Swansea newspaper design tweak beds in with soccer promo

Swansea Bay's only free weekly newspaper has had a design tweak.
The Swansea Herald of Wales now packs a slightly more newsy punch.
Gone is the over-reliance on big photos; back are pages with a story count more traditionally associated with local papers.
It's still material that's been lifted from sister title the South Wales Evening Post, but it's an improvement nonetheless.
The latest edition - datelined March 25 - comes swaddled in a four-page wraparound plugging the Post's World Cup soccer-themed sticker collection.
Presumably a promotion brokered by parent company Northcliffe Media, Dream Final 2010 bears none of the preciously guarded logos associated with officially sanctioned Fifa merchandise. Hence, no national crests on the players' kits, no mention of this summer's World Cup and no photo of the famous trophy.
More disappointing is the apparent lack of commercial opportunity offered to local traders. It would've been good to see Messers Tevez, Ribery, Rooney, Torres and Ronaldo help fan the flames of Swansea Bay trade - even through some simple in-paper ad sponsorship. Perhaps that's still to come.
Anyhow, back to the Herald's refreshed news pages. The extra content makes the whole package a lot more readable and will make it easier for ad sales staff to convince potential customers to invest in newspaper space.
It also means there's a comfortable feel to the plethora of plugs for Evening Post features.
Best ad: Renault Swansea, specifically their use of a spanner-wielding Playmobil-style character. Stands out a country mile.
Worst ad: Bunnies "health club". Why continue with such seedy stuff?

Greetings to a new Swansea Bay editor

It was a pleasure to sit down with the Swansea Bay media's newest editor this week.
Harry Mottram may not be a name too recognisable to many of us in this area - but such unfamiliarity shouldn't last long.
He's in charge of a magazine due to launch across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire this year.
It's called Primary Times and is already franchised to other areas of the UK. These include three titles of which Harry is already in charge - Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
It hits an interesting niche market - that of primary schools. Harry's team aim to ensure that it carries material of interest to pupils, parents and teachers. Its positive outlook means it'll probably be welcomed by the Swansea Bay education sector. Harry's hope is that it'll be made available in primary schools and libraries across the region.
It has a projected print run of around 70,000 and is being run by an arm of the Northcliffe media empire, known hereabouts for its helming of the South Wales Evening Post, Llanelli Star and Carmarthen Journal, Swansea Life, Swansea Bay Business Life and Swansea Herald of Wales.
Flicking through a sample Avon edition that Harry brought down, it's clearly a confident publication that sees value in itself and its readership.
Nicely designed, it's got an editorial content of around 50%, including a strong listings section. The advertisers include some very decent attractions - Bristol's Blue Reef Aquarium, St John Ambulance, Bath Council, Bristol Zoo and the city's Old Vic Theatre.
There's a lot of paid-for promotion too for schools from the public and private sectors, a soccer school and the National Museum Cardiff.
Primary Times, under different proprietorship, tried to break the Swansea Bay market several years ago but was a tad unattractive in design and content terms. This time it's different and I predict success.
Launch date? My money's on autumn.
Those interested in advertising or aiming editorial at the new magazine should give me a call on 07758 745240.