Print Ads Boost Retail Sales, Outperform Other Media

Multichannel

October 2009 -- A study performed by BrandScience for the UK’s Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA) has found that the return on investment for newspaper and magazine advertising is higher than that for TV and outdoor advertising.
 

For every £1 spent on newspaper and magazine advertising, “bricks and mortar” retailers get a sales increase of £6.23. For every £1 retailers spend on TV and outdoor poster advertising, revenues increase by £3.57.  For these retailers, online advertising generated £2.23 in sales for every £1 spent. If production costs are taken into account, outdoor advertising outperform TV and close the gap with print.

The OAA study finds that using a multi-platform approach is the most effective way to boost sales.  When print campaigns are combined with outdoor ads, the ROI improves by 34%, and TV is 40% more effective if combined with outdoor. Direct marketing campaigns are enhanced by 61% when backed by outdoor ads. 

 

For the study BrandScience, a modeling firm focused on establishing ROI across marketing channels, analyzed 400 brand econometric case studies. It compared the ROI garnered by campaigns through different media. Data on ad spend and corresponding sales was supplied by brand owners.
 

Note: 1 GBP = 1.60721 USD (10/8/09)

Sources:  Telegraph.co.uk, Print media ads give biggest boost to sales, October 7, 2009; Marketing Magazine, Research claims outdoor advertising's ROI rivals TV, September 22, 2009; Guardian.co.uk, Print is good for retailers - but it gets better if outdoor adverts appear too, October 8, 2009.