By: David Hoover
Online Ad Sales Manager

When I used to vacation in my mother's homeland on the isle of Capri in Italy, the first thing I would do every morning was walk to the piazza and wait for the newsstand to open to get my fresh copy of the European English newspaper. I lived for this morning event every day although the news was a day late. One year I was there, I had no idea Jackie Onassis had died until the following day. Another time it was the crash of the Concorde that I missed out on. While I was disappointed about the delay of the news, I used to read almost every article I could to keep up with what was going on back home. Well, my tradition has been recently changed over the past several years.

With the advent of technology, shazam! We are instantly connected by our computers, cell phones, and satellite televisions no matter where we go. That connectivity also applies to a very quaint and romantic island in the Bay of Naples in Capri, Italy. If any of you have ever been there, why would you even want to stay connected to your technological lifestyle? Believe it or not, there is no escaping it even when you are on vacation on a gorgeous island like Capri.

With this seemingly innocent example, the reverse happens to my family from Italy when they visit here. They now have the ability to get Il Corriere della Sera or Il Matino direct in their homes when they visit here in Miami for 6 months out of the year.

Now imagine all of the first generation Hispanics that have moved here from their beloved countries south of our borders. These immigrants represent approximately 30% of our US Hispanic population and I can assure you that they log on at least once or twice a week to find out about the home country that they left behind. The online newspaper is the essential link for them to stay connected to Colombia, Brazil, Mexico or any of the many Latin American and Caribbean countries.

When they read the news directly from online newspapers such as La Prensa from Panama or La República from Costa Rica, they are receiving unbiased news and information directly from their country. Readers review their local news, covering subjects from politics to the latest gossip from their countries' entertainment. They have lived in the USA for many years, yet it's difficult for them to give up on that critical link of knowing the news from the countries they left behind. And now the technological enhancements of the Internet makes reading their home country online newspapers easier than ever!

A few years ago, I stumbled upon an article by Mort Goldstrom about the reasons why to advertise in online newspapers. I think this very much applies to Latin America and reinforces why it is so important for advertisers to include this in their online marketing mix. I hope sharing this with you increases your knowledge and helps you understand more in depth how the online newspaper opportunities can really work for your clients.

1. Frequency- The online newspaper Web site user spends more than twice as many hours online than the general user. Online newspaper users are three times as likely as general Internet users to be online during the workday when out of reach of other media: 8-11 a.m. is the new "primetime" for media consumption. (Source: "Power Users," 2006, MORI Research)



2. Credibility. Branded content brings a higher quality audience. A study from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) showed that OPA audiences were more likely to buy products and services in a number of key categories, including automotive, entertainment, financial, home, travel and business to business.



3. Targeted. If you want to focus on a particular backyard, advertising in an online newspaper is more personal and more relevant because it is local. Newspapers also publish a plethora of niche sites (youth, women, movie fans, Hispanics, are illustrative) for virtually any demographic that advertisers could possibly hope to reach. "Newspapers know more than ever about their web audience because of online registration programs and audience segmentation software."]



4. Purchasing Power. Eighty-nine percent of newspaper Web site users purchase online compared with 56 percent of general users. Forty percent of online newspaper users have incomes higher than $75,000; 69 percent own their homes. Eighteen percent of online newspaper users have spent more than $2,000 online in the last six months.



5. Content. Excluding e-mail, the most popular online activities and content categories include national and local news, sports, financial information and entertainment news and things to do. [Shopping, cited in the original, is lower on the list.] Fifty-four percent of general Internet users visit online newspapers for local news, compared with 40 percent for the local TV station Web site and 20 percent for the local radio station site. ["Power Users," 2006, MORI Research]



6. Advertisers Believe in Newspaper Sites. Online newspapers have enjoyed eleven consecutive quarters of double digit increases for advertising since NAA started reporting online ad spending in 2004.



7. High Profile. Online newspapers generate very large gains in online ad awareness among C-level and other higher management job holders. For instance, C-level managers showed a 23 percent increase in aided brand awareness, while VP/director-level managers showed a 38 percent increase and other management showed a 37 percent increase following their exposure to an ad campaign in online newspapers—across all industries. When the brand metric shifts to message association, C-level execs showed the largest increase in lift after exposure to campaigns on online newspapers, at 88 percent. No management category showed less than a 51 percent increase. (Dynamic Logic's MarketNorms database, 2006)



8. Reinforcement. Fifty-six percent of online newspaper users also read the newspaper in the past five days, and repetition increases awareness.



9. Cutting Edge. Newspaper Web site users are more likely—by almost twenty percent—to own some kind of portable electronic device. They are also more interested in receiving advertising and product offers through those devices. Forty percent of online newspaper users are aged 18 to 34. [Source: "Power Users," 2006, MORI Research]



10. Mix. A variety of recent studies have demonstrated the power of online, when included in a mix with traditional media, to elaborate the brand message. Newspaper, print, and online products combined have the highest penetration and most desirable audience of any other local medium.

For effective ways to implement a campaign targeting US Hispanics using online newspapers, please contact your US Media Consulting Representative by calling
305-772-5500.

Source: Ten Reasons to Advertise on a Newspaper Website-By Mort Goldstrom