By: Suzanne Raitt, Newspapers Canada
As VP Marketing and Innovation at Newspapers Canada, I travel across Canada visiting media planners, advertisers, creative agencies and member newspapers. Here are the questions that I get asked (and what I say). P.S. I get asked about us, the health of industry, about your practices and the future.
Q: What is Newspapers Canada (sometimes worded as what happened to CNA, CCNA or the Newspaper Marketing Bureau)?
A: Newspapers Canada is a joint initiative of the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) and the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA). Both Associations still exist and have active Boards. Newspapers Canada is a brand that we use to represent our collective interests. The Newspaper Marketing Bureau was rolled in the CNA a number of years ago and now is my responsibility within Newspapers Canada.
Q: What does Newspapers Canada do?
A: Newspapers Canada represents over 830 daily, weekly and community newspapers in every province and territory in Canada. We have three main areas of focus:
- Marketing provides services to advertisers, agencies (media and creative) and member newspapers – more on this in next question.
- Public Affairs represents newspaper interests to governments, regulators and the general public on issues such as taxation, employment standards, recycling, Canada Post, freedom of information, the Canada Periodical Fund, privacy and copyright.
- Member Services offers newspaper members tools such as educational webinars, legal resources, research reports, auditing services, regional seminars and annual conference, newsletters, press-release service and award programs. For a complete list of Newspapers Canada’s member services click here.
Q: What do you provide advertisers and agencies? (Note all of this is also available to our newspaper members too.)
- Annual Newspaper Industry Presentation – This is must-see overview on the industry. It is an educational yet fun presentation that highlights that newspapers offer exciting and innovative options for advertisers – in print, online, mobile and more. The latest original creative ad examples from Canada and around the world are combined with compelling research to make the case for using newspapers in any format!
- Case Studies – On our website, we highlight advertisers that have used newspapers and their success stories. These cover a range of different categories and also demonstrate different uses of newspapers via their diverse platforms: print, online, mobile and social media.
- Industry information – On our website, we provide PDFs which highlight a particular topic as it relates to newspapers and their sites (e.g. Strength of Canadian Newspapers, Research summary on Shopping Habits of Rural and Urban Canadians, Newspaper Ad Engagement Study Results and more).
- Newsletter – This is a free monthly e-newsletter which provides a brief update on the newspaper industry.
- Newspaper Ad Impact Estimator Tool – A ‘calculator’ that provides an estimate of the impact of an ad based on size, colour, placement and more.
- Extra Awards – An award show that recognizes excellence in newspaper (print or online) advertising. Open to all: newspapers, agencies & advertisers.
Q: Aren’t newspapers dying (sometimes worded as “Isn’t everyone reading online these days)?
A: According to Pew Research, consumers are spending more time with news than ev
