In the hot seat:
Helen Davies: Property Editor at The Times and The Sunday Times
Helen’s Focus:
- Helen is newly responsible for the Sunday Times Home, covering property for the Sunday Times, the Times and Bricks and Mortar Home
- Helen also oversees the online content – new articles are uploaded every day
- Instead of a Christmas Gift Guide, Helen wants to propose a “treat yourself” section
- Best place for meetings is The Times building for a quick coffee
The Times and The Sunday Times:
- The Home Help feature on a Sunday is hugely popular
- 64% of readership for Home is male
- 36% of readership for Home is female
- They find 5-8 o’clock is the best time for Instagram
- None of the social media content is paid for and no affiliate links (although, affiliate links are something they are looking into for the future)
- All followers are organic
- Cover stories and stories involving people will continue to run in the Home section following the merge
- Friday pages will be slightly redesigned so that they appeal more to “generation rent” and focus more on “retirement”
- Exclusives are very important as are exclusive images
Top Tips:
- Advises PRs to be specific if they are looking for The Times or The Sunday Times
- Helen will do everything to honour this
- High res images are essential – there is no budget to stage a photo shoot so the publications rely on PRs images
- A high res image followed by 3 bullet points is the best way to pitch to Helen
