The Writing Life

A recent report by Scarborough Research gave newspapers, which certainly have been taking their lumps lately - some positive news.

The independent research company - which measures the shopping patterns and media behaviors of American Consumers - released some interesting information.

It revealed:

• 75% of adults read a print newspaper or visited a newspaper web site in the past week.
• 65% of adults read a print newspaper in the past five weekdays.
• 53% of adults read a print newspaper on an average Sunday.
• 50% of adults read a newspaper or visit a newspaper web site on an average weekday.

It is my opinion that this information reveals newspapers, or the combination of newspaper and newspaper web site (an important part of any advertising plan) advertising reaches an enormous audience.

Additional digging into the report reveals that the demographics of newspaper readers are highly coveted.

• They are educated (83% of college graduates read a newspaper in the last week).
• They are successful (81% of professionals and management read a newspaper in the last week).
• They have income (79% of the income range $50,000 - $99,999 and 83% of people making over $100,000 read a newspaper in the last week).

It also revealed that the greater the value of the home, the larger the percentage of newspaper readership.

When considering a marketing plan, these figures must be considered. And it is important to keep in mind that they are the combination of newspaper print editions and newspaper web sites. However, it seems clear that a good combination of print and web advertising associated with a newspaper provides a business with substantial reach among desired consumers.