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Ad spending in regional press predicted to fall 3pc this year

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Spending on regional press advertising is expected to fall by 3pc this year, according to a new report on ad spending across the UK.

Data released by the Advertising Association/Warc shows that advertising spending on regional newsbrands declined by 2.3pc in the first quarter of this year to £295m.

This was driven by a 5.2pc decline in print revenues but this was partially offset by a 17.6pc increase in digital revenues.

Earlier this month, Johnston Press chief executive Ashley Highfield said the publisher expected revenues to be down 5pc for the first half of this year, citing ‘uncertainty’ around the General Election.

According to the new report, advertising spending on regional newsbrands was £1.25bn last year, of which £174m was on digital.

The 2014 figures on total regional ad spend were a 3.6pc total decline compared to 2013, although digital spending rose 24.7pc year-on-year.

A total fall of 3pc is expected this year and the company is also predicting a 2.2pc decline on this in 2016.

But further digital growth among regional newspapers has also been forecast in the report, which predicts a rise of 16.8pc this year and a 15.4pc increase in 2016.

The report also showed that spending on national newspapers fell 6.8pc in the first quarter of this year but total UK advertising expenditure in all sectors grew 8.2pc over the period.

5 comments

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  • July 30, 2015 at 11:23 am
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    What amazes me with the decline of the regional press is that advertisers seem oblivious to the fact that print advertising only reaches a fraction of the audience it did several years ago. Once they do become aware that advertising costs have not dropped to account for that fact we should see a much speedier decline.

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  • July 30, 2015 at 12:31 pm
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    Analyst. I suspect several bales of wool are being pulled over the eyes of advertisers. One trick is to mix up newspaper readership (that mythical figure) with internet hits (wow!) and claim you reach XXXXX people. Wow Again!
    I am amazed ads have not dropped more, looking at the mistake-ridden hastily-assembled weekly in front of me!

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  • July 30, 2015 at 4:28 pm
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    A non-journo friend trying to advertise specifically asked the sales of her local paper. Answer came there none. Why so shy?

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  • July 30, 2015 at 8:05 pm
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    It’s verboten to talk sales figures, the sales reps here have to package up readership not copies and tie it in With digital, that’s why so many regionals are opting out of ABC and producing annual figures which include all platforms because the print figures are so bad.
    once it gets out just how few copies are being sold even more advertises would walk. Editors and ad managers are happy to cling onto the past and hope businesses are stupid enough to think they’re still getting seen by the sort of numbers they were 5-8 years ago. And as was mentioned the ad rates have not dropped to reflect the vast difference in people seeing the ads and buying the papers.
    They’ve so little confidence In the effectiveness of their local papers that they’re afraid to talk numbers,result: more quality localised magazines are opening up and thriving as they target a specific area or demographic often staffed by the more experienced and respected ex newspaper people plus the big boys are having to rope businesses into the old time share style sale where groups are invited to a hotel, sold an annual package deal just to grab the money then all care and customer service goes out if the window,seen it happen in the east and know it happens elsewhere,
    good short term revenue for the regionals, not sustainable and ads that don’t work lumped in with other bad ads en masse in papers no knees seeing hence poor response, it’s the grab it quick by any means approach that’s killing the golden goose and once down this slippery slope there’s no turning back

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  • August 2, 2015 at 6:49 pm
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    It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise really with regional press copy sales in decline, the audiences dramatically down for advertisers to reach and majority of good commercially minded sales people flown the nest those that remain in my part of the world( Norfolk) appear to just be copy collectors with little sales ability to be able to talk anything other than discount, deals and the classic ‘ late space offers’
    Advertisers need to know their ad spends will work hard and bring dividends, say with so few people buying the papers or responding to full web ads the reps are fighting a losing battle and without the business acumen to be able to offer what benefits remain as opposed to bluffing the advertisers with packaged up figures and cheapo cheapo ad rates

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