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March 23, 2011Newspaper ADVERTISING is MOST HELPFUL and MOST BELIEVABLE

Between the general elections of 2002 and 2010, newspapers significantly increased their perception as providing Missourians with the "most helpful" and "most believable" political advertising.

During that period, Missouri voters who were surveyed said political advertising on television is much more "offensive" than ads in any other media.

Those are some of the findings of post-election surveys commissioned by the Missouri Press Association (MPA) and conducted by Pulse Research, Inc., of Portland, Oregon. Surveys of Missourians who voted were conducted after the November elections in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

"The results of these surveys show that in spite of the volume of political advertising on television, radio and the internet, Missourians see newspapers as the best place to look when they want information to help them decide how to vote," said Doug Crews, executive director of MPA.

While the "most helpful" perception of advertising in newspapers rose from 12 percent in 2002 to 21 percent in 2010, the same rating for television advertising went from 9 percent to 13.5 percent and for radio advertising from 0.5 percent to 3.8 percent.

"Most helpful" ratings for social media advertising were 1.3 percent in 2010 after not registering in the earlier surveys. Websites for candidates and issues actually fell on the "most helpful" question, from 15.5 percent in 2002 to 6 percent in 2010.

"Candidates and issue advocates would do well to take note of these findings," Crews said. "When people are looking for information to help them decide how to vote, they look to advertising in newspapers."

Missourians also perceive political ads in newspapers to be much less offensive than advertisements on television. In the 2010 survey, only 2.5 percent of the respondents said newspaper ads were the most offensive, while 53.8 percent said political ads on television were the most offensive.

When asked what medium had the "most believable" political ads, newspapers polled 19 percent, television got 7 percent and radio 3.8 percent.

This research shows that few Missourians are offended by political ads in newspapers, and many find them to be very helpful and believable, Crews said. At the same time, about 71 percent of the people surveyed "agreed" (15.4 percent) or "strongly agreed" (55.7 percent) that negative ads on television made them less likely to vote for that candidate or issue.

Other media choices in the surveys included live speeches, candidate brochures, telephone calls, websites, social media, several other mediums, "other" and "don't know."

Pulse Research polled 400 Missourians who voted in November from all counties in the state for the 2010 survey.

For more information, click here.

September 16, 2010Newspapers reach more voters than TV

Recent reports from Pulse Research, Inc. show that most people read their local community newspaper for information about local politicians and their campaigns (July 2010).  53% respondents said newspapers are their primary source compared to just 22.4% for television. Radio, the Internet and direct mail only received 12.2% combined!

The most recent Media Audit report shows the cume audience “past year voted in local, state, national election” of the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune nearly doubles that of the two local TV news stations (June 2009).  Add the 30 other newspapers, which have avid readers within the two TV news signals, and newspapers are clearly the distinct leader in reaching likely Mid-Missouri voters.

Scarborough reports relating to The Kansas City Star have similar results (2009).  None of the four local network television stations in Kansas City come anywhere close to the reach of The Star - in PRIMETIME!  Kansascity.com is even 36% higher than the nearest local tv website, beating it by more than 100,000 adults.

St. Louis?  Running a spot on every newscast on KSDK for an entire week would reach 676,800 (41%) of Missouri voters in the St. Louis DMA.  (How many Illinois voters do they reach?  Illinois voters who can't vote in Missouri.)  You'd reach TWICE THAT many Missouri voters running in the Post-Dispatch, Suburban Journals & STLtoday.com for a week (1,107,100 or 67%). Scarborough 2009.  

And, don't forget the many community weekly, community daily, and niche newspapers that round out the metro- and non-metro areas of Missouri.  Our state has more than 300 newspapers.

So the question remains, why do politicians and advocacy groups dump the largest portion of their budgets into a medium that is barely half as effective as newspapers?

Voters read newspapers.  

January 14, 2008Pulse Survey speaks volumes about newspaper advertising

**Pulse Research Statewide Market Survey May 2007.
 When consumers need to make an informed choice for shopping, they rely on newspapers nearly 3 times more than the nearest media option (Newspapers 44.3%, TV 18.9%)  (Rural areas..aka weeklies – 48.9%, TV 17.2%)

More than any other medium, when consumers want information on home products, hardware, grocery (45.8), electronics, furniture, real estate, new vehicles, what is on sale or local events (43.1), they turn to the newspaper. Overall, it is THE one source they rely on most for advertising. Not surprisingly, over half of all females polled showed they prefer newspapers for advertising.

Grocers beware. Consumers by a wide margin (66%) depend on newspapers, or inserts, to do their shopping.

What is on sale? Most Missouri consumers, (53%), check a newspaper, or an insert, to find out. That number jumps to 60% for females.

Unlike some media, whose advertising message may be gone in 60-seconds, Newspaper has staying power. Over 1/3 of people who read a weekly newspaper, keep it around for a week or more (dailies tend to be kept for four days). On average a weekly reader will keep a paper for just over four days and the majority (62.6%) of papers are read by more than one person in the household.

While facing at least 1,000 advertising impressions each day, isn’t it nice to know that newspaper readers are committed? Almost half (46.5%) admit they read the entire paper thoroughly. Plus, many read, and re-read, the paper giving advertisers multiple opportunities to impress. Just when you thought the news couldn’t get better, these people then pass the paper to their spouse, significant other, or child. Newspaper Advertising. It pays to be seen.

Daily newspaper readers tend to be interactive. Over 63% are aware of their local newspapers website and nearly all of those people have visited it.

How important is Newspapers in Education (NIE)? A recent study showed that over 33% of those people that do not attained a high school education also do NOT read the newspaper.  (Double Check this stat)

Over 74% of newspaper readers earn $25,000 or more annually.

The older a Missourian gets, the more likely they feel like newspapers cover the community better. Weekly readers in particular feel they get their local news from newspapers.
 
71% of those female weekly newspaper readers polled have home delivery. They also ALL read the paper. Dailies are read at a 96.8% clip.

Female readers (weekly) read inserts at a 54% clip.

Oddly, while newspaper web sites have minimally changed readership habits, it has also sparked slightly higher subscriptions (minute numbers, but interesting).

Are you paying attention to what is going on Jefferson City? Your readers are. 67% (71% female) voted in the last election.

Interesting numbers in that the mean age is 45, income is $62,000 and almost 2/3 of the respondents have no kids at home.
 
 

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