Newspaper Advertising for Political Campaigns?

I know.  Conventional wisdom says nobody reads newspapers any more.  TV — that’s the place to be.

And the fact is that newspaper circulation is in decline, according to Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.  An article published by Journalism.org (The Project for Excellence in Journalism) said, “…the problem now appears to be more than fewer people developing the newspaper habit.  People who used to read every day now read less often.  Some people who used to read a newspaper have stopped altogether.  Today, just more than half of Americans (54 percent) read a newspaper during the week, somewhat more (62 percent) on Sundays, and the number is continuing to drop.”

But conventional wisdom isn’t always so wise when it comes to political advertising.  Consider a recent study by the Newspaper Association of America reported in the June issue of Campaigns and Elections.  It found that more than half (57 percent) of voters say they experience some level of indecision in the final week or days before an election.  Of those who say they experience indecision, three out of four say they are regular newspaper readers.

75% of "undecideds" read the paper.  And they rely on the paper to help them make their decisions.

The same study on political advertising discovered newspaper ads were considered the most credible medium for political ads by Republicans and Democrats alike. The survey shows that when asked to rank each medium using a 10-point believability scale, 32 percent of voters said political ads in newspapers were more believable than those found in brochures and mailings (27 percent), on network TV (26 percent), on cable TV (25 percent) and on the radio (22 percent).

Newspaper ads offer several advantages over those on broadcast and cable media.  For example:

• Readers can pick up newspapers whenever and wherever they want, and the ads are always right with the content.  Broadcast programming is either on when it’s on, or delayed by tape or TiVo (which essentially eliminates the ads altogether).
• Newspaper advertising is generally a destination, not an interruption.  An NAA study showed that half the voters go to their papers specifically to look for ads.  Of these, 82% are looking for ads once a week or more.  55% of late-deciders go to their papers specifically to look for ads, 85% more than once a week.
• Production costs for print advertising are far lower than those of broadcast ads.
• Short deadlines, unlimited media inventory and fast production mean that print advertising can be more current and more relevant to late-breaking developments in a campaign.

And of course, newspaper advertising can be bought locally or regionally for maximum efficiency.

We’ve got the experience and track record you need — scores of political campaigns (with a 70% win ratio) and decades of specialization in political print advertising — to help your campaign.  For ads, brochures, mailers, palm cards, stickers, and so on…you should be off to see The Wizard!