Money Matters
All the News That's Fit to Advertise in

Newspapers, when it comes to advertising, are known for two things: being the oldest medium and rarely, if ever, negotiating rates. However, even in today's high-tech society, companies still turn first to their local "fish wrap" when creating their ad budgets.

We sat down recently with Semaphore media buying expert Cindy Wade to talk about how to get deals from newspapers, what sections to advertise in and to find out why Wednesdays are so important.

Why are newspapers still the most widely used ad medium?
Advertising in newspapers is relatively cheap and reaches a wide audience. It's the perfect medium for local retailers and industries that want to target people in their territory. Most communities only have one or two newspapers so you can reach a lot of people without spending a lot of money.

You can also target certain audiences by placing your ads in specific sections of the paper. Or you can advertise in papers that target certain populations that you want to reach, such as African Americans or Hispanics.

Newspapers also have short lead times so you can really jump on an issue in a timely manner. There are a wide variety of ad sizes and you can include as little or as much copy as you need.

If newspapers don't waver from their rate cards is there any way to get a discount?
The best way to receive a discount -- and we advocate this for all our clients -- is to sign a contract. You agree to buy so much space over the course of a year and you receive special rates from daily and weekly papers. The State newspaper, for instance, is really good about sending clients quarterly reports that show how many [column] inches you've run and how many you have left under your contract.

Also, with weeklies, you can often run your ad in more than one paper that's owned by the same company. Then there are also "repeat discounts" that cut you a break if you run the same ad multiple times during a week. Most newspapers also have special sections--The State has the "Neighbors" section, which targets specific zones of the Midlands. You just have to know what to ask for and work with them.

So which days and in what section should a company advertise?
Newspaper rates (for daily papers) are divided into two sections: Sunday and daily, which is Monday through Saturday. Sunday's newspaper is the most read followed by Wednesdays when the grocery stores usually run their ads. You can pick the section (Metro, Sports, Entertainment, etc.) in which you want to run your ad, but they can't guarantee placement. However, I've found that we almost always get what we ask for. I always request "far forward/right-hand read" which means as close to the front page as possible and on the right-hand side. People tend to notice -- and read more often -- the items on the right-hand side of newspapers.