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New newspaper advertising options with KBA’s Zip’n’Buy

World premiere at Main-Post in Würzburg

Zip’n’Buy, an invention patented* by press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer (KBA) some years ago, made its pressroom debut recently at Würzburg-based German media house Main-Post when the C&A retail chain pounced on the idea of a “zip” in a newspaper for an ad campaign. The zip took the form of a perforated line applied – with no reduction in press speed – during production of the Main-Post’s flagship title on a KBA Commander press line.  
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Delighted at the world premiere of a “zipped up” newspaper in Würzburg, from left. Martina Assenmacher of Media C&A and Hans-Peter Ennemoser, head of advertising at C&A Germany, with the Main-Post media group’s advertising manager Matthias Faller and printing plant manager Adrian Alt-Steiner (photo: Schwarzott) (3) 
The perforation, at the inner edge of a portrait-format C&A ad two-thirds of a page wide and comprising two images printed back-to-back in register on two consecutive pages, allowed the ad to be removed cleanly without using scissors. Readers could win shopping vouchers simply by tearing off the ad, completing the box printed on the back and handing it in at a C&A branch. Not only is this new form of advertising much simpler and cheaper than applying post-its in the mailroom, it also allows advertisers to monitor the response to specific ads more easily. 

Retrofits also available

 
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A C&A ad in the 19 April edition of the Main-Post was the first in the world to feature Zip’n’Buy, which allows a portrait-format ad featuring a competition to be removed via a perforated line down the inside edge of the ad, with no need for scissors (1) 
This ingenious new option is available as a retrofit for KBA and non-KBA presses alike. Fitted immediately ahead of the former, the perforator features a movable, non-driven blade that can apply a vertical perforation from any position across a broadsheet page. There is a choice of manual or automatic blade positioning, and even remote control from the console during production. Minimal conversion times and the absence of speed limitations means that a “zipped” ad be placed virtually anywhere, even in high-volume titles. A cross perforator is required for additional horizontal “zips”. On a tabloid product the vertical zip is applied with a cross perforator and the horizontal zip with a length perforator. 
 

Innovative ad form with high response rate

 
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The ad can be removed without damaging the newspaper, completed and mailed to the advertiser, who thus has an effective means of monitoring response rates (2) 
For advertisers and newspaper editors KBA’s Zip’n’Buy option is a cost-effective, quick-fire tool for outlining coupons, competitions, collectibles or episodes of serials. Articles that are of particular interest to readers beyond the day of publication, or are serialised and collected, can thus be zip-framed for instant recognition using a combined length and cross perforator. The ability to remove such articles with ease may well prompt more readers to respond to advertising campaigns and reader offers, while advertisers have a direct measure of this response. Zip’n’Buy can thus help newspaper publishers to improve and expand the range of services they offer. 
 
According to C&A, the zip ad was a resounding success. On the day of publication almost 2,000 readers dropped completed ads in the special boxes provided at C&A’s Würzburg and Schweinfurt branches. Hans-Peter Ennemoser, head of advertising at C&A Germany, is delighted: “No-one expected such a high response rate. This new form of ad demonstrates the power of the newspaper.” 
For more information about retrofitting Zip’n’Buy in newspaper presses please contact Thomas Öhrlein in the service department at Koenig & Bauer, (tel: +49 931 909-6361, fax: +49 931 909-6562, e-mail: ) 
* see patent EP 1 040 013 B1 
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Press release (RTF) 
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