BEYOND ALL THE BUZZ about alternatives to TV, a growing number of leading national advertisers are looking at stepping up their newspaper spending. Newspapers' value equation has improved as network CPMs have increased, and newspapers have proven relatively resistant to the audience erosion faced by other media. (Newspaper circulation and readership have held up far better than prime-time ratings and magazine circulation in recent years.) The newspaper industry is also being more innovative in how it attracts new readers. Who would have guessed a few years ago that we'd be seeing the launch of new, youth-oriented newspapers from industry giants like Tribune, Belo and the Washington Post Co.?

The new view of newspapers recognizes their value as a branding medium. While branding was more difficult in an all-black-and-white environment a decade ago, the industry's heavy investment in high-quality color capacity has changed the game. Brand-oriented national advertisers tend to insist on high-impact, four-color ads. When you add in newspapers' reach and immediacy, you get a medium with qualities more like television.

But unlike television, newspaper ads are embedded in the medium. There are no ad "pods" in newspapers, the ads can't be evaporated by TiVo, and the ads can be placed adjacent to relevant editorial. In fact, readers actually value newspaper ads and see them as a valuable information source that is less intrusive than ads in other media. When asked by Yankelovich where advertising should be eliminated, consumers ranked the Internet, television, radio and magazines highest and newspapers lowest.

With this new direction in mind, packaged goods advertisers upped their 2003 spending in newspapers by 76 percent, to $105 million, according to CMR. And CMR data shows that spending doubled from top companies like Procter & Gamble, SAB Miller and Gillette. Spending by factory automotive advertisers, which is predominantly branding ads, was up 28 percent. And pharmaceutical companies upped their spending 33 percent. With gains like these, total newspaper advertising was up a healthy 12.5 percent in 2003, according to TNS/CMR. Newspaper advertising grew faster than advertising in network TV, magazines, radio and outdoor. Spending from national advertisers outpaced local for the seventh straight year.

Successful national advertisers in newspapers tend to look more closely at the targeted sectional opportunities newspapers offer. Sports, food, lifestyle and other sections all offer advertisers the ability to better target specific user groups in a more focused editorial environment. In fact, the shift in emphasis from main news-which has the broadest readership of any newspaper section-to the more vertical sections like sports and food is somewhat akin to the shift from prime time to cable. In some cases, newspaper sections will surprise you with their ability to target certain groups better than magazines.

As more and more packaged goods, pharmaceutical and other national advertisers advertise regularly in newspapers, we see four themes in how these new newspaper users think differently about the medium to maximize their return:

. First, the message is heavily branded. New product launches, product improvements and product repositionings all benefit from branded national newspaper campaigns. In some cases, the message has a sales-oriented, call-to-action message, but the branding is preeminent.

. Second, they analyze their target customer and take full advantage of the medium to align their message appropriately. They make fact-based decisions when choosing newspaper sections when selecting markets and when deciding on run-of-press versus inserts. They understand that their strongest markets typically offer the best opportunity for near-term payback.

. Third, they advertise with enough circulation scale and frequency to have a measurable impact, and almost always in color. The top 25 markets reach 49 percent of U.S. households; the top 100 reach 85 percent. The savviest advertisers understand the cost and effectiveness trade-offs between the impact and creative potential of full-page units, and the added reach and frequency that are possible with the same budget and smaller space ads. They realize that a top-market newspaper buy has a national reach that rivals that of their magazine and TV schedules.

. Fourth, they measure their results and spend accordingly. They use indicators like cost-per-call, media-mix modeling, leads generated and others to evaluate the overall effectiveness of their spending and better inform their newspaper media decisions. When they see results, they act immediately to expand spending and refine plans.

The Newspaper National Network LP, a private partnership of the 23 leading newspaper companies, brings big and small papers together into a network buy and provides advertisers in their 16 targeted categories with bundled programs, network pricing and one-stop service. NNN works closely with advertisers and agencies to develop customized newspaper programs on a national scale.

With rising network TV CPMs, declining network TV ratings and increased ad clutter, newspapers are getting more attention from national advertisers and agencies. The most savvy markets are jumping on new ways to use newspapers and seeing the medium from a fresh perspective.

Jason E. Klein is President/CEO of Newspaper National Network LP. He can be reached at jklein@nnnlp.com.

Copyright 2004 VNU Business Media, Inc. Reprinted with permission from Mediaweek. For reorders call RSiCopyright at 651.582.3800. For subscription information call 800.722.6658 or visit www.mediaweek.com.