You read that right: 30%, not 3%. If you’re a pessimist as far as the newspaper or publication industry goes, you probably laugh at that number. But consider the source and the history that went into that prediction. You can get the full story from Gordon Borrell and Poynter here. Borrell is a publishing veteran who has been critical of newspapers and their handling of the ever-emergent digital situation.
However, in a recent report released (prematurely) in October, the company is saying to 
expect bullish returns this year. With the end of the first quarter of 2013 quickly approaching, we will soon know whether Borrell’s crystal ball is seeing clearly or if it was a bit cloudy during the compilation of that report.
One key to the report is the idea that ad revenues, in both print and digital, will increase more in small and mid-size papers while large dailies and metro papers will see little, if any growth, and more likely, declines in revenue. This idea is based on the 2012 growth at the small and mid-size papers in their digital revenue, which through October was approaching 15%.
The idea of advertisers, and in turn ad dollars, heading hyperlocal is something we’ve been tracking and a trend we expect to continue. Whether the dollars are heading to print, digital or mobile media, they’re heading local. Take for instance the new relationship between the New York Daily News and MyCityWay, which just released the City Guide App. This new app, which was originally built to help users navigate mass transit and tie local weather and events together, will now provide local news to users from the New York Daily News, MyCityGuide’s first publishing partner.
"We've been in this hyperlocal domain addressing the daily needs of people for about three years now, and the more we’ve worked with media companies, the more we’ve realized that we want to be focused on becoming an active part of the readers’ daily habits, and that goes beyond typical news," said MyCityWay CEO Puneet Mehta.
Did you catch that? Mehta mentioned ‘hyperlocal,’ which in our opinion is the best way to target and reach specific demographics where they live and work. The great part is that new and more efficient ways of making that happen are emerging every day. Gone are the days where advertisers and agencies have to buy blind ad networks and run the risk of their ad
being placed next to something that completely contradicts their company’s vision and values, or potentially worse, misses their target demographic, therefore wasting their precious ad budgets.
Instead, advertisers can target by any number of measures in both print and digital platforms, and the smart ones know how to combine media to ensure they create an integrated and effective campaign. This reinforces messaging and ties ads together with similar messaging, layout and calls to action, driving people to bricks and mortar stores, websites or telephones. That’s the real goal isn’t it? Even brand advertising would love to drive purchases, whether that happens in an immediate fashion or down the road, the next time Soccer Mom Sally is walking down the cereal aisle at her local grocery store.
What it comes down to is that local advertising is expected to grow, and shortly we’ll figure out if Borrell’s predictions were correct. In the meantime, what we know is new developments are being released to allow advertisers and content publishers the ability to hit people based not just on where they live, but where they are right now.
If you want to learn more about integrating print and digital campaigns, check out our eBook titled ‘The CMO’s Guide to Integrating Print and Digital Advertising.’ And when you’re ready, give us a call and we can determine the best methods for maximizing your advertising budgets.
Scott Olson is the director of marketing at Mediaspace Solutions. His career has spanned marketing positions in the non-profit, software and utility sectors providing various marketing experiences. You can connect with Scott on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.
