ORLANDO, FL — Facing growing competition from online media outlets and free classifieds listings such as Google Base and Craigslist, the Newspaper Association of America is taking the offensive with a $50 million ad campaign, the organization said at the NAA Marketing Conference here this week.
The campaign, “Newspaper advertising: a destination, not a distraction,” aims to “surprise advertisers with the truth” about how engaged consumers are with newspaper advertising.
“Our campaign will make clear to media decision makers that newspapers have the brand power, the content and the credibility to effectively serve print and online advertisers better than any other medium,” said John Kimball, chief marketing officer of the NAA, Vienna, VA.
The campaign looks to “explode” the myth that newspapers are old school or static, he added.
Forty-six percent of consumers say newspapers are their preferred medium to receive ad information, NAA's independent research found, and 52 percent say newspapers are where they go to check out ads. Also, 51 percent said newspapers are the most valuable medium when planning shopping, compared with 11 percent who cited the Internet.
To drive home some of these points, the “Destination” campaign, beginning in March, will include ads in newspapers nationwide as well as in targeted magazines and on the Internet.
The Martin Agency, Richmond, VA, whose clients include Geico Insurance and UPS, helped NAA develop the campaign.
Christine Blank covers online marketing and advertising, including e-mail marketing and paid search, for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
