As competition for fragmented media dollars increases, it’s becoming more important for the media to create opportunities in which advertising can stand out and be fresh. Newspapers have seen some declines in readership over the past years and publishers are looking for ways to attract advertisers. One tactic they’ve been using is to open up their formerly stringent policies on ad placement, allowing planners and agencies to stretch their imaginations and customize placement to match a creative strategy. This gives advertisers the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and be innovative.
Recently we have been treated to a couple of agency presentations demonstrating just how far newspapers will go in terms of non-traditional ad placement. One from the Canadian Newspaper Association boasted that “Newspapers Rock!” Aside from the usual stats and case studies, there was an excellent section on originality. According to an international survey, “Fresh and original creative makes a notable contribution to your marketing activity, to sales, and eventually, to the bottom line.” An obvious conclusion, but helpful to see it confirmed. The presentation went on to display a number of interesting uses of newspapers, from gutter-only placement to U-shaped ads.
All of these are somewhat unique, but the most interesting was the scented page run by La Presse earlier this year, which featured a new-car smell to promote Nissan. This is an instance where one might question whether or not it is going too far: Do readers want their senses assaulted in such a manner? According to La Presse, they don’t mind. The day the ad ran the paper received fewer complaints than if there had been a mistake in the crossword puzzle.
The second presentation was courtesy of the National Post. In its quest to attract advertisers, it has broken down one of the major barriers to creative placement-running advertisements above editorial. This has long been taboo, editorial content being sacred and ad space the vehicle only to pay for it. Putting ads over the editorial is, seemingly, akin to covering the baby with a blanket.
I’ve been told that the The Globe and Mail, will never put ads over editorial because it would interfere with content and irritate the reader. Similarly, the Toronto Star will not put ads over editorial because it doesn’t want to undermine the true point of the paper. Nonetheless, the National Post and the other CanWest papers have done it, and the world did not come crashing down around them. In fact, they proudly displayed it in their presentation and named it an “attic” or “drop-down” ad.
Despite the Globe‘s stance on that issue, the paper has been very progressive in terms of encouraging creativity, having held a creativity challenge in late 2005. The call went out to agencies to come up with new and innovative ways to make their advertising stand out in the paper. It was a very successful contest, with many entries from across the country. The winner, McDonald’s, produced an ad in which false newspaper editorial took on the look of french fries.
Over at Torstar, inroads have also been made in the area of creativity. The Star‘s creative portfolio includes bookmarks, peel-and-reveal stick-ons, transparencies and post-its. Better yet, Metro has challenged our perceptions of how you produce and market a newspaper. Their green execution for Dove was a sensation (although it may not have been too palatable for the other advertisers in the issue), and the onion paper over-wrap for Rogers was about as attention-getting as you can get.
Ultimately, it will be up to the readers to decide how far they will let their newspaper go. If there are enough complaints, the publisher will put an end to the offending practice. What is most important is that the execution engages the reader and brings the ad message to a new level of understanding.
ERIC KUIPER is vice-president, group account director at The Media Company in Toronto.
