WORLD: Newspapers 'still the ad medium of choice'
Newspaper groups launch new products every year, with the aim of presenting a more vibrant product for readers and advertisers alike, says Mr O'Reilly, who is Independent News & Media's chief operating officer. -- BLOOMBERG NEWS

WORLD: Newspapers 'still the ad medium of choice'

The product is the new mass-market medium, says newspaper association vice-president at advertising congress

The Straits Times
Tuesday, September 14, 2004

By Audrey Tan

Doomsayers may have predicted the decline of the newspaper for years now but the printed word has gone from strength to strength.

In fact, newspapers continue to be the world's best advertising medium, said Mr Gavin O'Reilly, first vice-president of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).

In a presentation to advertising executives at the International Advertising Association's 39th World Congress in Beijing last Friday, he proclaimed: 'The newspaper is the new mass-market medium.'

Newspaper advertising continues to supply an optimum environment for successful advertising at a time when the broadcast media is fragmenting and consumers are overwhelmed by advertising messages.

'Remember that an advertiser's agenda is very, very simple - they want rock-steady reach, reliable demographics and do not want to pay a premium for a dwindling, haphazard audience,' said Mr O'Reilly.

It is only a newspaper that can consistently and cost-effectively deliver to that ever-elusive customer, he added.

Mr O'Reilly is also chief operating officer of Independent News & Media, a family-controlled, US$2-billion (S$3.4-billion) media group which publishes 165 newspapers titles each week worldwide.

He pooh-poohed the 'so-called media experts' who say that newspapers are in trouble because the young are not reading and the younger advertising professionals prefer other media.

The truth, he said, is that newspaper circulation volumes continue to grow worldwide.

WAN - a Paris-based non-profit industry representative body - found that over the last five years, circulation volumes have grown 4.75 per cent a year.

'Even if we exclude India and China as obvious growth markets, the trend for newspapers in Europe, Canada, the United States and Australasia is significantly better than most media experts would have you believe,' he said.

The reason is that 'we in the newspaper industry are simply getting better at our business'.

'Gone are the days when editors say: 'publish and be damned'. Today's editors are acutely commercial, inventive, creative and ever-responsive to new products development and change,' he added.

In fact, newspaper groups launch new products every year, with the aim of presenting a more vibrant product and environment for readers and advertisers alike. The result is that newspapers are still the medium with the most compelling product attributes, he said.

'It is portable and extremely convenient. It engenders loyalty on a daily basis. It is content rich. Its articles and advertisements have a shelf-life beyond the immediacy of first-time consumption.'

And all of this, he added, 'for less than the price of a cup of coffee'.


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SIMPLY THE BEST

TOP 10 reasons why newspapers are still the best advertising medium, according to Mr O'Reilly:


1. The medium works: Studies show that when newspapers are added to TV-only advertising, both brand awareness and the propensity of consumers to buy the product increases dramatically.


2. Newspapers deliver reach and influence: A study in Japan found consumers believed that newspapers were more accurate, more intellectual and had broader and more credible content as well as more useful information for daily life.


3. Newspapers target and deliver wealthier customers: Consumption of newspapers increases as prosperity increases. The opposite, however, is true for television.


4. Newspapers generate response for advertisers.


5. Newspapers offer flexibility in terms of budgets and formats.


6. Newspapers offer real outlets for creativity and delivering advertising effectiveness.


7. Newspapers offer constant innovation in their quest to attract new readers and offer enhanced advertising platforms.


8. Newspapers continue to grow circulation and readership on a global basis, thanks to innovation and proactive marketing.

9. Newspapers work very well in partnership with other media.

10. The newspaper is still the 'ultimate browser'.

Date Posted: 9/14/2004