NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING

 Types of Newspapers Advertising

1.      Display advertising: To differentiate advertising from editorial matter, display advertising is designed comprising the copy, the layout, and the visuals. These ads come in all sizes. They are placed all over in a newspaper, depending upon the policy of that paper. Display advertising is national or local.

2.      Co-operative advertising: Local ads can be inserted on cost sharing basis between the manufacturer and retailers – co-operative advertising. Local display advertising is charged a lower tariff than the general display advertising.

3.       Classified ads: are small ads charged in terms of number of words and placing the message in several categories or classes such as employment, real estate, matrimonial, automobiles and so on.

Classified ads can be classified display ads, where bold letters, illustrations, borders and other visual elements are used.

Newspaper also put a pre-printed ad insert in the paper. The paper with the insert is delivered to the reader. It is just a method of distribution for advertisers. It can be geographically selective and cost-effective.

The advertisements at the top left and top right hand of a newspaper are called ears. 

Placing the Ad in the Newspapers

In order to place an ad in the newspaper, one has to fill an insertion order. This order gives specific date(s) on which the ad is to be published, the rate at which it is to be published, and production details preparatory to the publishing of the ad. Agencies provide newspapers the ad material in finished form.

If a small advertiser expects the newspapers to compose the ad, the newspapers first create a proof which is to be checked by the advertiser for correctness. Once the ad is run, a tear-sheet which is an actual page torn from the newspaper in which the ad was run is sent to the advertiser. It is a proof of publishing as per requirements. If there is an error, the advertiser or its agency can ask for rate adjustment or free insertion.

 

Newspaper buying:

Characteristics of Newspapers

1. Immediacy. Newspapers offer the greatest advantage of conveying the message quickly. They are flexible and so the advertising copy can be written very close to the time it goes to press. This characteristic is especially useful while launching new products or making public announcements. The advertisements can thus have a powerful new emphasis. For example. When the manufacturer of Good Knight launched “HIT” mosquito repellent, half page ads were inserted in the Times of India to announce this launch.

2: Selectivity. This is one of the greatest advantages in the Indian context. The advertiser can select the geographical area over which the message is to be communicated as also the language. Newspapers offer split-run facilities using which advertisers can test different campaigns in different geographical areas.

3. Newspapers Mechanical Requirements. Newspapers come in standard and tabloid sizes. Advertising space in newspapers is sold on the basis of columns and inches.

Most newspapers are largely printed on newsprint (a coarse paper stock) by high speed presses. Therefore, there are limitations on the kinds of illustrative materials that can be effectively reproduced. Newspapers have recently begun offering color supplements. For example, the Saturday Times of the Times of India, ET Esquire of The Economic Times and the Sunday supplements of most of the newspapers.

In addition to innovative color techniques, newspapers are adding other features to attract advertisers. Flexform advertising offers the advertiser the opportunity in any conceivable shape. Those parts of the newspaper page not containing the advertisement are filled with editorial matter. For example, the ads of Cinthol Lime, lime Lite and Liril have used the technique. Such unconventional layouts, surrounded by editorial matter are hard for the reader to ignore.

4. Variety: Most newspapers present a suitable variety of material to provide an interesting mix for a wide range of readers. A typical newspaper has sports, financial pages, society news, city news, shopping columns, comic strips and other features. Some pages are widely read by women, other by men interested in business news, and so on. An advertiser can select a target market by placing his advertisements in certain sections or pages of the paper.

5. Penetration: Morning newspapers are read by almost all the literate people. The readership is much more than the circulation. For example, the Times of India circulation is 7, 00,126 while its readership is 39, 36,000. Children are also keen readers of certain section

6. Types of newspaper: There are a wide variety of newspapers to choose from. Advertisers who wish to make announcements would use morning newspapers. For example, public issue of shares and debentures. The copy in the morning newspapers has to be short and attractively illustrated. The evening newspaper can be used to advertise family products such as refrigerators, television sets and cupboard, which require detailed explanation and long copy including special offers and hire-purchase schemes. Specialty newspapers such as The Economic Times can be used for business-to-business communication such as advertisements of SKF ball-bearing, HCL computers, and so on.

Advantages of Newspapers as an Advertising Medium 

1.      Prestige. The prestige and respectability of the newspaper is transferred to the advertised product /service.

2.      Segmentation. Editorial content of the newspaper influences the type of its readers and thus offers segmentation of the market. For example, “the Independent” claims that its readers are young decision-makers, highly educated and professional, while the Times of India has greater appeal among the middle and older age groups. The characteristics of selectivity and variety explained above increase the newspaper’s advantage in market segmentation.

3.      Flexibility. The newspapers offer tremendous flexibility to advertisers. When it is raining in Bombay, it may be hot in Delhi. While the Bombay newspapers can be used to advertise raincoats and umbrellas, the Delhi edition of the same newspaper can be used to advertise air coolers. The most important is the time flexibility that is the contents of the advertisement can be changed upto a few hours before the paper goes to press. MRF Tyres use the press medium just before the monsoons in Bombay by predicting the date of the first rainfall and thereby communicating to the consumers the urgency of changing to MRF Tyers before the monsoons.

4.       Split Run Facilities. Technique used to test the effectiveness of advertising copy. Two different versions of the same advertisement are printed in the same press run of an issue of a particular publication, so that some of the copies contain one version of the ad and the others contain the other version. The publication is distributed normally, but the distribution of the advertisements is split according to the request of the advertiser. Some advertisers split their run in alternate bundles; others prefer to split by geographic location or by subscription versus newsstand sales. The purpose of the split run is to compare the effectiveness of the two alternate ad copies. Advertisers will take advantage of this option when they desire to learn which of two elements used in the advertising will achieve the desired objectives. Elements that are often tested are prices, copy appeal, layout, type of illustration, coupon offered or no coupon offered, or premium or rebate offered or not. The results of split-run testing are revealed by the number of responses to each advertisement. The split-run option is offered as a convenience to advertisers. However, not all publications offer this option.

5.       Keying the advertisement. It is possible to key the advertisement and attach a mail order coupon in order to measure its effectiveness.

6.      Measuring Reach. The Audit Bureau of circulation (ABC) gives the readership and circulation figures and therefore it is possible to measure the reach of different newspapers.

7.      Mobility. Newspaper can be carried and read anywhere, while travelling, at the place of work, in library, in doctor’s waiting room and so on.

 

Limitation of Newspapers as an Advertising Medium

Despite the above advantages newspapers have the following limitations:

1.      Limited coverage. In India with the literacy, level being low newspapers cannot be used to penetrate the lower income segments of the market.

2.      Short Life. It is often said “as stale as yesterday’s newspaper.” A newspaper has a very limited life and therefore advertising will have little impact beyond the day of publication.

3.      Hasty reading. Studies indicate that people spend about 30 minutes on the paper. This means that the ad must make its impression quickly or it will fade.

4.      Cost. It is an expensive medium that is unsuitable for small advertisers especially the morning English newspapers such as the Times of India.

5.      Poor Reproduction. Most of the pages are in black and white and the colour advertisements are not as well reproduced as those in magazines. Therefore we rarely find food and fashion ads in newspapers.

6.      Demonstration and Display. It is not possible to demonstrate product usage as in television commercials.

Factors affecting the choice of newspapers are as follows 

1.      Circulation and Readership It is important to know who will notice our ad. Reach of a newspaper is given by circulation, which is the number of copies distributed each day for a daily or each week for a weekly. Paid circulation means the subscribed copies sold on stalls. Controlled circulation means free copies distributed. The circulation is certified by a body Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).

2.      Contract rate or earned rate is based on agreement. It gives a scheme of the number of ads or the amount space to be bought for earning a discount. If this condition is not satisfied an additional charge is levied called the short rate.  

Basically, ad rates are ROP – run of press, and ads can be placed anywhere on any page. But for special position, we have to pay more. If the same publication house publishes more than one newspaper, it can offer a combination rate which is lesser than the rate of buying in each individual media.

3.       Split Run Facilities. Many newspapers offer split run facilities. The split run test is a service used for testing print advertisements in which the media cooperate with an advertiser in allowing the same space for two or more copy variations to appear in systematic rotation through the entire circulation. This permits simultaneous circulation of two or more advertisements in identical editorial surroundings with comparable audiences.

4.       Advertising Rates. Most advertisers are constrained by their budgets and thus a newspaper that offers a competitive rate is most attractive. Publishing groups such as the Times of India offer special rates for booking space in several newspapers from the same group. (for example, an advertiser would get a competitive rate if he placed ads in the Times of India, Navbharat Times, The Economic Times and the Illustrated Weekly.

5.      Space Available. When the advertisement is to be published urgently, space availability may be the only determinant. The positions available in the newspaper are also of a prime consideration. The front page is the most attractive commands the highest rate. Certain other positions close to a popular section are also sought after by advertisers.  

6.      Language. This consideration is closely related to the profile of the readers. For products that have local markets, regional language newspapers are attractive. When an advertiser wants to appeal to a specified ethnic group he may use regional language newspapers. For example, a music group catering for Dandia Raas enthusiasts would find Gujarati newspapers the most suitable medium.

7.   Color. Many newspapers offer color supplements which are more attractive than the black and white section. Advertisers are willing to pay higher rates to enjoy the color advantage.

8.   Time of Issue. Morning newspapers attract advertisers of new products who make announcements that require immediate attention. The copy is short and it has less technical information. Afternoon newspapers attract advertisers of household products and entertainment, while Sunday newspapers attract a great deal of advertisers catering for women (color ads of Garden saris), children (ice-creams), men (industrial products).

9.   Editorial Policy. This factor plays a crucial role in today’s changing political scenario. Newspapers that are pro-government may find it easier to attract advertisers. Advertising in anti-establishment newspapers would imply that the advertiser is against the government and this may create problems such as delay in granting license and so on. Some newspapers are owned by political groups such as “Samna” by the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. This also influences the reader profile.

Ref: Dr. Hanif Lakdawala's Media Planning and Buying Notes