Thursday, November 06, 2008

Well you can’t say that the advertisements are getting in the way!

We had a bit of spare time on our hands today, so we thumbed through the pages of the city’s Daily Newspaper, checking out the health of the city’s economy and by a rather startling ad count, that of the paper as well we suspect.

With three days of newsprint to work with it would seem that things are a little thin in the ad revenue world these days. Not a good sign we suspect for those that enjoy the competitive nature of our local newspaper scene.

Monday’s Daily News featured twelve pages of local and wire copy, barely interrupted by the need to peruse the bargains available in Podunk.

Putting aside the regular business card like features of page nine and the assorted advertisements of the classified ads pages from 10-12, there appeared to be little in the way of actual ad revenue generated on the first day of the week.

Page one featured a bottom row ad for the upcoming Rotary Auction, page five had a small 2 x 2 inch box proclaiming the candidacy of Don Scott for mayor (he also appears on pages 7 and 9 and a notice from the District of Port Edward for a upcoming Public hearing. A BC Hydro ad that takes up the bottom right quarter page seven, while the Children’s Hospital and Muscular Dystrophy Association receive what we would think are public service announcement exposure on page twelve.

Besides the usual squares for The Gondola and Number one fast foods, there’s not much left other than frequent ads for the Daily News seeking out subscribers on pages three and twelve.

There isn’t much in the way of change in Tuesday’s edition; the rotary Auction claims its space again on page one, Rainbow Chrysler takes a bottom of the page banner on page three. Don Scott is back on page five as is the Daily News quest for subscribers, this one reminding the public of the paper’s importance to the local scene. Page seven has two Daily news advertisements while Don Scott pops in again with his 2 x 2 ad. Page eleven again promotes the paper with a call for subscribers above the Business Directory while page twelve showcases BC Hydro again with a quarter page ad.

Things pick up a bit in the Wednesday edition, with Cow Bay taking the masthead ad spot a front page book end for the rotary auction ad of the bottom of the page. Page three features ads for Remax Realty, Shutter Shack, the Hecate Strait Training Centre and Rainbow Chrysler. On page five the Prince Rupert Haida Nation, Gateway Dental Clinic, and Citywest have ads, as the local telecommunications provider reminds the community of their local connections for almost 100 years. Also found on page five are ads from Dorothy McLean for school trustee and a notice of the School Board debate for Thursday night.

Page seven tempts us with a visit to the Belmont, a commitment from Don Scott in his quest for the Mayoralty and an update on a public meeting on the angling Management plan.

Safeway splurges on a full page ad on page nine while the Good news story of the week and the SPCA Pet of the week appear on page ten along with a call for carriers from the Daily news and a reminder to recycle.

Page eleven has ads for Fish Safe, the Metlakatla Development Corporation and from something called bcunclaimedproperty. Page twelve has an ad for the Ocean View and the BC Lottery Corporation.

Page thirteen has a half page ad for Sherman GM, 14 has two in house ads for the Daily news, the Cow Bay business directory is featured on page fifteen, while the business directory closes out the paper on page eighteen along with another advertisement seeking out subscribers for the Daily News

While the paper seems to increase its ad profile as the week progresses, you have to wonder if the revenue coming in is keeping pace with the expenditures of production.

The good news we guess is that the municipal campaign will add to the advertising revenue over the next week, with the sudden blast of last minute ads to sell the promise of our political candidates.

After that the Christmas season may provide another bump in ad revenues, but if the first few days of the week are any indication it may not be as rosy a sales forecast as they might hope.

The ad levels make for an interesting interpretation of the local economy and how the business community is planning to spend its money on advertising if they plan on spending any at all.

One would guess that the paper is hoping that they have a healthy advertising budget and a wish to spend it frequently. The last thing they probably want to see is the frequent incursions of in house ads that seem to be claiming their spot on a daily basis,

There’s no revenue gained from those many reminders of the papers presence, only an indication that the advertising market has seen healthier days in the city.

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