I was interested to hear that Advertiser Newspapers (News Limited) has asked South Australian newsagents to comment on a stuck on ad being run on the newspaper last week for SA Lotteries.
Their survey was about placement and the quality of the ad. I wish they had asked about customer feedback and the opinion of the newsagent.
As someone who loves a good newspaper I don’t like these ads, regulars here would know that. The stuck-on ads intrude on the front page reading experience, lead to trash and even damage the product – sometimes ripping the front page.
Click here to see the survey. When I read I wondered if SA Lotteries had received some complaints about this type of advertising or had heard elsewhere that the medium was not all it was cracked up by News.
The photo shows yesterday’s Sunday Herald Sun. [insert groan here] They had a house ad promoting their digital subscription stick over the headline for a story. I bet some newsagents removed the ad.
Mark,
I agree with you I hate them and believe it devalues the product.
personally i can think of a hundred other things that frustrate me more than postit notes
When they advertise our competitors (office works on the Age twice over the past few months) front and centre like this it shows total contempt for us. I have had custoimers remove these ads at the time of purchase so I don’t think they appreciate them either.
Brendan…how is it different from them running an Officeworks ad on page 3? Personally I don’t like the post-it notes but it largely depends on where they are placed.
Ted, obviously the papers and magazines will sell their product (advertising) to any available customer just as we do and that is fine. I don’t and I bet you don’t sell stationery to only 1 local Real Estate agent or doctor.
My problem is that this this advertising with is positioning on the front page is not directed solely at purchasers of the paper but at every customer who enters my business and as such undermines my business by telling the customer not to purchase from me. I think that is clearly a poor way to treat the retailer of the papers or maybe I should treat the publishers in the same manner they treat us and stick flyers in their papers promoting the opposing publications in my store, I’m sure that would put things in perspective for the publishers.
The advertising campaign is not clear for readers…. we had a dozen customer queries (phone & in-store) “asking” for the free digital pass when they bought their paper and the special number they need to access it!!!
Reality is: Advertising staff in newspaper companies are scarcely aware of the existence of newsagencies. Their focus is on their customers (ie the advertisers). Newsagents to them are nothing more than a line in a circulation report.
It is up to us, as newsagents, as a critical industry sector, to reach out to these people and make them more aware of what we do and how we really contribute to circulation. With dialogue we might even find ways we can effectively work together.
It might also help if the industry associations spend a bit more time building a bridge to the sales & marketing departments, rather than just focussing on the circulation managers.
Ricky, you can’t be serious that any staff at a newspaper publisher would not be fully aware of the newsagents and I hate to say it, supermarkets that distribute their product.
That said, I recently tried to point out to the The Age my concerns re Office Work ads on the front of their paper.and was told that while they recognised my concerns they could not change this advertising. My response will we to treat publications that conflict with my business in an appropriate manner.
Brendan: My specific reference is in regard to advetising sales staff & marketing staff. My point is that we are too focussed on fraternising with the cirulation staff and not promoting what we do to the rest of the publishers’ organisations.