Can newspapers cut the mustard for advertisers?
Posted in Media, Branwell Johnson, Latest reporters' blogs January 22nd, 2008 by Branwell Johnson
Plaudits to the Newspaper Marketing Agency for coming out fighting with a campaign promoting the value of advertising in the press – and placing the ads in some of the leading daily newspapers.
Coincidentally, the campaign comes just as a new report from the Advertising Association and WARC predicts that UK ad revenues from newspapers could shrink by £1.61 billion by 2019.
That’s not very reassuring for the newspaper industry, which even by 2019 is unlikely to have migrated equivalent revenues online to match those it is currently earning from full page and dps ads in print.
The combination of a downturn in investment in brand building across the board and a possible economic recession hitting high street advertisers and other sectors, means even in the short term, it’s going to be a tough scrabble for sales teams in forthcoming months.
However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the combined circulation of the nationals is in the region of 11.5 million on any given day and 13 million on a Sunday. With TV audiences fragmenting to niche channels, making the “big hit” for a brand is getting harder.
Newspapers should certainly have a role to play in strategic campaigns and if the NMA can get just a handful of marketing directors with decent budgets to give some serious consideration to using the medium, then the new campaign will have proven its worth.
Unless I’m missing something and someone can tell me why newspapers just don’t cut the mustard….
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Tags Media, Press, Newspapers, Print, Advertising, Online
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Arif Durrani’s comment is....
I agree that praise must go to the Newspaper Marketing Agency for the launch of what promises to be a timely and surprisingly enlightening campaign.
The first ad of the campaign this week features Russell Jones, marketing director of Guinness, who admits that he needed convincing about the power of the press before signing up to cause.
The NMA was apparently more than happy to rise to the challenge and as Russell now admits, “Let’s just say we were convinced.”
Sounds like top marks must go to the NMA for a competent job in selling the medium, but why hasn’t a media agency been able to enlighten poor Russell earlier?
Could it be that traditional media in general, and newspapers in particular, are being overlooked by planners all too busy looking out for the next big thing?
That a marketing director of Russell’s calibre did not understand the true strength of newspapers should send shock waves throughout the advertising business. Something has gone awry – and it appears it is going to be the job of the media owners themselves to do something about it.
Posted January 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 am
MattBourn’s comment is....
All efforts by the trade bodies to promote the value of their mediums in these challenging times should be welcomed and applauded.
I would suggest two particular issues facing newspapers right now and why they might not ‘cut the mustard’ are…
1. persuading their journalists to focus on editorial that young people are interested in. Example: a new fast-growing sport gets 85%-90% of its interest driven via its own website and fan-sites and yet we still face journalists who refuse to cover it and give it editorial space. And they wonder why people are moving online and brands are following…
2. dealing with the mess of the freesheets. Travelling home last night on my train, I scooped three dirty torn copies of freesheets out of a seat so I could sit down. This cannot be good for the perception of newspapers overall? If you were the ‘owner’ of a quality brand, wouldn’t you think twice about high-profile advertising on this medium?
Newspapers need to be protected, not cheapened as a medium and they need to be faster-moving in reflecting the content young people want to see/read.
Posted January 24th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
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