Advertising Adversity

Members of the ISP-Marketing list share stories of the stress of dealing with newspaper production departments. Just because your ad prints well on your laser printer, don't assume it will be beautiful on newsprint.

[April 25, 2002]

On the ISP-Marketing list in April, RF queried,

"I submitted display ads to two local papers here last week, and they both butchered them. I just opened my doors, and these ads aren't doing me any good in creating a professional image. One of them basically redid the whole ad, and it looked like a third grader had done it. Is this a common problem?"

KC recalled a similar experience:

"The same thing happened to me: my logo was so grainy and pixelated that my phone number wasn't legible. When I demanded that they fix it, they had the nerve to charge me extra for 'ad retouching.'"

Others offered some advice on improving your chances of getting the ad you want in print:

[JG suggested] "Keep in mind that newspapers can't reproduce the same high degree of pixelation that a computer printer does. As a result, it is possible that your ad may have been too detailed or complex to reproduce cleanly."

[RC advised] "Make sure you send it in the file type they request: then they should have no reason for changing or touching the ad at all."

[BH agreed] "Unless you give them permission to adjust your ad, they shouldn't be doing anything to it. You shouldn't pay for any ads they changed without your permission. Still, you must give them the ad in a format they can use."

[JM added] "Always ask for a proof prior to the ad going to print. This way, you can look over it and make sure you're happy with the results, or make any changes you need to make."

Still others discussed the viability of newspaper advertising in general:

[WT warned] "Unless you spend a big chunk of change, I would not even bother with newspaper ads. Their effectiveness is very limited, and more often than not, the people you deal with at the paper will see you as small fry and will treat your account accordingly."

[JM countered] "It's all about consistency. You need to run ads on a regular basis. We have a front page ad every month of the year in one of the local papers. We run it regularly with the same logo and look, and run special offers every time. You can't run one or two ads and expect anything to come of it: by running regularly, we see a great return on our ads."

—End