The Hard Turn

The reality has changed. Newspapers are in big, big trouble. When business is great, it's easy to do things the way you've always done them; when it's not so great, you look for new opportunities. There is a notion out there that somehow commerce is dirty--the sacred is what the journalist does and the profane is what the advertiser does. In fact, this is a profound confusion. What gives a town life is its Main Street businesses, which need to be "rubbing shoulders" with the commercial activity of the local newspaper.

ASNE Executive Director recalls that when he was editor of the Journal of Commerce from 1991 to 1995, "the ad was not the favourite thing of layout people because sometimes it seemed intrusive."

Some believe most editors have arrived at the decision to accept page-one ads in consultation with their publishers, as opposed to being ordered to run them. Editors understand there's a bottom line that must be reached, and they have to help figure out how to get there.

A senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Newspaper Association of America believes the challenging economic climate for newsrooms necessitates more flexibility, but he strongly rejects the notion that the page-one ad is compelled by a sense of desperation. He can see why that view prevails in newsrooms that have endured repeated cuts and reduced circulation, "but that's not an industry that's fighting for its life – that's one that's going through transition." The primary impetus for the page-one ad is that advertisers are increasingly demanding "new and unique and different ways to creatively use the newspaper. Advertisers want creative shapes, things you might not have seen 10 to 15 years ago, but are exciting and fresh. Will page-one ads net more business for advertisers than those inside the paper, making it worth the additional cost for them? It's too soon to tell.

Newspaper executives are tight-lipped about how much they're charging for page-one ads, but it's clear they cost significantly more than those inside the paper. Page one is "a premium location, and advertisers are waiting to gauge their effectiveness. Designers, tasked with making page-one, ads blend with the overall look and feel of the page generally aren't thrilled about them, but they're learning to adjust. The designers also have discovered that as pages get narrower, the page-one ad does have some benefits, because it works with both horizontal and vertical layouts. Ultimately, though, newspapers may be worrying too much about ad placement, the bottom line is: Put some better stories on the top of that front page. Don't give me the same story I saw 20 hours ago" online, give me good stories, and I don't care what you put in that little ad on the bottom of the front page. Front-page ads are OK as long as they're not too distracting. Distracting means they are a) oddly shaped, b) garishly colored, c) black and white on a color front--we get that fairly often--or d) inconsistent, appearing some weeks and not others, so they're impossible to plan around.

Source: Donna Shaw,AJR;shaw@tcnj.edu

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