Newspapers offer the best bang for advertisers’ bucks

By Lethbridge Herald on March 18, 2023.

LEAVE IT TO BEEBER
Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

 A few weeks ago I asked readers after I accepted the honour of the managing editor’s job to offer ideas on how we can improve the content of the newspaper.

Readers and advertisers, after all, are the reason we exist. And I felt it was important to seek input from our loyal subscribers and other readers.

Over the years, we’ve all seen this paper evolve and change with the times. Like life itself, the newspaper business hasn’t stood still over the many decades I’ve been working on dailies.

When I started back in May 1980 in Ontario, we still used manual typewriters to crank out stories. They were then typeset and we pasted them manually onto the paper using melted wax and utility knives. Ditto with photos. I often developed my own film – and regularly the film of other reporters – and contact sheets were given to the editor to peruse.

With the development of the internet and social media, newspapers have seen their market share of advertising diminish as businesses look for alternatives without considering how much of an audience a newspaper actually reaches.

And when you think about a newspaper, whether you hold it in your hand and peruse physical pages or subscribe to an online edition, you quickly realize the bang advertisers are getting for their bucks. Unlike short commercials on television or radio or a spot on Facebook or Instagram which may not even reach an audience, a newspaper ad gives businesses a strong chance to connect with many people. Because that ad is being seen not only by the person who buys the paper but other family members or customers at a business that subscribes. 

So one paper could be seen by a multitude of people, expanding the reach of an advertisement to an enormously diverse pool of customers.

And unlike radio, TV or internet ads, the newspaper isn’t disappearing in a fleeting moment. 

People will read the paper hours and days after it arrives on a doorstep or a person via an online subscription. It doesn’t disappear – in one form or another those ads are virtually perpetual.

Our potential to reach customers is far greater than the opportunity posed by absolutely any other media outlets which can’t assure advertisers a potential customer will be listening or watching when a commercial airs. 

In a way, their marketing is like fishing – you’re hoping a lure is in the right spot when a fish swims by. And as fishermen know, sometimes fish won’t ever bite. 

With newspapers, the lure is always in the right spot because the paper has an audience who can see it at any time of the day or night. So advertisers can get exposure not just for 15 or 30 seconds, they can get exposure for their product for multiple days with one ad in a paper.

The importance of that can’t be understated. If one newspaper reaches four or five people the potential amount of exposure for a business is enormous.

And the local newspaper is the right place for local businesses to attract customers. 

We’re here in the heart of downtown Lethbridge, our staff are neighbours of yours, our kids go to the same schools, maybe play on the same sports teams. 

Like other local businesses, we’re contributing to the local economy which can’t be said for Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

 We are paying taxes, creating jobs and generating income for our community through job creation – like other businesses in our growing community. And just as we support our fellow local businesses, we are earning the opportunity to be supported by local advertisers.

The amount of coverage we give to our community with our staff here is quite astounding in light of the number of journalists we now have.  We are producing a paper that’s just as good now as it was when we had a newsroom full of staff. And that’s because everyone here is working harder than ever to produce coverage which reflects our diverse community. 

You won’t get that same type of in-depth coverage in short local newscasts on television or radio or on social media. You only get it in the newspaper which plays an extremely valuable role in our community.

It’s a role we are proud to play, a role which deserves support from our local community.