To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of newspaper's death have been greatly exaggerated. Despite what you may hear from pundits or colleagues, newspaper continues to play a vital role in any media mix worth its salt.

Newspapers have an undeniable immediacy and timeliness. More importantly, studies show that newspaper readers pay attention to--even welcome--advertisements in that medium.

There are plenty of misconceptions about newspaper advertising. One longstanding myth, for example, is that newspaper ads get "lost among the clutter." Nothing could be further from the truth.

The American consumer research company Knowledge Networks uncovered some interesting results in their Jan. 7, 2003, study, "How Consumers Use Media." The study looked at how the number of ads that appeared in a variety of media affected consumers' enjoyment of those media--and found that the enjoyment of newspapers was least affected by the number of ads that medium carried. That same study found that consumers paid more attention to ads in newspapers than they did ads in any other medium.









Another study, "Canadian Consumer Attitudes to Media and Media Creativity," conducted by Leger Marketing on Nov. 6, 2002, asked consumers to rank media by which had too many ads and which had the right amount.**

When asked which media had just the right amount of ads, consumers' top three responses were:

• Newspaper (59%).
• Outdoor (55%).
• Radio (54%).

When asked which media had too many ads, consumers' top three responses were:

• TV (78%).
• Internet (56%).
• Magazine (56%).

Not only do consumers "not mind" ads in newspapers--many welcome them. Research from Northwestern University has shown that many consumers buy newspapers as much for the ads as for the news.*

And what about reach? According to a 2002 NADbank study, a newspaper will reach nearly 80% of all adults in a given target area in any given week. In fact, a single newspaper ad will reach more people in a given market than a single ad in any other medium.***

There are many more reasons why newspaper represents a compelling media value. To learn about them, visit the Marketing area of the CNA website.



* Source: Readership Institute, Media Management at Northwestern University, 2002, and "Leveraging Newspaper Assets" by the Newspaper Association of America and the American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1997, as cited in Urban Myths: Newspaper Advertising Myths by the Canadian Newspaper Association.
** Source: Leger Marketing, "Canadian Consumer Attitudes to Media and Media Creativity," Nov. 6, 2002, as cited in Urban Myths: Newspaper Advertising Myths by the Canadian Newspaper Association.
*** Source: NADbank 2002, as cited in Urban Myths: Newspaper Advertising Myths by the Canadian Newspaper Association.