How effective are newspaper ads? In a study by Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Malaysia released on Jan 15, The Edge recorded 91% ad noting, or ad recall — the highest among 15 newspapers surveyed.

The 91% ad noting refers to the percentage of total number of ad exposures that readers of The Edge could recall from reading the newspaper the day before. In the two-week period during which the survey was conducted in August last year, 43 readers of The Edge recalled 91% out of 105 ad exposures.

Ad exposures were calculated based on the number of ads selected in a newspaper by OMG Malaysia, multiplied by the number of readers surveyed.

Launched in 2000, the OMG “Optimum Impression” study is a research-based measurement of newspaper ad effectiveness. It was last conducted in 2003. Omnicom Media Group is the media services division of NYSE-listed Omnicom Group Inc, a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company.

In a press release on the study, OMG said unlike television where there has been significant investment in increasingly sophisticated measures of advertising effectiveness, there are very few measures on the effectiveness of newspaper ads. “For newspapers, the industry relies on circulation numbers and readership figures to select the best titles and sections of newspapers based on claimed popularity. Other decisions on placement are very much based on instinct and experience,” said Andreas Vogiatzakis, managing director of OMG Malaysia, in the release.

Vogiatzakis (pic) added that OMG pioneered research-based measurement of newspaper ad effectiveness with Optimum Impression and had received favourable feedback from clients.

OMG Malaysia research manager Yong Shel Vei attributed The Edge’s high ad noting to its being perceived as a weekly magazine. “If you notice, the quality of creativity in The Edge ads is far more attractive as they are similar to magazine ads... and most of them are full-page colour ads,” she said during a press conference at Sime Darby Convention Centre on Jan 15 following a talk titled “The golden rules, the myths and other facts behind effective newspaper advertising” to an audience of some 120 clients, media owners and advertising practitioners. The talk was based on the survey results.

In response to a question about which newspaper surveyed had the highest ad noting, Vogiatzakis said the “qualitative aspects” of the different newspapers surveyed had to be treated “very differently”. For instance, one could not compare The Edge with Starbiz, he said.
According to Yong, the survey also showed that ad recall is highest on Saturdays. The previous survey in 2003 showed that Tuesdays and Wednesdays had the highest ad noting because “ad clutter” was lowest on these days. Yong also said the findings showed inserts were more effective than stick-ons.

For the study, OMG tested 2,453 different ads in 15 newspapers and the effectiveness of 14,522 ad exposures. The newspapers surveyed consisted of five English newspapers (The Star, theSun, New Straits Times, The Malay Mail, The Edge), six Chinese dailies (Sin Chew Daily, China Press, Kwong Wah, Guang Ming, Nanyang Siang Pau, Oriental Daily) and four Malay dailies (Utusan Malaysia, Kosmo, Harian Metro and Berita Harian).

For two weeks, 1,023 newspaper readers aged 15 to 54 in Kuala Lumpur/Petaling Jaya, Penang, Ipoh and Johor Bahru were tested on their recall of 15 ads in different positions and formats that appeared in the newspaper they had read the day before.

Guy Hearn, OMG director of communications insights, Asia-Pacific, said the study showed that newspaper advertising in Malaysia, where it commands the largest chunk of advertising expenditure, is still effective.

“Newspaper readers take note of 57% of newspaper ads, a figure which has remained unchanged since 2003, despite the increase in the amount of marketing messages consumers are exposed to, across an every increasing number of media channels. Of course, there are some variations across different demographic segments and newspaper titles, but the fact that the majority of ads are noticed by readers points to the continued relevance and importance of newspapers to advertisers,” said Hearn.

The study also showed that the bigger the ad, the better. Bigger ads were not only more likely to get readers’ attention but also enhanced brand recall and increased the chances of them reading the ads and absorbing the message. According to OMG, a full page ad yields 21% higher ad noting than a quarter page.

Colour ads are also more effective — 59% of colour ads are noticed compared with 53% of black-and-white ads.


This article appeared in Corporate page, The Edge Malaysia, Issue 789, Jan 18-24, 2010