Newspaper Ads Spur Web Activity, Say NAA, Google

Newspaper AdNewspaper advertising drives consumers to the Web to find out more information about products, according to a report from the Newspaper Association of America.

The report, based on research commissioned by Google, found that 30% of Internet-using newspaper readers went online to research a product they saw in a newspaper. Within that cohort, 70% (21% of the total) then made a purchase.

Google commissioned the study as part of its ongoing development of the Print Ads platform. In recent years, Google has experimented with a number of different ways to link print ads to Web activity--including unique URLs and bar codes in ads that consumers can scan with a cell phone camera. But the new study addresses the wider connection between newspaper ads and online activity.

Spencer Spinnell, head of Google's Print Ads program, summed up the results: "Newspaper advertisements drive readers to the Web, where they search, find and obtain products. New advertising mediums have not evolved in a vacuum. Rather, they exist in a highly connected ecosystem and impact consumers' daily experiences."

He forecasts more "holistic and integrated advertising campaigns" that take advantage of each medium's strength, including branding and direct response for newsprint.

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