A Study of First Page Advertising Trends in Select Indian Newspapers

Abstract

Newspapers are a marketing force to reckon within a developing country like India with huge daily circulations. Advertisements are present on each and every page of any newspaper including the first page. The present paper looks at the trends of first page advertisements of the top three Indian newspapers of English, Hindi and regional languages, for a duration of two weeks in February 2013. The paper analyzes the data to find whether a relation exists or not, between the language of a newspaper and the number of advertisements appearing, the total space under advertisements each day, and the size of advertisements.

The advertisers try to reach the masses by displaying advertisements wherever possible. Advertising helps a company to communicate its products’ features and benefits to markets through the mass media (Belch and Belch, 2004). One of the measuring tools for advertisers is newspapers; the same is very much evident when one picks up any newspaper, as it is flooded with a plethora of ads about numerous products. Advertising plays a significant role in educating consumers regarding the products and serves to communicate the benefits of a brand, an integral part of why consumers buy. The reason for using newspapers as advertising vehicle is that the most frequent and important type of advertising is ‘commercial consumer advertising’-advertising directed towards a mass audience with the aim of promoting sales of a commercial product or service.