Newspaper Dollars Still Tops In Local Media

Local small and medium-sized businesses are “optimistic” about local media growth in the near term. Still, many are cautious.

When it comes to where local media dollars are spent, the survey says newspapers are still tops -- commanding a 22% share of local ad dollars, followed by digital at 19%; other local print publications with 12%; direct mail at 9%; radio with 8%; and outdoor (out of home) at 3%.

Local broadcast stations and local cable systems each command a 3% share of local and medium-sized business media budgets.

A new survey from Borrell Associates says 47% expect to spend “about the same” in advertising/marketing in 2013 versus 2012; with 27% looking to spend more and 19% spending less.

Still, Borrell research on actual media spending has estimated there will be a 10.7% rise in advertising/media spending for these small- and medium-sized businesses to an average of $88,300 a year.

Overall, 64% of respondents say they are “very” or “somewhat” optimistic about near-term improvement of the local economy.  

Nearly 45% of respondents said their digital spending is increasing, while about 35% said it remains the same. While mobile media spending will be important, only 20% of local and small businesses are currently active with mobile advertising.

Almost 40% of respondents say their media budgets are placed on three to five local media outlets

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2 comments about "Newspaper Dollars Still Tops In Local Media".
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  1. Kent Ford from Missouri Press Association, December 9, 2013 at 11:16 a.m.

    This is the reason virtually all studies and polling about newspapers is frustrating and deceiving. Newspapers serve two major, separate constituencies -- readers and advertisers. All we ever hear about is how newspapers are losing their consumers -- readers -- to the internet and social media. Good community newspapers are not losing either one of their major groups of consumers. Newspaper advertising works. That can be proven. Newspapers that are failing are spending too much time and resources transitioning to a digital business model, which is hurting their relationships with the local businesses that depend upon newspaper advertising. They're plucking the golden goose, one handful of feathers at a time, in a race to adopt "new journalism." While newspapers do journalism, they do not embody it. A newspaper is a newspaper -- an informative, entertaining, advertising medium. Newspapers that want to be digital journalism pioneers and don't want to be newspapers any more should not moan about their loss of newspaper advertising dollars.

  2. Rob Frydlewicz from DentsuAegis, December 10, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.

    The total of the shares of the various local media listed equals 73% - I wonder how much of the remaining 27% is accounted for by local TV, which was not mentioned.

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