How much a publication costs on the newsstand or with a subscription fee could determine whether it is a good fit for your message.
In an article by MediaPost, a recent trend has been emerging regarding newspapers’ revenues. It no longer comes from advertising primarily but a more even split between advertising and newsstand prices/subscription fees.
This trend is supported by top newspapers, which list circulation revenues as a growing part of the profits. The New York Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Wall Street Journal have all raised the newsstand prices since last year. The prices have all increased by at least 25 cents.
While it sounds like the increase may not be drastic, the percentages between advertising and circulation proceeds have evened out over the last few years. The New York Times stated that, for the second quarter of 2009, 54% of the revenues were from advertising with 39% from circulation. According to the paper, this is a large increase compared to five years ago. At that time advertising accounted for 67% of the total takings and circulation was only 27%.
As newspapers try to offset the shrinking readership in a down economy, it is smart to know to what degree papers are changing. A publication that has multiple rate increases in a relatively short amount of time may be a venue to really re-evaluate its value to a campaign. On the other hand, a newspaper that makes changes to cost, format, circulation, etc. could garner attention and make people eager to peruse it.
Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...
Knowing what target demographics value in a brand can be very beneficial to a successful campaign.
According to MediaPost, an annual, collaborative survey done by Alloy Media + Marketing and Harris Interactive explored brand credibility with American, college age people.
In the survey, Harris asked what brands are considered to be “trusted” and “happy”. The top three brands that students “trust” are Johnson & Johnson, Sony and Apple; the top three brands that make students “happy” are Clinique, Apple, and McDonald’s.
Another aspect of the survey was inquiring about spending decisions. It was found that the group’s discretionary spending power has increased despite the slowing economy. Spending has increased by 5% from last year to $56 billion. In regards to the hierarchy of needs, food purchases, clothing, shoes, entertainment, and technology round out the top of the list.
Alloy and Harris found that “overall, 43% of college students said they preferred to buy socially responsible brands. They seemed rather gloomy on the economy, with only 35% saying they thought the situation would improve over the next year.”
The college age group of 18-30 year-olds can be a very important demographic to appeal to considering the amount of discretionary funds available. Therefore, it is useful to be aware of what that group looks for in brand purchasing.
Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...
It is important to try to create new and creative ways to broadcast your message and that doesn’t mean to only pursue non-traditional media.
According to a MediaPost article, Katz Marketing Solutions, which is a division of Katz Media Group, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, has embarked on promoting Jay Leno’s new show to a captive audience- people stuck in traffic.
Katz Marketing Solutions and Horizon Media, NBC’s media agency, have teamed together to create two campaigns using radio’s traffic instructions. On September 8th, the first campaign was implemented which entailed comedy bits that ran with traffic reports in NBC’s top 12 markets nationwide.
The second campaign started September 14th and that included additional comedy shorts introduced by local DJs. They ran in a fixed position at 10 minutes after the hour to promote the new 10 p.m. time slot for Jay’s show. NBC’s top 25 markets were chosen to run the second campaign. It was said that the intention for this was to align Leno and the comedy with the number 10 to reinforce his new time slot.
Utilizing traditional media like radio to implement a fresh twist to promote a product or service can be necessary in reinventing a campaign.
Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...
Being aware of consumer perception of the economy can be an asset to your campaign.
The Center for Media Research released in August that personal spending is not back to what it was prior to the economic recession. In the article supplied by the research company, it discusses the findings of a recent poll conducted by AdweekMedia/ The Harris Poll.
Results show that 79% of American adults have made some level of cuts on personal spending this past year. These cuts have been a direct result of the economy. The largest age group to make self-described “a lot of cuts” was the 45-54 bracket. People in the age groups 18-34 and 55+ have the highest percentages, with 24%, of not making any cuts to personal spending.
As far as income goes, 89% of those making $35,000 - $49,900 have made some kind of cuts. In regards to incomes not making budget cuts, people who make between $50,000 and $74,900 had the largest response with 22%.
A positive aspect of the results is that 24% of those polled have started to increase spending to close if not exactly what was spent in years previous.
While economists have begun to state that the economy is re-emerging from the recession, consumers may not agree based on the research data presented. The report suggests watching when Americans start to spend money as the real sign for a recovering economy.
In an economic recession, it could be useful to know how ad spending currently compares to last year. That way, you can keep your budget and campaign on track.
According to MediaPost, the research company Nielsen Co. has been monitoring US media ad spending from 2008 to 2009. As a whole, ad spending has declined 15.4% during the first half of 2009 compared to the same time in 2008. This means that spending was approximately $56.9 billion which is down by $10.3 billion from the first half of 2008.
Results show that the only medium to show ad revenue growth during the first half of 2009 was cable TV. It rose 1.5% over ad spending in 2008 during the same time frame. This has been reported as impressive considering cable spending declined 2.7% during the first quarter of 2009, which means it had a strong second quarter in order to show gain.
All other media declined in ad spending with print media experiencing the largest drop. Local Sunday newspaper supplements had the biggest hit in declining revenue.
Annie Touliatos, vice president for Nielsen’s advertising information services, was quoted as saying, “What’s interesting is that we’re not just seeing a rise in spending for recession-friendly products like fast food restaurants. We’re seeing a lot more promotion of technological innovations like smartphones, computer software, and consumer-driven Web sites. These advertisers see potential for their products despite our stressed economy and are leveraging advertising to drive their success.”
While the economy is in a recession, it could be beneficial to regroup and rethink the marketing strategy for a campaign. Print could be a good media to utilize because the space may not be as congested with competition and rates may be more negotiable. Or cable might be the venue of choice because of a growing catalog of original programming and audience participation.
If DMA rankings change, it can affect how you much spending you can afford in a particular market.
Nielsen Co. has stated that total US TV homes have increased by 400,000 making the total to 114.9 million as it heads into the 2009-2010 television season. MediaPost reports this is a smaller increase than the 1.7 million a year ago.
All of the top-10 markets did remain in the same rank and accumulate more TV homes. However, some fluctuation did occur like the No. 11 Designated Market Area (DMA) ranked market Detroit actually lost approximately 37,000 homes. Denver gained so many new homes that it jumped Miami, Cleveland, Salt Lake City, and Harrisburg, PA in DMA positioning.
Other notable changes include the New Orleans moving to the 51 ranked DMA. This market has shown the highest percentage increase of any other market within the last year. It is also important to note that the Florida DMA markets of Tampa, Miami, Ft. Meyers and Tallahassee all saw population losses.
It is important to be aware of the DMA ranking of the markets in which a campaign is running. For instance, if a market is rising in ranking, then it is advisable to expect media costs to increase. Or, the opposite can happen if a market position falls down.
Some TV shows can create a loyal following that will seek out that specific program on broadcast network, syndication, and cable TV.
In an article on MediaPost, research shows that despite comedy shows not making up much of the broadcast schedules, there are now more comedy hours on TV than before due to syndication and cable.
Based on research performed by independent TV researcher Steve Sternberg, “through the 2008-2009 season, TV homes spent 4.85 hours a week watching comedies, versus 4.09 hours in the 1999-2000…” While the bulk of the time came from cable with 3.08 hours, syndication did come in second with 1.49 hours which is a gain over the 1999-2000 season of 1.45 hours. Broadcast took third with only .27 hours. The research also shows that comedies on broadcast TV have dropped by half since 2005; however, most other program formats have stayed fairly consistent over the last four years.
The two most popular comedies were found to be “George Lopez” and “Family Guy.” “George Lopez” can be seen on both syndication and cable, while “Family Guy” can be seen on network, syndication and cable. Therefore, one comedy show can potentially be shown on broadcast network, syndication on multiple channels, and cable on multiple channels everyday.
If a campaign’s intended audience is one that watches comedies, it would be beneficial to look into syndication and cable instead of network. It may be a better way to tailor the message. Also, it could be more cost effective than purchasing only prime time spots.
