2009 advertising budgets - Newspaper vs. Online

I was interested in a column that recently ran in the Raleigh News and Observer, the metro daily here in the Triangle.  The columnist, John Drescher, touted their growth in readership. This initially struck me as odd considering the trends for print have been steadily down the past decade.

It didn't take long to realize that the growth included online readers and that the online increases were overcoming declines in print circulation.  That would coincide with the national trend that shows newspaper website readership up an average of 12% or more last year.  For some the growth was even more dramatic.  The LA Times saw their online audience jump an astounding 78% in 2008.

For years the Arts section of local dailies have been mainstays in advertising plans for museums and theatres.  But with every dollar being precious this year, keep this move of readership from print to online in mind.

If the local daily is going to be in your marketing plan, make sure you take advantage of the soft advertising market by negotiating a presence online as well as in print.  While the online readership is up, some surveys show newspaper advertising revenues down to their lowest levels since 1996.  And as I mentioned in an earlier post, the current economy is making most advertising outlets very willing to negotiate deals.

The time is right to get the most out of your budget and take advantage of those increases in web readership to make your ad dollars go further.

Your advertising budget can go further in 2009

If you have an ad campaign planned for an event in the first half of 2009, there's good news. Your ad budget should buy you a lot more exposure.

The recession is hitting media outlets hard.   And no medium seems to be immune.  The New York Times group reports that revenue was off 4.6% in August.  Their New England Media division (including the Boston Globe) is down almost twice that at 9% below year-over-year revenues.  

A leading survey of internet expenditures shows sales for display advertising off over 50% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Prime purchasers of advertising have dramatically cut their budgets, led by car manufacturers and car dealerships.  Nielsen's ad spending reports showed automotive advertising down 10% through third quarter.  And I expect the fourth quarter numbers to show a further decline when they come out in a few weeks..

If you were hearing about lower advertising demand but had a hard time negotiating in fourth quarter last year, keep in mind that many broadcasters and newspapers were still being buoyed by political campaign dollars and holiday retail advertising.  Now advertising sales managers are facing first quarter without those seasonal revenue bumps.  

We've negotiated discounts of 40-50% on some annual print contracts.  Savings on local TV and cable have been smaller but still represent substantial increases in reach and frequency over our normal ad buys.

While I don't advocate beating up your media sales reps just because they are down, you should expect that you will receive more for your ad dollars this year.  Remember to negotiate, ask for additional commercial avails or ad space.  Discuss value added promotions as well.  

One other note, if you typically place your ad buys direct, but aren't as comfortable haggling, you may want to try a limited arrangement with a media buyer or ad agency.  They'll likely have a better sense of what your local market rates should be.  Many times, the discounts they can secure go well beyond the extra fees involved.

Whether you do it yourself or work with an outside firm, take advantage of the opportunity to get more from your advertising dollars while it exists.