Newspapers have value as an "opt-in medium"

The Newspaper Association of America has unveiled a $50 million advertising campaign designed to "surprise advertisers with the truth" about how engaged consumers are with newspaper advertising and to remind them of the reach of the newspaper media in all its forms - print, online, niche publications, wireless, kiosks and even podcasts.

Independent consumer research shows that newspaper advertising is a destination for most consumers, not a distraction to be avoided. For them, advertising is a desired part of the content. In the language of the Internet, it's opt-in advertising in an opt-out world.

Some of the findings from independent research:
• 52% of consumers say newspapers are where they go to check out the ads, five times more than any other medium.
• 46% say newspapers are their preferred medium to receive ad information. TV comes in second at 10%.
• 51% of consumers say newspapers are the most valuable in planning shopping, with the Internet coming in at 11%.
• Newspapers lead all media in heavy usage among "influential" and opinion leading consumers at 41% (helping advertisers harness the power of these word-of-mouth advocates).

Data in the sales presentation are from new media engagement studies from Scarborough and Millward Brown, as well as a study and report on consumer shopping and purchasing habits and media use from MORI.

"Advertisers today are caught in a perfect storm: theyre under intense pressure to improve their ROI in the face of audience fragmentation, channel proliferation and consumers who are increasingly empowered by technology to avoid advertising all together," says Earl Cox, Chief Strategy Officer of The Martin Agency, Richmand, VA, the agency responsible for developing the campaign. "Consumers are now enabled to skip (DVRs), block (spam and pop-up blockers, do not call lists) or eliminate advertising altogether (VOD, satellite radio). And that trend is playing right into the strengths of newspapers."

"Our campaign will make clear to media decision makers that newspapers have the brand power, the content and the credibility to effectively serve print and online advertisers better than any other medium," said NAA Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer John Kimball. "We're exploding the myth that newspapers are old school or static, and we are doing that with a combination of cold, hard facts from independent studies and edgy creative executions that speak to today's media buyers."

Sources: How America Shops and Spends, MORI 2005; Media Engagement Studay, Milward Brown 2005 and MRI.

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