Why Advertise in Newspapers? They add value!

March 5th, 2008

By Stacy DeLonge, Herald & News

The measure of a medium should include its ability to reach both wide and targeted audiences, as well as its impact on consumer buying decisions and product usage. A medium should also meet the high expectations consumers place on it for various qualities and usefulness, thus increasing its advertising effectiveness.

Advertisers striving for an effective media mix know that the newspaper can deliver strength to marketing strategies. When creating an effective ad remember to make your ads easily recognizable, use a simple layout, use a dominate element, use a prominent benefit headline, let white space work for the ad, make the copy complete, state price or range of prices, specify branded merchandise and urge readers to buy now.

The newspaper continues to reach shoppers effectively when they're searching the market for a broad range of products and services. As a portable and convenient source of advertising information, it helps consumers decide where to shop and what to buy.

Universal coverage and utility are the driving forces behind newspapers and that is why, they add value for advertisers.

A newspaper website, like Hearld & News, is a powerful advertising medium and a complement to print advertising. The Herald & News website currently boasts over 6,000 unique visitors PER DAY and provides hourly updates making the site the first to have breaking news. The site facilitates public discussion through blogs, postings, and feedback mechanisms and is a key portal for people seeking general information about our community.

The Bottom Line:

The consumers' advertisers want to reach most - those with higher education, greater professional responsibility and larger incomes - use newspapers and the Internet more heavily. Newspaper ads can run in an editorial environment, and take the space needed for copy that lists all of a product's features, including photos, illustrations and coupons. More than anything else, a well crafted ad stops the readers. An ad has five to 10 seconds to jump off the page and grab the reader's attention; this is how long the average reader scans a newspaper page before either settling on something to read or turning the page.

It makes sense to use print advertising as part of your media mix where your ads will be seen, read, clipped and acted upon.