Category Archives: Research

Readership Research, Circulation, Site Traffic

Alt Weekly Reader National Report Released

It’s report card time again. We’ve recently received The Media Audit Alternative Newspaper National Report for the previous year and have reviewed the results which on the surface don’t indicate too much change from the previous annual report.

The research gathered from 89 U.S. markets from a 15-month period (January 2010 – March 2011) includes results for 132 different publications. The report includes some non-weekly products, but the majority are published weekly and are members of A.A.N. According to this new report, a total of 14 Million last edition readers are reached and nearly 27 Million 4-issue cume readers are reached by alt weeklies.

MediaAudit_NationalReportOverview.xlsx

As we’ve noted every year, the age of the Alt Weekly reader has increased again but not significantly (43.4 to 44.3). The media age remains slightly below the national average.

Stay tuned for more updates from the AWN office from this newly released report.

AWN Rolls Up Digital Numbers Via Quantcast

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By Mark Hanzlik, Executive Director

One of our digital initiatives launched in 2009 was a network-wide measurement partnership with web analytics provider Quantcast. By 2010, AWN listed approximately 98 properties on Quantcast.com with over 4 Million users (people) gathered under the collective banner of alternative newspaper websites. We’re promoting that collective effort again now as Quantcast has made further improvements in their tagging process.

QuantcastLogo
The goal was to provide a more consistent, current measurement of alt weekly sites (individually or collectively) that we can use to market the industry and attract national digital brand advertising. It remains a fairly simple proposition, getting alt weekly web sites quantified on Quantcast doesn’t cost anything and it will not impede any current web tracking practices employed by site publishers.

Earlier this Spring, Quantcast improved their async tag process, making it even easier for site publishers to implement. The new asynchronous tag loads 100% in the background, so it has zero impact on site page loads.

If you are already measured by Quantcast or another analytics firm, the addition of our tag will not effect any current site performance. We’re recommending all AWN media partners participate in this roll-up. There are currently 91 sites rolled up under the AWN network, (thank you to those who have kept the tags alive since the launch) we recommend replacing older AWN Quantcast tags with newer ones.

We expect to grow the measurement group substantially and to be able to include highly-ranked Quantcast numbers in our new digital sales initiatives this Summer.

New Quantcast tags available for AWN partners now. Contact Cody Brill at cody@awn.org.

Niche Websites Boost Ad Efficiency

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By Mark Hanzlik, Executive Director

The assertion in this eMarketer article is that “Placements on smaller, niche sites increase response” and therefore long-tail (niche) web sites are a must for digital ad buyers to include in their media plans. I found it difficult to disprove the premise mostly because there really isn’t much of an argument against it. Check it out, I did.

For most digital buyers, there’s no getting around advertising on top web sites and that’s often the first move for media buyers looking to maximize their time and efforts. Taking the top-down approach is standard procedure and where a lot of web advertising strategies are grounded. Most ad buyers will agree, it takes a lot more time and effort to root out smaller niche sites that in the end probably won’t deliver much more than a fraction of the audiences delivered by larger branded sites.

But there’s a number of points in favor of the theory of using long-tail sites posited in this article. The fact that —according to comScore, most web viewers spent their time on long-tail sites, is a huge point. Nearly all digital ad dollars are spent on the short tail sites, where ad buyers are seeking the greatest cost efficiencies. The first reaction by ad buyers to long-tail sites higher ad pricing (CPM) is akin to “sticker-shock” and often automatic exclusion from a media plan. These sites; however, often because of the higher clickthrough results can turn into a more efficient ad buy despite the CPM.

eChart By comparing clickthrough rate results via a research source CONTEXTWEB, certain content categories are shown to be higher performers and can add greatly to a major campaign like: Education, Technology and computing, hobbies and games. Even categories that don’t perform as well may result in a lift in ad delivery efficiency according to eMarketer. It’s certainly a winning proposition for ad buyers. (here’s one of the eMarketer charts)

What is not addressed in this piece is the local v. national clickthrough rate comparison and the relative importance of long-tail sites that tap into the local visitors’ interests, and content relative to individuals’ communities whether they are personal or business-related.

The same comparison really can’t be made by examining traditional print or broadcast media too. It’s hard to imagine ad performance based on this same premise of smaller, more precise niche media delivering more efficient sales results than more dominant lower-CPM media but an argument could be made in favor of that supposition, and I hear these kinds of sales pitches from niche media quite often.

If you thought the lines were blurred between national and local advertising in traditional media outlets, take a look at what the internet has done to that dissimilarity. Good luck sorting that one out ad buyers.

Pacific Northwest Inlander Tops All Other Local Media in Spokane

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By Sarah Billingsley, Communications Director

In a day when print, as a medium, is relegated to the ranks of 8 tracks and VHS tapes, it is more than a little encouraging to hear some good news on the print side of the alternative weekly industry. It turns out alternative weekly print products are not obsolete. In fact, they are very much a part of our communities. Readers continue to depend on alt weeklies, and follow the scent of these well-written, locally-focused publications.

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Here’s a success story from Spokane, Washington. The Pacific Northwest Inlander has reached new heights in market penetration. According to the latest report from The Media Audit, the weekly publication has outpaced not only every section of the daily newspaper, but all other locally-produced media in the marketplace.

“Well, we finally scaled the mountain here – or at least the mountain as I’ve perceived it all these years,” reported Jer McGregor, General Manager of the Pacific NW Inlander

“Last year, in an effort to gain market share while our daily pulled back circulation and laid off staff, we decided to increase the number of distribution locations and total print run,” continued McGregor. “So, not only have we surpassed every section of the daily newspaper*, but we’ve also surpassed (for the first-time ever) all other media, all local television newscasts.”

“The 44.9% market penetration is our best-ever market penetration level, ” McGregor said in closing. ” We’ve been members of AWN about the same length of time we’ve had Media Audit – since the mid 90’s.”

*The Inlander has not yet surpassed the combined Sunday edition of the daily newspaper in the market, The Spokesman-Review but McGregor indicates they are close. Check out The Media Audit ranker report for the Spokane market and see their killer numbers for yourself.

Spokane_MA

Another media appearing on the ranker (at #13) is the local InHealthNW Magazine, also published by the Inlander and distributed separately in the marketplace.

Here’s more strong sales points in favor of alt weeklies from Jer McGregor:

Our company’s belief, similar to what can be found in the “Power of Print” campaign, is that success is in the product you deliver, not always how it is delivered. Our goal is to be the best at delivering “local” to our community, and being closely involved with as many local organizations as possible.

The free distribution method of alternative weeklies, unlike other traditional media, has not been interrupted. Television is now dealing with a wide range of competition from video games, cell phones, on-demand video and most of all DVR’s that allow users to skip commercials. Radio now competes with satellite broadcasts, iPods and the deregulation that’s lead to more big-format competition within its own ranks. Daily newspapers contend with their long-standing pay-for-service format that no longer appeals to as many users. Weekly newspapers are still available in communities as a desired free product providing important local news and entertainment coverage that so many people are interested in.

There’s been readership evidence to support our ongoing claims alternative weekly readers are young, affluent, and educated, but we also have proof in this market and probably a few others that an alt weekly publication will reach more than any other local media. And that’s good news.