The Daily Mail looks like it has paid a heavy price for backing Brexit following predictions that it will report a 10% crash in profits this week as result of, you guessed it, Brexit.
According to The Sunday Times, pre-tax profits fell from £281m to about £250m in the 12 months to September, with cutbacks on advertising due to the EU Referendum being blamed.
The double irony is that parent company DMGT – which also runs the Mail on Sunday – is likely to have to ramp up its direct and data marketing to try to claw back the cash.
Just last month the Mail appointed its first ever data insight manager, with former Jobsworth recruitment owner Ian Thomas taking up the role.
Despite being a huge critic of all things direct marketing in its editorial, behind the scenes the discipline plays a major role in DMGT’s commercial operations.
In October, it also unveiled a new web portal MailShop.co.uk, which will allow multiple retailers to sell products through its website. It has been developed using customer insight from its existing ecommerce propositions, the MyMail portal, and Mail Rewards loyalty programme which boasts over a million members.
At the time, Mail Newspapers head of ecommerce Adam Kemp enthused: “MailShop.co.uk is a fantastic, new online retail proposition, offering thousands of the products our customers want.
“The site has been built around three hallmarks of quality – inspiration, simplicity and reassurance – meaning it’s visually rich and offers guidance on the latest trends, while also being easy to navigate, secure and supported with great customer service.”
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