• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 3, 2001

According to research conducted by Roper Starch for the Newspaper Association of America, newspaper advertising gets thorough readership from individuals who are in the market to buy. Newspapers are one of the first sources that people go to when they are considering a purchase and want to seek out advertising to comparison shop and, as a result, will respond to advertising that makes the most of the medium.

Some of the findings include:

- Full-page newspaper ads are noticed by readers 39% more often than quarter-page ads - Readers notice color ads more frequently - Photos boosted notice of an ad by 20% - Ads displaying product in use were noted 25% more often - Ads on the left-hand page earn the same scores as those on the right - newspaper readers are practical and ads with prices were noted more than 80% more frequently.

A by-product of the study is a presentation on Eight Principles of Effective Newspaper Advertising, available from Starch advertising analysts, which gives advertisers suggestions about what works in newspaper advertising, what does not, and why.