Four-colour, full page newspaper ads capture more attention from readers than do quarter-page ads, according to new research conducted by Roper Starch for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).
The study – which gauged readership of more than 650 newspaper display ads across a variety of national and retail advertising categories – found that full-page newspaper ads are noticed by readers 39% more often than quarter-page ads.
Colour ads were even more effective than black and white. Four-colour ads caught readers’ attention 20% more than B&W ads and 13% more than two-colour ads. Full colour ads increase in-depth reading by more than 60%, when compared to B&W, according to the research.
The study, Maximise Your Advertising Impact: Elements of Newspaper Advertising is the first such research for the newspaper industry in 25 years, according to the NAA. Nearly 2,000 adults were interviewed in 10 markets across the US.
Amongst the other findings of the research were the fact that illustration increase interest, as do pictures of products. Prices draw readers to ads; ads with 10-to-12 prices were noted more than 80% more frequently than ads without prices. Too much price clutter, however, achieves diminishing returns.
Placing ads next to editorial content rather than adjacent to other ads had no impact on readership. Furthermore, and contrary to concerns about clutter, the survey found that pages with as few as three ads scored the same as pages with up to nine ads.
“We know that newspaper advertising works – now we know which ads have more pull than others,” said NAA president and CEO John F. Sturm. “This study, the first of its kind in more than 20 years, will be an invaluable resource for both newspapers and advertisers.”
