NAA Touts Print Advertising in Newspaper Ads -- and Online

By: E&P Staff In an effort to boost dragging print advertising revenues, the Newspaper Association of America and over 400 of its member newspapers ran retro-themed advertisements Monday, touting the merits of the print medium. Ironically enough, the ads appeared not only in the print publications, but on many of the papers? websites as well.

The ads were designed to remind advertisers that newspapers are still a top place where consumers view advertisements (five times more often than other mediums, says the NAA.) Monday?s launch is a continuation of the NAA?s campaign that began in March of 2006 when the first batch of ads went out in more than 800 papers, reaching over 100 million readers.

As well as the ad blitz, the NAA hopes that newspapers will commit sales staff to pounding the pavement this week, by setting up at least two to three advertiser meetings. Along with the newspaper ads, the NAA provided advertising presentations.

Yet, it?s unclear if the campaign is working, especially given the dismal ad revenue results that many public companies have been reporting over the summer. The NAA plans to release some formal data points on the effectiveness of the campaign. In the meantime, John Kimball, the NAA?s chief marketing officer, said that anecdotally, the comments from newspapers using the presentations have been positive.

"It?s an opportunity to communicate to the ad community" and give sales presentations, Kimball said.

One unexpected use of the presentation: some newspapers have been presenting the pitch internally to boost morale. Greg Veon, vice president of publishing at Lee Enterprises, said: ?I don?t have to tell you about the negative light the newspaper business is viewed in. We thought the value proposition was an excellent tool to buoy the spirits of employees who may not see the big picture.?

The ads themselves though have been greeted with jeers from inside the industry. A range of illustrations from Benjamin Franklin to flying elephants, have, to borrow Kimball?s description, a ?retro-modern? flavor. But many in the industry think it?s too stodgy and old-fashioned, leaving the door open for accusations that newspapers are stuck in the past.

Kimball countered the campaign is targeted to advertisers and agencies. ?The whole thing was road-tested before we launched it. The ad community loved it and they said the creative was very strong,? he said. ?Overall we are very happy with it.?

Since the campaign was launched in March, 125,000 unique visitors went to the campaign?s website to learn more about newspaper advertising, Kimball said. More than 1,000 newspapers have participated in the campaign through the publication of ads and delivery of sales presentations.