Today, Google released a study that shows newspaper advertising drives online traffic and consumer spending.

According to the study, among people who research products and services after seeing them advertised in newspapers, two-thirds (67 percent) use the Internet to find more information. Of that group, nearly 70 percent of consumers actually make a purchase following their additional research

Although the research released today was the result of a wide-ranging study exploring the effectiveness of bringing new advertisers to the newspaper print environment through the Google Print Ads™ platform, it supports earlier NAA studies that have shown that newspapers continue to serve as a major resource for U.S. consumers seeking advertising and shopping information.

“NAA research has repeatedly shown that newspaper advertising is incredibly effective in motivating consumers to make a purchase. This new study lends powerful support to that notion, while demonstrating that print ads also drive people to conduct additional product research online.

- John Sturm, NAA President and CEO

Additional data from the research includes:

• Newspaper readers respond to ads in their newspapers. More than half (56 percent) of respondents either researched or purchased at least one product they saw in the newspaper in the last month.
• Newspaper advertising drives Web traffic. Of those who said they researched at least one product they saw in the newspaper, 67 percent said they conducted research online, compared with 48 percent who visited a store, 23 percent who called a store and 23 percent who asked a friend.
• Use of newspapers and the Internet reinforces consumer confidence. Around half of respondents (48 percent) said that seeing a product in the newspaper after seeing it online would make them trust the product more and be more likely to purchase, illustrating the value of reaching the same customer through multiple media. More than half of that group (52 percent) said they would be more likely to purchase the product.
• Of the more than half of respondents who said they either purchased or researched a product after seeing a newspaper ad in the last month, 42 percent reported they purchased a product and 44 percent said they researched at least one product (with some overlap between the groups).
• Overall, nearly 30 percent of Internet-using newspaper readers went online to research at least one product that they saw in the newspaper (on average, they researched nine).

“The results of the study confirm a core marketing principle – consumers’ exposure to advertising messages across mediums influences their subsequent research and purchasing behavior.”

- Spencer Spinnell, head of Google’s Print Ads program

This study will go a long way to support a version of the current newspaper bundling sales strategy but should also provide incentive to target their current online only advertisers with print opportunities.

It will also act as a good introduction to my blog. The goal of this blog is to help develop effective local advertising and product plans that will help newspapers achieve or maintain their Market Leader status.