• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 24, 2008

Print Newspaper Ads Drive Online Traffic And Purchases

According to the Newspaper Association of America, new consumer research conducted by Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo and commissioned by Google, among people who research products and services after seeing them advertised in newspapers, 67 percent use the Internet to find more information, and nearly 70 percent of them actually make a purchase following their additional research.

John F. Sturm, NAA president and CEO, said "...newspaper advertising is incredibly effective in motivating consumers to make a purchase.  This new study... demonstrates that print ads also drive people to conduct additional product research online."

Among internet-using newspaper readers

• 56% researched or purchased at least one product they saw advertised in the newspaper in the previous month
• 44% researched at least one product. 48% of them visited a store; 23% called a store; 23% asked a friend.
• 42% of respondents purchased at least one product

47% of those who responded to a newspaper ad by going online went directly to a URL they saw in the advertisement:

• 31% chose to use a search engine
• 72% of those who responded to a newspaper ad by searching Google are likely to make a purchase
• 71% visiting a store are likely to make a purchase

Spencer Spinnell, head of Google's Print Ads program, said "The results of the study confirm... (that) consumers' exposure to advertising messages across mediums influences their subsequent research and purchasing behavior... Newspaper advertisements drive readers to the Web, where they search, find and obtain products... "

In addition, the use of newspapers and the Internet reinforces consumer confidence:

• 48 percent of respondents said that seeing a product in the newspaper after seeing it online would make them trust the product more and be more likely to purchase
• 52 percent of that group said they would be more likely to purchase the product

  Overall, nearly 30 percent of Internet-using newspaper readers went online to research at least one product that they saw in the newspaper (on average, they researched nine). The majority of respondents, however, noted that newspapers are more useful than the internet for:

• Learning about promotions - 68% rated it very useful (42% said so for the internet)
• Deciding where to buy (54% vs. 45%) and when to buy (43% vs. 30%)

For more information, please visit the NAA here, or MarketingCharts here.