There are some inklings in the newspaper business that Q1 2012 ad revenue for some newspapers may increase over Q1 2011. I get this information from the Reflections of a Newsosaur blog where he also published this chart.
This chart certainly prints a horrible picture since 2006 and even the rumor of a good Q1 for 2012 isn’t going to solve the problem ( granted, $4.7 billion in ad revenue is still a very big number).
The author further writes about how other mediums are doing:
In the first quarter of 2011 – that’s right, a full year ago – Internet ad sales soared 14.6%, television ad sales advanced 5.3%, magazine ad sales rose 4.5% and radio ad sales gained 1.3%, according to Kantar Media. In the same period, newspaper sales fell 7.2%, according to the Newspaper Association of America.
While most brand managers are aware of this trend, because you actually caused it, I’m not so confident that your helping your independent retailers adjust to the these changes. Everyone realizes that consumers have moved away from the printed newspaper however, most retailers aren’t equipped to change their media production and buying habits to adjust, they need help.
You should take a look at the tools you provide your local retailers to advertise your brand locally. If they’re in the same ratio for media as they were five years ago, then maybe you’re not doing all you can to help them reach local consumers.
Your marketing portal should be loaded with digital tools to help your retailers buy Google search campaigns, build microsites, e-promo pages, landing pages, banner ads, mobile, Facebook tabs and ads. The list goes on and on.
This need would be even more dramatic if we measured effort instead of ad revenue. When we measure just ad revenue we ignore the fact that so much of local digital advertising is free of media costs, so there’s no ad revenue to track year over year. That’s a subject for a later.