Different Times

2020 has been an incredibly uncertain year for the North East business community. It should therefore come as no surprise that it’s also been challenging for us at North East Times. 

Overnight, the coronavirus pandemic turned our business model on its head and as a team we’ve spent the last eight months planning how to right the course and deliver a magazine that is attuned to the different times we find ourselves in. 

COVID-19 has called for us to reinvent ourselves and reassess our strategy, which is why we are announcing that the next time you see North East Times, it will look, feel and read very different to the product you’ve come to know. 

Over the last few months, we have been working hard behind the scenes on a rebrand of our publication that aligns with our new direction and delivers a magazine that inspires, engages and educates, for a regional audience of influencers and decision-makers.

The new publication is built around authoritative independent journalism, diversity in storytelling and investigative reporting on the big issues facing the business world. It’s a significant leap forward in the way we engage with readers and advertisers. 

When the team launched North East Times five years ago, there was nothing like it in the marketplace. 

Based on our founding principles of transparency, integrity and creativity, we created a product that pushed the boundaries of what was possible for a regional publication and gave the North East a voice that it hadn’t had before – the authentic voice of business. 

Since 2015, we have celebrated the ingenuity and personality of some of the North East’s most extraordinary figures while also shining a light on the myriad opportunities we have in the region to make a big impact on the wider world. 

This will continue in the future, but we will also create a platform for leaders in the local business community to share their opinions and deploy the expertise of our expanded editorial team to deliver insights on how to make the North East a better place to work and live. 

Over the years we’ve seen the digital revolution accelerate at rapid speed, allowing individuals and businesses to create and consume content in new and exciting ways. 

But rather than seeing this as the death knell for print, we believe we are uniquely placed to act as a counterweight to fake news and be a trusted, credible and reliable source of information. 

In today’s media landscape, we also recognise that holding attention is more important than ever.

The advertising ecosystem has become increasingly digital-focused, leaving consumers looking for reprieve from the information overload online. 

It’s here where print really comes into its own, offering consumers a more considered, trustworthy and slow-paced approach to getting the information they need, when they need it. 

But we know that print needs to adapt to survive. It’s been five years for us, and the economic, social and political landscape has changed irrevocably. 

We need to offer our advertisers more than just a page in our magazine. We need to work more strategically with in-house marketing teams to develop campaigns that help our clients achieve their objectives and make a big impact in their target market. 

That’s why our new commercial strategy will be based on a multi-channelled approach that pushes content through a variety of platforms, maximising reach and delivering real benefit for our advertisers. 

We have become genuinely influential in the region through our print, digital and events channels and have developed an enviable network of business leaders, entrepreneurs and support organisations. Our offer to clients is to create new opportunities for them through this network. 

Our new editorial direction will see us become a business magazine for the North East rather than a North East business magazine. 

This is because we recognise that the world is more interconnected than ever, which means that national and international economic opportunities and challenges need to be explored at a regional level. 

Our journalists are embedded in the maelstrom of current affairs and will be extracting any and all stories that you, our readers and clients, need to hear about. 

We will inform you of business developments wherever they occur and will focus on the big issues of the future such as entrepreneurship, sustainability and technology. 

This publishing company has grown significantly from the team of four which relaunched a legacy title back in 2015. 

With more than 125 years of collective print and media experience and 1400 hours now going into making every issue, we are confident that you will love the new North East Times and be excited to engage with it. 

We have committed all of our resources to this rebrand at a time when many businesses have become risk-averse because we believe in what we do, and we believe in the future of this magazine and the region it represents.

After what has been one of the most challenging years of our lives, we move forward with a new magazine, a new voice and a new strategy to help your business thrive in the different times that lie before us.