Mail Metro Media has launched StoryFlow, a full-page mobile format that gives one advertiser the whole screen, a day after its parent DMG Media said social-only briefs now make up almost a third of its New Media revenue. The Mail is changing what it sells, and anyone who buys it for a sale, a fight or a service should know what that means for the page they actually want.
What’s happened
StoryFlow, announced on 27 October and reported by InPublishing, is a mobile-only storytelling canvas that replaces every other advert on the page, so the brand gets 100% share of voice. It sits alongside the publisher’s Immersive Native and Deep Dive formats, and Mail Metro Media says its early campaigns averaged a 1% click-through rate, on a par with its desktop Skin, and four seconds of attention per view. Separately, Digiday reports that a year after DMG Media set up a social publishing arm, briefs that run only on its Instagram and TikTok channels, with no print or website element, account for 30% of New Media revenue, according to division director Nathan Aspell, with creators appearing in 90% of its branded content. Neither announcement gives pricing, and the StoryFlow results are the publisher’s own figures.
Why it matters to auction houses and specialist advertisers
Most of our clients buy the Mail, the Mail on Sunday and Metro for a reason that has not changed: a page in front of an older, affluent, print-loyal reader the week before a sale, or a commuter audience on the morning tickets go on sale. What has changed is the conversation with the sales team. A publisher that earns a growing share of its money from mobile formats and social briefs will, quite reasonably, put those first, and a print enquiry now tends to come back as a package with a mobile takeover and a social post attached. Some of that is useful: a full-page mobile unit for a fine art sale, or a creator-fronted clip for a fight card, reaches people who will never pick up the paper. But a package is also where the print discount quietly disappears.
The other thing to watch is what this does to the print product itself. We wrote in September about Metro’s “radical change” and earlier this month about reading the PAMCo figures properly; the direction of travel is a publisher that treats the paper as one route to its audience rather than the main one. That is no reason to stop buying print, where the late-space value still is, but it is a reason to ask harder questions about print runs and positions.
This is where we come in. VCM buys Mail Metro Media titles for clients most weeks, so we know what a late page should cost on its own and what the mobile and social add-ons are worth when they are priced separately. When a package lands we unbundle it, price each element against what we paid last month, and keep the parts that reach the client’s buyers. If a StoryFlow or a social post makes sense we negotiate it in, often as added value against the print booking rather than a line on the invoice.
What we’d do
First, ask for the print rate and the digital rate as two numbers before anyone talks about a bundle. If the package is cheaper than the sum of the parts, good; if it is not, you are being asked to fund the publisher’s new formats. We do this on every Mail quote we handle.
Second, treat StoryFlow as a test, not a plan. A 100% share-of-voice mobile page suits a single strong image and a clear date, which describes most pre-sale and on-sale creative, so it is worth a small trial with a tracked link. We would run it against the print page in the same week and judge it on enquiries and bidder registrations, not on the four seconds of attention the publisher quotes.
Third, if you are offered a social-only brief, ask who owns the audience and the content. DMG keeps the IP its creators make and the posts live on its channels, not yours. For a promoter building a fan base or an auction house building a consignor list, that is a one-off reach buy rather than an asset, and the price should reflect it.
How VCM can help
We negotiate late press space with Mail Metro Media and the other national publishers every week, so you get the page you want at the right price and only the add-ons that earn their place. See how we approach print advertising, or get in touch on 0333 577 1848 or at James@vcmweb.co.uk and we’ll tell you what a Mail or Metro campaign should cost right now, no obligation.
