on media Print proves to be infl uential – for now, says Raymond Snoddy
Newspapers can be key to campaigning
S
ome more good news for newspapers. Independent research for newsbrands promotion organisation
Newsworks, based on no fewer than 500 econometric case studies, shows that on average advertising with newspapers triples overall return on investment. At the same time, newspapers – more than any other medium – have a multiplier effect when combined with other media. Add newspaper advertising to a television campaign and the effectiveness of TV doubles, while online display becomes four times more effective. We have long felt instinctively that the length of time people spend reading a newspaper and concentrating on the content surely must have a greater impact than the fl eeting images online. Now we have some serious evidence
to back up instinct. The argument now goes that the
pendulum has swung too far away from print in the sometimes unthinking direction of digital. Between 2013 and 2015, newspapers’ share of display advertising fell from 11.4 per cent to 7.6 per cent.
The research, by Benchmarking, part of the Omnicom media group, suggested that adding newspapers to a campaign increases effectiveness by: 5.7 times for the fi nance sector; three times for travel; 2.8 times for retail; 1.7 for automotive; and 1.2 times for fast-moving consumer goods. A swing of the pendulum back in the direction of print, a correction, is therefore overdue. It is in the fi nancial interests of advertisers. However, there is just one small problem. Among the industrial sectors
making a mad dash for digital has been – the newspaper industry. Just as proof emerges of the
effectiveness of print, it seems destined to become ultimately less effective because of the relentless decline in newspaper circulations. The Independent is hardly in a position to take advantage of the commercial effectiveness of print any more. And there is a grave danger that others could march into a digital-only world whistling cheerfully. Has the newspaper industry put as
much effort into shoring up its print circulation as it has on the admittedly necessary involvement in digital? Rather than patting itself on
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the back over its newly found advertising effectiveness, it should be preserving that very effectiveness by making a greater effort to boost newspaper sales.
Has the newspaper industry put as much eff ort into shoring up its print circulation as it has on the admittedly necessary involvement in digital?
There is also a big downside to this newspaper effectiveness – the right-wing tabloids were all too effective as uncritical cheerleaders for Brexit. They did not create social alienation in working-class areas but they exploited it. Over many years, they undermined the reputation of the EU, often with daft, untrue stories. They also carried anti-migrant stories by the bucketful and magnifi ed the Brexit campaigning of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. The Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express all wallowed in “independence day” style coverage even though they must have at least suspected that Brexit would make the circumstances of
the disgruntled very much worse. Very effective indeed. With general elections – at least until
now – newspapers were widely believed to have only a marginal impact because people leaned on families, friends and traditional political loyalties. With such loyalties breaking down, encouraged by the divisive referendum campaign, turmoil could be the enduring shape of the future. In the midst of such turmoil,
newspapers, alongside social media, could grow in infl uence in coming years. Very effective. Damnably effective.
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