On some copies of The Age today the coat of arms was completely covered by the post it type ad stuck on the front cover of the newspaper. Why not remove the masthead altogether and have an ad permanently embedded in the masthead? I am regularly asked by journalism, marketing and other students about these ads stuck on the mastheads of Fairfax newpapers. I will keep publishing photos when I notice the ads if only to record the damage to great brands.
Personally, I don’t mind these ads Mark. I don’t see them as that obtrusive. Most customers don’t seem to mind either – its not as if they’re not going to recognise the paper. If Fairfax wants to deface their own mastheads then let them. I think its quite effective marketing. In my opinion, this is nowhere near as important as the current broken home delivery model.
Tim
How can these ads not be considered obtrusive? I think it’s disrespectful to the brand and greedy to put it plainly.
I agree that it’s probably a very effective marketing strategy, but at what cost?
At what point does it become commercially viable to destroy brand recognition?