Alloy Creates New National Metric for College Newspapers

By: Jennifer Saba Alloy Marketing + Media, a New York-based media placement firm, has introduced a national metric for college newspapers.

The measurement will allow advertisers to compare campus newspapers to other national print media like magazines.

?Advertisers are concerned with reaching young people and want to verify actual research next to other print publications,? said Samantha Skey, senior vice president, strategic marketing for Alloy.

The measurement is available in MRI (Mediamark Research Inc.) and is published twice a year in the spring and fall. Alloy places national advertising in over 1,800 college newspapers throughout the country.

The spring 2006 data shows that for students 18-to-24, the Alloy college newspaper network reaches 3.3 million people compared with 2.6 million for People magazine, 2.3 million for Maxim, and 2.1 million for Sports Illustrated.

The metric is available only as a national figure -- Alloy does not break out readership numbers for individual colleges and universities in its network.

?We continue to see significant gains in ad spending by national advertisers who are recognizing it?s impact and with the availability of comparative data, I foresee increased opportunity for brands to utilize this platform,? Wayne Roche, advertising director for the Daily Texan at the University of Texas, said in a statement.

For the past 10 years Alloy has placed national advertising for brands like McDonalds, Paramount Pictures, and Wal-Mart.