The Unique Benefits of Newspaper Advertising
Business owners use newspaper advertising and traditional media advertising as a way to increase brand awareness, increase foot traffic to their store locations, and increase sales.
Although many advertising mediums have the same benefits, there are some unique benefits to newspaper advertising that set it apart from other sources of advertising. These benefits may make you think twice when you are deciding where to allocate your advertising dollars.
The largest benefit to newspaper advertising that sets it apart from any other medium is that it puts your ad before a proactive audience.
Unlike more passive media, such as digital, the newspaper audience is comprised of paying customers who have a vested interest in spending time with the publication’s content. In turn, ads are not as intrusive as, for example, a pop-up ad on a website, or even a commercial cutting into their favorite TV show or radio program. For this reason, your newspaper ad is more likely to resonate with your target audience.
The second unique benefit of newspaper advertising is the legitimacy it brings to your ad and business. Newspapers carry a level of trust with its readers and the public. If readers do not trust the content, they simply do not subscribe to the paper. Because of this, publishers invest significant time to ensure that their communities view their publication as a trusted news source. This trust benefits your ads, as consumers will associate the newspaper’s reputation with your brand as well.
The final unique benefit to newspaper advertising is that readers are specifically looking for ads. Newspapers are one of the remaining mediums where consumers look for and expect advertising, and do not go out of their way to avoid or skip over ads. This is extremely beneficial to advertisers who are looking for non-intrusive ways of building brand awareness. Take, for example, Thanksgiving Day—most consumers use newspapers as their primary source to identify Black Friday sales. If you think consumers only read newspapers for the news, think again.
With all of the benefits to newspaper advertising—including the unique benefits above—make sure that newspaper ads are part of your media mix. Not only will it increase consumer trust in your brand, but it presents your message to active readers who are more likely to act on your ad.