NZ Marketing Association chair Debra Hall is advising SME owner/managers to think more about how they can tailor their messages following the release of new research on the effectiveness of advertising in print media.

Commissioned by News Works, a commercial entity of the Newspaper Publishers’ Association (NPA), the research shows advertising in print media is a much more subtle sell than it is in other media.

News Works executive director Jenny Stiles says the research reveals advertising in newspapers and magazines is effective because it is “part of the customer’s experience”. 

“Ads in print media are the least annoying and intrusive, which leads to less active filtering out of ads,” she says. “Newspapers and magazines allow people to read at their own pace while radio, TV and internet are a lot more in your face.”

Hall advises SME owner/managers to think about the mindset of potential customers when viewing advertising. 

“A sports product doesn’t have to be on the sports pages.”

Hall says the entertainment pages might be a more appropriate place to advertise sports products. 

“The average person may be thinking more about pleasure and entertainment than about competition, winning and losing.”

Global market research company TNS conducted the survey for News Works. It was based on an online survey of 747 respondents throughout the country’s main city centres, backed up with 12 in-depth face-to-face interviews.

 

By Ruth Le Pla. Email [email protected]