NEWSPAPERS GO FOR ADVERTISING!

Abstract

Traditional advertising and media markets are experiencing radical change. The advances in digital media entail an increase in the number of advertising channels as well as sweeping shifts in marketing budgets. Interactive advertising channels such as the Internet, iDTV, mobile technologies… are gaining importance at the expense of traditional media whose existence depends largely on advertising investments. Newspapers are considered to be financially healthy when 40–70 per cent of their income is derived from advertising revenues. This paper identifies the challenges for newspapers in a changing media environment such as the growing amount of advertising channels, the shift in investments from advertising above-the-line to advertising below-the-line, the migration of classifieds towards the Internet and the competition of new competitors. Other problems can be found in changing advertising legislations. More and more advertising bans menace the media advertisement market. Not only tobacco but also alcohol (in many countries) and recently in the United Kingdom in children's programmes, advertising for products containing high fat, sugar and salt is banned. However, new digital technologies can offer a wide range of opportunities for newspapers. New strategies can be developed for advertisers when combining the paper and the online version of a newspaper: newspapers are fighting back to keep classified advertising online and interactive opportunities of online advertisement can counter the increasing success of below-the-line advertisement. Newspapers can also apply several new formats in the printed version in order to “break through the clutter”.

Keywords:

• interactive advertising
• new media
• newspapers
• print advertising

Acknowledgements

This article originated from the project ‘Advertising in a Digital Media Environment (ADME)’ supported by project grants from the Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology (IBBT). This project was conducted by a consortium of companies: Vmma, Vitaya, De Persgroep, Concentra Media, Corelio Media, Saatchi & Saatchi Belgium, Carat Belgium, Zappware, Belgacom Skynet and Telenet; in cooperation with the IBBT research groups: MICT (Ghent University), CUO (University of Leuven), ICRI (University of Leuven), IBCN (Ghent University) and WiCa (Ghent University).

Notes

1. Concentra Media, Corelio Media and De Persgroep.

2. Vitaya and De Vlaamse Media Maatschappij (Vmma), both commercial television stations based in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium.

3. Saatchi Belgium, the Belgian division of the International Saatchi & Saatchi Group.

4. Carat Belgium, the Belgian division of Carat International, part of the Aegis Media Group.