Why advertise?

Ten Reasons to Advertise in a Newspaper

  1. Reach. No other advertising vehicle has the reach of newspapers. Fifty-four percent read a newspaper on an average weekday. Sixty-three percent read a newspaper on an average Sunday.
  2. Quality. Your very best prospects are newspaper readers. People who are typically labeled upscale all count themselves as newspaper readers, meaning upper income, higher education, professional/managerial occupations. Among adults with $75,000+ incomes, 63 percent read the daily newspaper while 71 percent of the same group read a Sunday newspaper. With $50,000 a year incomes 60 percent read a daily paper and 75 percent a Sunday. Sixty percent of college graduates read a daily newspaper and 69 percent a Sunday. Of executive administrative and managerial adults, 59 percent read a daily newspaper and 67 percent a Sunday.
  3. Targeted. From targeting ad placement by section readership, using inserts to finitely deliver to a few residential blocks, newspapers can fine-tune your message.
  4. Immediate. Newspaper advertising is among the fastest forms of advertising with extremely short deadlines that allow ads to be created and run in a matter of days.
  5. Flexibility. Newspapers, unlike most media, allow the advertiser to build an ad in any size.
  6. Credibility/trust. More than any other medium, consumers believe respected people use newspapers. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of the public said newspaper is the medium they respect. What does that say about the advertising newspapers contain?
  7. Selective vs. intrusive. Shoppers are less willing today to accept advertising that is spooned out to them. They seek out advertising on their own. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) said at least once a week–and 16 percent said almost every day. Newspapers are the medium shoppers use most–63 percent. No other medium gets into the double digits. Catalogs (nine percent), direct mail (eight percent) and TV (seven percent) are the next best and all three are a long way from most shoppers’ first choice.
  8. Environment. The newspaper editorial environment typically adds credibility and legitimacy to the brand being advertised. To readers, the advertising in a newspaper is every bit as important as the news.
  9. Relied upon. Newspaper advertising is a valuable commodity to readers. A recent research study surveyed shoppers’ attitudes about which type of media they preferred for retail advertising. In terms of media used to check out ads and compare prices the most valuable media in planning shopping, most convenient, most up-to-date, most trustworthy, believable and preferred, newspapers out distanced all other forms combined.
  10. Results. Newspaper advertising works! While this point should go without saying, the fact remains that newspapers are frequently thought of as a results medium. Newspaper ads create traffic, move merchandise and, yes, establish brands. We cannot lose track of the notion that, in a world of thousands of messages a day, advertising in newspapers is one sure thing when it comes to producing results.
Source: Scarborough Research 2003, Release 1 (Top 50 Market Report).

Ten Reasons to Advertise Frequently

  1. People have new wants and needs every day. Very few people have a need for any specific merchandise item on any given day. In half of all general merchandise categories measured in a 2000 consumer shopping study, the consumer’s decision to buy and the actual purchase was made in one day. Frequent advertising reaches this “thin market” when they are ready to buy, not just when you are ready to sell.
  2. Frequent advertising reaches your customers–regardless of reading habits. Frequency builds awareness. Awareness builds familiarity and familiarity builds trust. Conventional wisdom says that your audience needs to be exposed to your ad 2.5 times to sink in and build awareness. Just like dieting, advertising gets the best results over time. Each ad builds on prior brand recognition.
  3. Frequency offers you the best rates. Most newspapers today offer significant incentives for increasing frequency. Whether these incentives are for repeating an ad in a certain period or for contracting to run a certain amount of space over time or investing a certain amount of money, newspapers recognize the need for frequency and encourage customers to use it.
  4. Today’s ad may influence–but tomorrow’s will close the deal for a lukewarm prospect. Like pushing a ball up a hill, it is better to push slowly than to push quickly and run out of energy halfway up.
  5. Frequent advertising helps you beat your competition. If you are not advertising as much as your competition does, who is more likely to reach the consumer who is ready to shop?
  6. Everyday you:
    • Open your store.
    • Keep your shelves stocked.
    • Keep your phone connected.
    • Have your staff come to work.
    Shouldn’t you invite customers in by advertising frequently?
  7. Advertising is one of your smallest expenses. Yet, not using it often enough can kill your business. For the average business, the investment in advertising could be as low as 2–3 percent.
  8. Advertising frequently = higher than average results. Every business needs new customers each week. A study conducted by the Advertising Research Federation showed that more frequently advertised products resulted in higher profits.
  9. Frequent advertising helps you spread your sales evenly throughout the year. You can avoid spikes in customer traffic, efficiently utilize resources and manage inventory.
  10. Frequency helps your advertising cut through the clutter. Mohammed Ali did not become heavyweight champion of the world by punching 20 people one time each. No, he became the champ by punching one guy 20 times. By applying frequency to the poor opponent’s head, Ali was able to bring his message home.
  11. People forget! What are the statistics about how fast people forget? It used to be that something like 80 percent forget a message in 24 hours. But, I forget.
Source: TV Dimensions, 1996, Television Bureau of Advertising.