Chicago Quick-Read 'RedEye' Expanding Distribution By 50%

By: Mark Fitzgerald RedEye, the Chicago Tribune's standalone youth- and commuter-targeted tabloid expands its distribution by 50% to 150,000 copies on Tuesday, one month shy of the fourth anniversary of its launching.

"RedEye has always been ahead of its budgeted plan," Chicago Tribune Publisher, President and CEO David Hiller said in an interview. The paper turned profitable earlier this year, according to the Tribune, which did not release specific financial results.

RedEye's distribution will remain inside the city limits, but has been expanded to put newsracks at every subway and commuter train stop.

Some 1,000 newspaper boxes have been placed in this latest expansion, which makes RedEye one of the biggest papers inside the city. "When you're distributing 150,000 copies, you have a daily newspaper as significant as any other in Chicago," Hiller said. "That is a very meaningful level."

To promote the expansion, RedEye also launched an advertising campaign created by DDB Chicago. The theme of the campaign -- "To The Point" -- is intended to play on what the Tribune calls the quick-read paper's "concise and smart delivery of news and information."

The campaign will concentrate on heavy outdoor advertising, especially at mass-transit stops and with train wraps.

According to the Gallup Chicago Media Usage & Consumer Behavior Poll, in December 2005, Redeye had a daily readership of more than 200,000 and reached more than 600,000 Chicagoans every week. More than half of those readers are in the 18-34 age group, the study found.

RedEye General Manager Brad Moore said in an interview that the paper believes there is room for growth inside its geographic footprint, and that increased distribution will not dilute the demographics of its time-pressed and younger audience.

"I think there's demand for even more than this," Moore said. "But we want to grow smart. It isn't about printing more newspapers, it's about being true to your audience, and to your advertisers."

While there was considerable industry skepticism about the product when it was launched in October 2002, Moore said, the expansion "further highlights the growing demands for these types of papers" across the nation.

"It's a strong statement that RedEye-like newspapers, or at least Redeye itself, are here for the long haul," Moore said.