3Q: Newspapers Draw 41% of US Internet Users

According to an analysis conducted by Nielsen Online, newspaper websites attracted a record 68.3 million unique visitors in the third quarter of 2008 - that's more than 41% of all American Internet users! This represents a 15.8% increase over the same period last year. Experts believe that this year's major news stories - the presidential election race and economic crisis - have positioned newspaper websites favorably in comparison to their online counterparts. Newspapers' reputation for credibility and editorial authority are attracting large audiences seeking information about these top stories.

Newspapers Are Most Devoted Medium

I just stumbled across an interesting research brief for a study conducted by Mediamark Research Inc. that showed how media consumers tend to use different media forms either simultaneously or exclusively. Not surprisingly, people tend to "media multitask" less frequently while reading a newspaper as compared to surfing the net, watching television, or listening to the radio. The numbers tended to vary depending on whether individuals were using media at home or out-of-home, but in both cases newspapers garnered the most undivided attention from their readers:

Percent of Exclusive Media Usage In Average Day

AT HOME
Newspapers 55.0%
Internet 53.8%
Magazines 53.6%
Television 49.4%
Radio 28.3%

OUT-OF-HOME
Newspapers 54.8%
Magazines 49.0%
Radio 34.6%
Television 32.6%
Internet 20.4%

As people are presented with more forms for news and information consumption, newspapers are still maintaining a high level of engagement with their audience. It's also interesting to note that most other forms (with the exception of newspapers) had their out-of-home engagement level dip dramatically when compared to at-home usage. Media planners often consider circulation, reach, and frequency when sketching out a media buy. It's important not to forget the unparalleled engagement that newspapers offer readers (and advertisers!)

Interview with NJPA Executive Director John O'Brien

Click the link below to listen to an interview with NJPA Executive Director John O'Brien on WOR Radio's The John Gambling Show. "O'B" discusses his insights on the financial state of newspapers, the importance of considering newspaper's integrated audience, and why blackberries won't replace printed newspapers anytime soon.

http://www.wor710.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=2916144

Newspaper Sites Set the Pace

A recent article in Adweek discussed a report from the Online Publishers Association that touted the power of local media sites in motivating consumers to make purchases. Their report showed that newspaper sites ranked #1 with 46% of consumers taking action after viewing local ads, followed by local TV sites (44%), local magazine sites (42%), user review sites (39%) and portals (37%).

Newspaper sites and other local media sites also attracted high numbers of consumers who spent more than $500 online in the past 12 months as compared to the general online population.

NJPA has created a way for local advertisers to deliver their digital message to this highly motivated, online savvy audience that visits newspaper websites. NJLinkLocal is a simple, cost-effective program that delivers packages of impressions across a statewide network of community newspaper sites. For more information on NJLinkLocal, visit the NJPA website.

Checking The Vital Signs

This week brought an exciting opportunity for our team to present some of the positives in the newspaper industry to a healthcare client. Based on a recommendation from "Dr." Todd Moreland (below left, NJNN Business Development Manager) we decided to go in dressed in scrubs calling ourselves "The Surgical Marketing Team". Also included in the picture to the right of Todd are Dr. Joe Odas (Print Media Specialist), me, and Dr. Amy Lear (NJNN Director and our resident brain surgeon).

I can't begin to describe how fun it was to go into an advertising meeting dressed in character complete with witty doctor speak: "We recommend a treatment plan that includes the tried-and-true remedy of print newspaper advertising combined with the cutting edge technology of newspaper websites for a one-two punch that will ensure your marketing health."

This unique opportunity also gave me a chance to refresh myself on some of the vital signs of NJ newspapers. From a study conducted by Belden Associates of NJ adults, we know that 82% read a newspaper in an average week. The reach is even higher for select demos: Business Professionals (83%), College Grads (86%), Homeowners (86%), and Individuals with Annual Household Income Over $150K (89%). As election season rapidly approaches, we also know that newspapers are NJ's #1 media source for news about state issues, politics & elections, and local community affairs.

The test results are in...and the prognosis is good!

Newspaper Sites Gain Audience in Q2

According to a release from Nielsen Online on behalf of the NAA, 40% of Internet users or 66.4 million unique visitors accessed a newspaper website in Q2 2008. That represents a 12.2% jump over the same period a year ago. This news comes right on the heels of a press release from Yahoo that announced that the search engine has driven more than 100 million visits to its newspaper partners. More than 775 newspapers across the country have agreed to provide content to the search engine giant to populate its news feeds and other channels such as Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance.

A quick look at Scarborough data shows that this trend of increasing reach for newspaper websites is alive and well in New Jersey. The reach for newspaper websites in NJ has more than doubled since Scarborough added newspaper websites to its survey in early 2007. In NJ, newspaper websites beat broadcast and radio websites for statewide reach. Plus, a total of seven newspaper sites reach more than 100,000 unique visitors per month in the Garden State. With this news it's becoming clear that one of the best ways to reach New Jerseyans is an effective combo of newspaper brands' print and online media.

Local Web Ads Bolster Newspapers

I just came across a blog post by Len Muscarella, President of Interactive Media of Parsippany, NJ where he discusses signs that local online ad revenues are starting to replace the losses in print. Some key stats:

• US newspaper sites reach more than 65 million unique visitors per month (Nielsen Online)
• Newspaper sites generated $3 billion in revenue in 2007, an 18% jump over 2006 (NAA)
• Revenues of local newspaper sites (not including national titles such as Wall Street Journal and USA Today) are expected to reach $3.7 billion in 2008 (Borrell Associates)

Len also shares some information on NJPA's online ad placement services that launched in 2007. To view the full story, visit Len's blog. Thanks to Len for helping spread the good news about newspapers and for helping promote NJPA's one-stop newspaper website ad services!

New Jersey Newspaper Launches Webcast

I just watched the third edition of Ledger Live hosted at www.nj.com/ledgerlive that features news from the Newark Star-Ledger in a video medium. The show hosted by Brian Donohue covers some of the day's print stories with a little more depth. For example, today's episode covers the conviction of Newark mayor Sharpe James and features a video interview with blogger Ken Walker from The Daily Newarker. The webcast in total is about 7 minutes long - a great length to get a digest version of some of the top stories or hear more about interesting articles you've read in the print version.

It seems like only yesterday we were talking about how the future of newspapers would include video and other rich media that could cross platforms with ease and reach news consumers via multiple channels. While researching this topic I've found a few newspapers across the country doing this type of project but am excited to see it in my home state!

You can watch the video of Episode 3 below. The first two episodes are archived at the NJ.com site.

Ledger Live - 07-30-08

A little "outside NJ" perspective

I was recently lucky enough to have lunch with Ed Efchak. He's the managing director and senior consultant for Belden Associates and is also the president of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association. Through his work at Belden on newspaper market studies and his contacts with the international newspaper community through INMA he was able to share some unique perspectives on the optimistic future for newspapers. He shared stories from India, Australia, and Singapore that showed time and again the positive results that are achieved when newspaper products innovate to meet customer needs. We talked a lot about how newspapers are redesigning their pages so that EVERY page becomes a "must read" and how digital products will "no longer be an appendage to print but vice-versa." One particular example includes a chain of stealth start-up digital newspapers in Australia that have gained a lot of traction with news consumers and advertisers alike.

Ed agreed to write a guest article for NJPA's latest InPrint newsletter. If you'd like to read more about his global view on the optimistic future of newspapers, send me an email. I can email you a copy of his article and/or add you to our InPrint distribution list.

Another Newspaper-Friendly Blog

New Jersey Press Association has a good relationship with state press associations across the country. That relationship allows us to facilitate multi-state, regional and national ad buys. My counterparts at the Kentucky Press Association also started blogging this week and they'll be covering topics including advertising, newspapers in education, and journalism.

Check them out at www.kypressblog.com.

Readership Part 2

I got my first blog feedback yesterday!

One of the agencies that uses NJPA's ad services read yesterday's post about growing readership and asked for more clarification on the breakdown of newspaper's print vs. online readership. We know from our statewide market study (and backed up by Scarborough data) that newspaper print editions reach 82% of NJ adults in an average week and that online editions reach 32% of all NJ adults. The combined print/online footprint for New Jersey's newspapers reaches 86% of all adults in an average week.

For more info from the NJ statewide market study conducted by NJPA, visit the "Why Advertise?" section of the NJPA site.

Thanks for the feedback on the blog and I'll keep the information coming.

Good News on the Readership Front

I just read an article in MediaPost's Media Daily News that found newspaper's unduplicated readership "footprint" has grown by 2.1% over the past year between spring 2007 and spring 2008. The article also boasts a 12.3% jump in newspaper websites' unique audience.

In another bit of good news, Scarborough Research also released findings that the Sunday newspaper is still the #1 source for coupons for items such as food and packaged goods. 53% of all households reported receiving their coupons from the Sunday newspaper. Great news!

Read the full article here.

This reminds me of a conversation I had this weekend with a good friend. He had invited me over to swim at the pool in his new development. He'd moved into a condo in a new town and said that it was time for him to pick a local newspaper to subscribe to in order to get the Sunday coupons. He said that for years his mom had clipped coupons for him for groceries, restaurants, etc. in his area but now that he lived on his own he needed to become a local subscriber so that he wouldn't miss out on all the deals. So, he went out and bought 4 single copies of different newspapers so that he could compare the coupons inside and decide which one would offer the best value for his subscription. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised by this. I'm not much of a coupon clipper, but I'd always guessed that everyone wanted similar things from their newspapers: high quality journalism, local reporters' takes on the big stories, etc. My friend made clear an important lesson - newspaper advertising is just as important (and to some, even more important!) to the newspaper product as the news itself.

I guess there are as many reasons to read the newspaper as there are newspaper readers.

Technorati Profile

Welcome to Newspapers Aren't Dead!

I've spent the better part of the last 2 years searching for an online space where I could find positive information on the newspaper industry. As a B2B marketer who needs to communicate the value and strength of newspaper as an advertising medium, it's essential to find useful information among the sea of "doom and gloom" tales of newspapers' so-called terminal decline. (For the record, this is the last time you'll see the words "terminal decline" here on this blog.)

While my 2-year quest for valuable newspaper research, information, and anecdotes has turned up a fair share of good news, I was unable to find a "safe space" free of the negativity in the mainstream media - and even in newspapers themselves! I hope that other marketers, media buyers, and newspaper professionals will find this site helpful for gathering both useful information and inspiring triumphs from the world of newspapers.

If you like what you read here (or don't like it!) you can email me at bcritchley@njpa.org. I'd be happy to answer any questions or assist with any specific marketing or advertising needs. To find out more about New Jersey Press Association, visit www.njpa.org and www.njads.org.