Times slashes Saturday cover price by 50p

Starting this weekend, the third-off price reduction forms part of a £2m advertising and sampling campaign created by CHI & Partners, in association with brand consultant Venturethree, to support the new six-section Saturday Times, which launched on 24 January.

The trial offer will run for an unspecified period, and is due to be promoted as part of a three-week TV ad campaign starting tonight.

It follows an extensive outdoor and radio campaign that has been running for the past two weeks, alongside a dedicated microsite at Timesonline.co.uk and a significant below-the-line push.

Media planning and buying has been handled by WPP's Mindshare.

As well as the price reduction, the campaign includes sampling papers through long-term partners such as Marks & Spencer, Pizza Express, Picture House and the National Theatre.

The Times is also promoting at point-of-sale with major retailers, such as ASDA and Tesco.

James Harding, editor of The Times, said: "We want as many people to know that the paper has changed and the best way to do this is to get it into their hands."

The Saturday edition forms part of The Times’ total weekday circulation which, according to the last ABC report, fell 2.3% last year to 600,962.