A top executive at the world’s largest advertising company says believes a “new golden age” of newspapers could be set to emerge.
Steve Goodman, left, GroupM UK managing director of print trading, has made the prediction after claiming advertisers are shunning “murky, fraudulent” online sites, fake news and “poor quality content”.
In a piece for City AM, Mr Goodman said print advertising was a “safe harbour” for advertisers at a time when so many brands have found themselves in “very uncomfortable” online environments.
By contrast, he said newspapers provide a “safe, trusted, quality media space”.
Mr Goodman wrote: “It has never been a more challenging or exciting time for the advertising industry. Daily discussion surrounds technology’s influence on consumer behaviour, brand safety, ad fraud, content quality and viewability. We continuously hear about Google and Facebook and the strength of targeted online advertising.
“So much for digital issues, but what of the newspaper? We are in the age of murky, fraudulent online sites and even murkier fake news and poor quality content, and my instinct is that, against that backdrop, newspapers are about to experience a renaissance and perhaps even enter a new golden age. Ensuring a clean and safe online advertising campaign can be a headache for brands.
“At GroupM, the leading global media investment management company, we are leading the way in best practice around programmatic media buying. In reality though, marketers take a multi-channel approach during a campaign and print advertising’s share of budget is rapidly diminishing.
“I see this as a huge negative, because print advertising is a safe harbour for advertisers at a time when so many brands have found themselves in very uncomfortable online environments.”
He added: “I’ve got a number of reasons, as to why print publishers should be given a greater share of advertising revenue, and the first is the gold standard audience measurement that newspapers can offer as well as a stamp of trust. The Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd delivers industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement across print, digital and events.
“Newspapers also offer quality content, trusted environments and brand safety – in safe editorial environment, created by real journalists and curated by qualified editors. They guarantee high levels of engagement, and Newsworks cites that 60pc of newspaper readers do not consume any other media at the same time as reading newspapers. There are no distractions with newspapers.”
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‘Poor quality content’? What is he using as the yardstick here? The quality of properly staffed newsrooms, or the current model loved by the big newspaper groups?
I’ve said it before, you play football or rugby with a squad, including reserves.
Take any team and slash it to the bone, as the big boys upstairs have done everywhere, and you’re no longer going to be producing the same quality, no matter how much the ‘yes men and women’ editors tell us otherwise.
Here’s an interesting view from America – http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/newspapers-digital-first-214363
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How old is this guys thinking if he really believes in the days of teams cut to the bone, generic shared content over hyper local and relevant individual journalistic pieces and readers own copy and images over experiences seasoned journalists when he says ‘…Newspapers also offer quality content, trusted environments and brand safety – in safe editorial environment, created by real journalists and curated by qualified editors’
Advertisers haven’t all flockrd to online sites, many have chosen smaller independent print publishers or just pulled back on ad spends,making the savings with little adverse effect, maybe that’s what’s led him to hope for this sudden renaissance
Or maybe it’s jist his vested interest in client spends that’s made him come out this out of date stuff?
Local newspapers have had their day,the publishers made the choice of cheap n cheerful over quality so lost their audience of readers and advertisers to other more relevant mediums including hyper local independent community publishers, there is no golden age just around the corner as anyone working in or actively involved with local publishing will tell you.
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He is spot on about websites, but has avoided one newspaper industry fact. When you lose readers you do not get them back. Some regionals have lost more than 90 per cent (yes more than 90 per cent) of peak sales and weeklies about 70 per cent. Comparatively, hardly anyone reads paid-for local papers now making advertising reach very feeble. So not sure about the boom, though I’d love it to happen.
Free hyperlocals might be the future.
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While I would like to think that newspapers could make a comeback – and therefore attract advertising – I feel that is wishful thinking. Advertisers will only put money into newspapers if papers are selling – and they will only sell if they have interesting stories, whether news/sport etc, to read. And you can only do that if you have enough staff to be able to take a bit of time to do a story properly. The fact is, though, that I cannot turn the clock back to 50 years ago when I started scribbling as people have become so used to looking at social media websites. Sad but a fact.
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Dear Mr Goodman,
We needed your voice years ago. In newsrooms around the country we learned quality will always sell. For those still working in an industry I gave 30yrs of sweat, blood and tears, I wish you the very best of luck. You’re going to need it.
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“ There are no distractions with newspapers.”
There’s also no audience!
Dearly me talk about wishful thinking or being out of touch here
Tell me, if I can get all the news, views, comment, as it happens reportage, video footage and immediate ongoing real time updates and all fur free at my fingertips through the day ,why would I wait hours to pay to read about it in a regional daily paper?
The days of clamouring for news and the late edition of a paper to read about the days events are long gone and won’t be returning so face facts.
The best the ailing publishing groups can hope to do is forget competing for a news audience and diversify by giving something unique that the online news sites cannot offer but for the life of me in a modern news environment and with many successful independent local publishers taking the local teases and advertising markets , I cannot for the life of me think what that might be.
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Has anyone else noticed that their local paper is filling space with articles that are not……………local. Please note and learn Mr Messiah.
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Look, I know there is a lot of wishful thinking here and the reality of day to day life in newsrooms seems a million miles away from what he imagines but, for once, can we not just enjoy somebody at last (and however belatedly) showing a bit of faith and love in the printed world that many of us have cherished for most of our careers?
The ‘new golden age’ may never materialise but if only for a few minutes let’s salute the fact that we are reading on this often doom-laden page that someone – from an advertising background no less – truly values print journalism and the people who make it possible and is encouraging others to do the same?.
Viva that man!
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I’ll have what he’s having.
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Giving false hope to a very few gullible people in the industry that a bright new dawn is just around the corner isn’t something to be applauded Sam Holliday, this is an adman who’s seen client revenues decline talking up a situation that those of us directly involved with the day to day workings of regional publishing know is poppycock,with no tangible signs of a reversal of fortunes. A wave of the wand will not make the public buy local newspapers anymore particularly now when the content is as poor as it’s ever been yet cover prices foolishly continue to rise, crossing copy sales numbers on the graph which continue to fall. Business people want to reach an audience and will pay to advertise on platforms which delivers both the quality and quantity they are after, and as has been said that’s no longer in a local daily or weekly paper.
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Papers are not properly marketed now like they used to be where local people were handing out reduced price papers in supermarkets or on the street corners where people would buy one to read on the train or at a more suitable time.
With Agencies getting paid upwards of 25%+ commission for digital products compared to 10-15% for print
Its the fat cat agencies that are destroying the industry
Fake news is becoming a major problem and nobody wants to address it as even a lot of the newspaper sites are staring to operate click bate stories just to get people onto their website…
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