These are frequently asked questions about North
Somerset Life magazine.
Why do you publish North Somerset
Life?
Every council has a duty to inform residents about its plans and
how to access services and benefits and research from the Local
Government Association shows that most residents prefer to get this
information from a council magazine, and there is a proven link
between people reading the council publication and how informed
they feel.
How much does Life
cost?
Life costs £233,868 a year to research, write,
design, print and distribute to 91,255 homes every month. This
equates to 21p (less than the cost of a second class
stamp) for each issue that lands on a resident’s doormat, and
amounted to 0.05% of the council’s total revenue expenditure in
2010.
How much of that cost
is off-set by advertising?
We don't
take private advertising but we we do include occasional
advertising from other public sector bodies, partner
organisations and charities, such as the NHS or Weston College.
In both
the March 09 and March 10 editions of Life there were four-page
pull-out guides to NHS services. The NHS is required by Government
to put this information out to the public and the most
cost-effective way for them to do it is to pay for advertising in
Life. If they had to write, design, print and distribute their own
four-page leaflet to every household in the district, it would cost
a lot more to the tax-payer.
How many people read
Life?
According to our local Citizens’ Panel (December
2010) the magazine is read by 85% of the adult population (about
150,000 people) every month and is viewed by local people as the
most credible printed media source in North Somerset.
Why do I need Life if I can get the
information from other sources?
By using
Life, we are able to communicate in a more cost-effective way to
let residents know about:
Information about
these services is available through other means but the magazine is
a 'one-stop-shop' of information which will reach people who might
not use libraries or go online.
Isn't the cost of Life much more than publicising your
services individually?
Before the magazine was relaunched in its 32-page
format in 2008, we spent considerably more on communications
activities that weren’t as effective or as well co-ordinated. By
using Life, we are able to communicate in a more cost-effective way
to keep residents up to date.
Why don't you ask the local newspapers
to publish your stories?
We do!
However we cannot rely on the local press to get our messages out
to the public, especially due to the rural nature of the district.
People who live in outlaying villages who are out of the
distribution range of local newspapers would be cut-off from news
about our services. It is also down to the editor's choice whether
the stories are used or not. Life is the only way we can guarantee
information about our services reaches every resident.
Can you prove that a feature in Life can
save you money?
One of
our biggest financial challenges is providing residential care and
we save around £13,000 a year for every person that is supported to
live in their own home for longer as opposed to being moved into
council-supported residential care. Our community alarm system
- Carelink - is one example of how someone can be supported in
their own home and we ran a series of articles in Life during 2010
to promote it. This has contributed significantly towards us
increasing the number of vulnerable or older people using the
system (2034 in January 2010 to 2469 in January 2011). The
same system got very little coverage in the local
press.
Doesn't Life compete with local press
and media?
Some
councils produce full weekly newspapers complete with TV listings,
restaurant reviews and full commercial advertising. This competes
directly with the local independent press and we have no intention
of doing that.
Has Life been recognised for its
quality?
-
2011: silver
award winner in the publications category at the LG Comms
Reputation Awards
-
2009: best
external magazine with a circulation over 60,000 at the Chartered
Institute of Public Relations Local Public Service Excellence in
Communications Awards
-
2009: bronze
award in the best publication category at the Local Government
Communications Reputation Awards
-
2006: bronze award in the best publication category at the
Local Government Communications Reputation Awards
Yes, you can register your address with
the
Royal Mail's 'opt-out' service, though be aware that this
will stop all unaddressed mail that you receive from Royal Mail,
not just North Somerset Life. Only you are able to register
your address, we are not able to do this for you.
