The Beginner’s Guide to a Successful Newspaper Ads Campaign

Have you ever wondered why some companies run very successful newspaper ads campaigns, while others do not even manage to make a dent in the market with their print ads? What decides which ad will rake in millions in profit and which ones will sink faster than the Titanic? Every time you think about launching a newspaper ad campaign, you start with a list of newspapers that you think are suitable. In reality, what makes these newspapers more appropriate than the others? Are these pure intuitions? Is it based on a history of newspaper ads run by these publications? Is it purely statistics? Well, it is definitely not intuition. It is a mixture of everything else. Let us find out what factors should govern your choice of newspapers for the upcoming brand ad campaign.

 

1. Which region and locality does the newspaper reach?

Reach is the most important factor that drives the choice of advertisers. If your brand caters to only one township, why should you pay for an ad campaign in a national newspaper? You only need to reach out to a regional market. Therefore, your choice for newspaper ads should rather be a newspaper that caters to that specific market or neighbourhood.

For example – let us assume that you are promoting your restaurant. You will be organizing a Hilsa fest. Since that is a predominantly Bengali interest, you would rather choose a newspaper that caters to the majority of the Bengali community. If your restaurant is in the heart of the city and you want to reach out to the city folks only, choosing a Bengali newspaper with a high rate of circulation inside the city is a smarter choice.

If you are rather confused about this selection process, you can reach out to your agency. Bookadsnow can help you find a platform for your newspaper ads that suits your interest. This process will primarily determine the cost of the advertising campaign. Choosing a regional paper with a local reach can cut down your newspaper advertising cost significantly, but at the same time limit your market reach. Therefore, the advertisers need to weigh every option and your necessities before they make a decision.

 

2. How much does language matter?

About 18.6% of the Indian population reads and speaks English and about 41.3% are more comfortable with Hindi. The rest speak other languages including Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Malayalam. To advertise in newspaper, every advertiser needs to know about the language of the publication. The language plays a very important role in the success of an ad campaign.

The number of regional newspapers is much more than English and Hindi publications in India. For example – Kerala has a literacy rate of 93.91%. In spite of this, 96% of the residents of the state prefer Malayalam to English. Therefore, if you want to reach out to a majority in Kerala, you need to publish your newspaper ads in Malayalam.

 

3. What effect does age group and profession have on your publicity?

Each newspaper has its own dedicated readership. For example – the Business Times is preferred by readers in the age group of 30-55, with significant decision-making power. They are stable jobholders with high buying capacity. This is quite different from the readership profile of Advertise in DNA India. Whether a newspaper caters to the common shopper, influenced by the recent fashion trends of Bollywood, or if it caters to the crème de la crème of the national business community will definitely determine the rates for your newspaper ads.

You must also remember the significance of supplements in case of newspaper ads. Delhi Times is an ideal platform for those looking for a way to reach out to the millions residing within city limits. If you own a fashion brand or a retail store, these supplements and special editions are the best options to reach out to your target audiences.

 

4. Do you want to reach out to an urban audience or a rural audience?

Every brand and company has their target audience sorted out. You must already know if you want to cater to an urban audience or a rural one. This will determine which newspaper you should choose as your primary advertising platform. If your newspaper of choice caters to both the city and the countryside market, you need to pick a special edition or a supplement that makes the distinction.

 

Deciding what newspaper you want to pick based on its reach is quite easy in some cases

English dailies are mostly fancied by English readers. They cater to the erudite city dwellers. If your brand mostly targets a city-market with a high spending power, you should pick a special supplement of an English daily for your newspaper ads. At the same time, you can pick specific publications that only cater to the smaller towns, districts and villages. For example – Eenadu advertisement caters to Srikakulam, Warangal and Kadapa.

Wrapping it up

Newspaper ads have a high rate of success. However, we see so many small and medium businesses (SMBs) fail to make the most of this opportunity. This is primarily because most of them do not have a contingency plan in place. Newspaper advertising calls for a lot of planning, strategizing and action. This is best done under the guidance of experts who can tell you about the best options available.

 

The ad rates depend mostly on circulation, readership profile, the type of ad and the placement

There are a few other factors as well that determine pricing. Overall, it is not easy to advertise in newspapers as most companies and marketing professionals fancy them to be. In reality, you can be quite lost without an expert guide. Newspaper ads should not be a one-time deal either. The right time of publication, the frequency of publication and the pricing requires quite a bit of deliberation.

The secret of a good newspaper campaign is good planning. As an advertiser, you need to make informed decisions about your choice of newspaper, supplement, the day of publication and placement. In addition, you should definitely find a reliable ad booking agency to guide you through the process.