80% of New Car Buyers Want to See More Auto Ads in Their Daily Paper

By: Jennifer Saba A new study finds that 80% of those shopping for a new automobile would like to see more ads in their daily newspapers, according to the Newspaper National Network.

The research also shows that people looking to buy a new vehicle turn to newspapers earlier in the decision process than originally thought. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said newspaper ads help determine which auto to consider, while 43% said they looked at television ads for the same purpose.

However, newspapers overtake other media when shoppers start to narrow down their consideration set. When deciding between one to two models, those surveyed went to newspapers ads, 35% compared with 30% for television ads. When whittling down the choice to one model, 28% turn to newspapers while 23% seek out TV ads.

"The research blows out of the water that newspapers are only valuable at the end of the auto purchasing cycle," said Jason Klein, president and CEO of NNN. "Consumers come to newspapers much earlier in the cycle prior to purchase and they are looking for information. It's an untapped opportunity."

The study, conducted on the behalf of the NNN by GfK Automotive, a market research company based in Southfield, Mich., surveyed 1,504 people nationwide. The respondents were in the market for a new vehicle within the next three months or had purchased a new auto within the last three months. Those surveyed also read a newspaper at least once a week.

The research only covers branding advertising placed by the automakers. Those types of ads fall under the national category. The study did not look at classified auto advertising.

Klein said that auto manufacturers, especially non-domestic makers, wanted to understand newspapers' role for those looking for a new vehicle-especially early one in the process. "When buyers are looking early in the cycle, a dealer ad laden with prices and terms is just not as relevant as a four-color ad that shows the vehicle's selling points," Klein said.

The question now is whether automakers will take to the research. Newspapers auto advertising has plummeted over the past couple of years -- particularly classified auto. National auto is certainly not buffered form the declines. According to the Newspaper Association of America, auto advertising represented 7.4% or $111 million of the national category in the second quarter this year, down from 12.2% compared to the same quarter in 2005.

Another sticking point for automakers: They want an easy way to buy newspapers on a national basis. "That's part of the issue," Klein admits but ads the NNN is "equipped to address" making national buys more fluid.

Some other interesting data points spring up in the study. "Light" newspapers readers pick up the paper much more often when they become potential auto buyers. Sixty-six percent of respondents, who said they read the newspaper at least once a week, read the newspaper every day for three months prior to an auto purchase.

The habit sticks, at least for a while. Forty-nine percent of those who said they read a newspaper at least once a week, read the paper every day in the three months post their buy.