Earlier this month, Monday, January 12, to be exact, we grabbed a copy of the Lincoln Journal Star, the local newspaper in Lincoln, Nebraska and we were shocked by what we saw. We’ve known for quite some time (as have many others) that newspaper is a slowly dying form of media. With all the different types of media we have today, social media, online news resources, television, radio… the list goes on… People would rather read small pieces of information, or even better hear or see the information they want to get, rather than read lengthy articles. Who has the time in today’s busy world?
However, all this being said, we were still stunned by the paper this particular day. The entire paper, which covers all of Lincoln and the surrounding areas, was a mere 18 pages long (that’s not 18 pages front and back, that’s not 18 spreads, that 18 total pages). We could only find 14 advertisements in this particular paper (which didn’t include the full page advertisement from LJS that was on the last page of the paper – so if you eliminate that page, the paper was only 17 pages long). The only thing that topped the number of ads in the paper were the obituaries – 18 of them in this particular paper – which equates to the same number of pages they had and 4 more than they had advertisers.
So, what does this tell us? Newspaper is even more worse off than we thought. Are we saying that no business should ever advertise in the newspaper? No. That’s not what we’re saying at all. We just recommend that you think long and hard about it (or call your marketing company to have them consider it on your behalf – remember, this is what they do!) and think about how much bang it will get you for your buck.
At Transformation Marketing, we take a lot into consideration when choosing the best types of media for our clients – What’s the demographic? What’s the reach compared to the cost? What are some other mediums that might work better? Give us a call! We are a no-fee agency, which means you don’t have to pay us a monthly retainer just to be your marketing company and to talk to any and all reps that come your way presenting you with the “greatest marketing opportunity”. We can help you make the best marketing decisions for your company and make sure you are getting the most from your marketing dollars!