Automakers Drove Newspaper Advertising In 2001

By: Lucia Moses While many advertisers had their foot on the brake last year, it was full speed ahead for automakers -- with the notable exception of the General Motors Corp. -- as the drive to promote low-interest or no-interest financing propelled them higher up the ranks of newspapers' biggest advertisers, according to Competitive Media Reporting (CMR).

The hot pursuit of customers and of Oscars also led telecommunications companies and movie outfits, respectively, to pour more money than usual into newspapers last year.

AT&T Wireless, for one, rose to No. 5 last year from No. 14 the previous year among the "Top 100 Parent Companies of Advertisers in Newspapers" -- and its AT&T Wireless Services soared to No. 2 last year from No. 44 the previous year among the "Top 100 Brand Advertisers in Newspapers".

"Newspapers are a very powerful way to reach people," said Mark Siegel,
vice president of national brand and marketing media relations at AT&T Wireless. "You can explain things very fully. You're not limited to the sound bite."

Newspaper economist and consultant Miles Groves predicted movies will remain strongly in the picture for newspapers this year -- as will automotive ads, with car makers seeking to reduce inventory. Groves also thinks that insurance companies may use newspapers more in coming months to explain the higher premiums stemming from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

Telecoms -- some facing consolidation, others facing bankruptcy -- are another story. "Underlying conditions don't bode well for the ad side," said James Conaghan, vice president of market analysis for the Newspaper Association of America.

Newspapers' share represented 24.3% of all advertising spending last year, a gain of 0.1% over the previous year, even though they took in 8.73% fewer dollars, according to CMR. Among the top 100 brand advertisers in newspapers, papers' share dipped to 49.2% from 52.6%.

In categories such as automotive and telecom, as well as department stores, newspapers suffered smaller ad-spending declines than other media did last year, said S. Scott Harding, president of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Newspaper Services of America, the huge newspaper space broker. "I think that bodes well for the rest of 2002 and 2003."

Major retailers remained important advertisers last year, reflecting resilient consumer confidence that has continued into this year, to the surprise of analysts such as Conaghan. One exception may be the bankruptcy-diminished Kmart Corp., the No. 19 parent company of advertisers in newspapers last year. "Clearly, [ad spending] will be impacted in total," Harding said, "but, on a store-by-store basis, I think [Kmart] will continue to use newspapers aggressively."

Complete lists of the Top 100 Parent Companies of Advertisers in Newspapers and the Top 100 Brand Advertisers in Newspapers are available in the June 24 print edition of E&P.