Re: Newspaper Refuses to run URL in local ads

From: Christine Ayman <christine_at_elliance.com>
Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 09:18:59 -0500 (CDT)

WAYNE KESSLER WROTE:
>The local newspaper, the biggest circulation in a million
>person market place, will not include URLs in local print
>advertising. ...the newspaper itself currently does not
>have a web site and will accept URLs when they go online.
>Question: Does anyone know of other major newspapers that
>do not include local URLs?

I would refuse to purchase advertising in a paper that is so
outdated. They don't have a website, so everyone else has
to be punished? I hope all of their advertisers pull out.

Yes, Internet advertising is cutting into the newspaper
advertising market, just as radio and television did way
back when. It didn't make the newspapers disappear then,
and it won't now. They are only hurting themselves with
this ridiculous policy. Are they going to stop running ads
for television shows now? What about Broadway plays?

Traditional media is in a frenzied defensive mode, instead
of taking advantage of this new market. How many
Internet-exclusive companies exist? There's a whole new
realm of potential PRINT, RADIO AND TELEVISION advertising
revenue from Internet based companies.

However, on the paper's side, advertisers who suddenly think
they can cut the size of their print ads because of the
existence of their URL is also misguided. A bigger ad will
still get more attention. That hasn't changed. Your URL is
just a piece of a bigger picture, and the bigger that
picture, the better.

Television apparently attempted to pull the same stunt a few
years ago. I can only assume that it was some TV exec that
came up with the *brilliant* idea for advertisers to put
their URLs in their commercials as tiny and fast as
possible, preferably in white lettering, so that NO ONE sees
it. What I don't understand, is how the decision makers
within the companies and their advertising agencies actually
went for it. Yeah, that's marketing genius: make it small,
a light color, and put it on as fast as you can. That will
bring them to your website in droves. Why bother?

The Internet will not cause the demise of traditional media,
just as the next new thing that comes along will not destroy
the Internet. A new medium only forces the old ones to be
more creative. They should stop whining and get on the
ball.

Christine Ayman
Director of Web Marketing
ELLIANCE <the agency (e)partner>
christine_at_elliance.com
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Received on Wed May 26 1999 - 10:36:29 CDT