The Kent Messenger Group has unveiled a new design for its series of eight free Extra newspapers and has begun a trial into user-generated content online.
The new look, which includes a bigger masthead and an all-caps front page headline font, was introduced to readers today.
The papers will continue to promote their paid-for sister titles, the KMFM network of radio stations and the Kent Online website.
An online replica of each edition, using page-turning software, will be made available each week.
The Canterbury Extra will be the first of the papers to experiment with adding user-generated material to its website.
KM Group brand manager Sarah O’Hara said: “It’s clear that interacting more with the audience and developing user-generated content is vital and this is something we are now trialing.”
The KM Extra titles are distributed to homes across the county – in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Dover, Gravesend, Dartford, Swanley, Maidstone, Medway, Sittingbourne and Thanet.
The Extra series had an average weekly circulation of 384,695 in the second half of 2008 according to ABC.
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