #
I signed up as a Hero, paid £100 up front for the year and currently have a massive handover because of it. Last night was the welcome event for Heroes at the Mark Addy – free hotpot dinner and then free drinks from 6-11pm. I had a lovely couple bottles of red and definitely recapped a fair amount of the money I paid for subs
I go out all the time, this kind of thing is really valuable to me, just depends what you want from it I guess.
Kid Disco / December 3rd, 2009, 11:01 am / #
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