Regional Press To Invest £100,000 In Ad Effectiveness Research

The Newspaper Society has announced an action plan to increase the regional press’s share of the national advertising market. Its initiatives include investing in ad effectiveness research, the launch of an artwork delivery system, and improved reproduction standards.

The programme is part of the Newspaper Society’s £3 million marketing campaign launched last year to push the profile of the regional press (see Newspaper Society Launches Marketing Campaign). A total of 10,000 questionnaires were sent out to media planners and buyers to assess their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the medium for national advertising. From their responses a set of eighteen initiatives were created.

Greater proof of effectiveness was one of the key issues amongst the respondents; 26% said they would like better analysis of the medium’s effectiveness. As a result the Newspaper Society’s has promised to spend £100,000 on research, to be published later this year.

Calls for a more streamlined system will be answered by the development of online planning and booking systems linked to national sales units and the creation of tailored advertising packages.

Commenting on the launch Chris Stanley, marketing director of the Newspaper Society, said: “The regional press stands on the threshold of the most exciting, significant and concerted effort to build national advertising revenue. Never before have we had such a clear mandate from our customers, and such strong commitment from publishers to deliver solutions.”

National display advertising currently accounts for just 10% of regional press’s advertising revenue. The struggle to increase its market share was highlighted recently with the shut-down of The Word, a one-stop shop to bring national advertisers to the regional press (see Feature: Regional Publishers Must Work Hard To Attract National Advertisers). The initiatives announced today may help bridge the gap created by its closure.

Newspaper Society: 020 7636 7014