Media Sales Today

The peak time for toy sales remains the holiday season but consumers purchase these products at other times during the year. Not surprisingly, digital marketing is becoming increasingly important for parents as they research what their children ask for. And, new data indicates that marketers could boost results by shifting their ad strategies.

Traditionally, consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers have used coupons to get shoppers to try new products or services. During the recession, coupon distributions rose significantly but analysts reported that these numbers dropped in 2011. And, in 2012, marketers may be making some changes to their coupon strategies.

Newspaper publishers plan to promote their value of their media platform to consumers. The industry is looking to connect with readers through a multi-level ad campaign. Using the tagline “Smart is the new sexy”, industry operators also hope to solidify their brand identity and show marketers they can deliver a dependable audience.

Despite the largely negative outlooks most analysts have for traditional media formats like newspapers and magazines, at least one group in the industry has a slightly more optimistic projection for 2012. The owners of small daily and weekly publications believe ad revenues will be flat in 2012. The newspaper owners participating in the Fall 2011 Cribbe, Greene Publishers Confidence Survey also expressed a positive outlook for their industry in general.

In the world of newspaper circulars, several interested parties must work together to make the format a success: The retailers offering deals, the newspaper publisher that prints and distributes circulars to its readers, and the shoppers who redeem coupons. This system has been working well for decades but that may be about to change. The revenue that newspapers receive from their Sunday inserts could be about to take a big hit.

Much has been made of the daily deal phenomenon as consumers search for ways to save money on everything from massages to laser hair removal. And while digital coupons are growing quickly, most U.S. consumers are still turning to traditional sources for their coupons. Since the recession started, these numbers have skyrocketed.

Over 400 local online advertising industry professionals have gathered in Boston this week at Interactive Local Marketing East to learn how quickly the market is changing. BIA Kelsey executives opened the conference by announcing that local interactive advertising which totaled $21.7 billion last year, will climb to $42.5 billion by 2015. At that point, the digital component will comprise 23.6% of local ad spending.