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Is newspaper advertising still worth it?

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26 March 2014

Is newspaper advertising still worth it?

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In days gone by, the classifieds – which included a hefty real estate section – were what kept newspapers afloat. But those days are over, and with the major property portals being the spot that most consumers turn to first when searching for a home, it’s worth asking the question: is property advertising in newspapers dead?

Some would say an emphatic yes. Melbourne agency PhillipWebb dumped newspaper advertising very publicly in March 2013; they only do it now when a vendor specifically asks for it. 

While online listings have undisputed benefits, like being incredibly easy to search, newspaper listings still have a role to play in marketing a property as effectively as possible. Here are five reasons they’re still a valuable tool. 

1. Prestige

Print carries a level of prestige that online advertising just doesn’t. There’s a perception of quality that print advertising conveys extremely well; potential buyers perceive properties advertised in print as having a higher value (more on this below).

2. Reach

Any agent selling a property is aiming to expose it to the widest possible buyer pool. Newspapers might not be the titans of old, but there’s still an audience there, and a very particular one. Readers of newspapers like The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian are AB consumers – affluent and notoriously hard to reach. 

3. Price perception

Not only do consumers perceive a property advertised in print as being worth more, the size of the ad also influences their perception of the price. Basically, the bigger the ad (and the images), the higher the value they’ll put on it – a home advertised on a double page spread will be perceived as being 61% more expensive that a quarter page ad. A recent study by RP Data of 70,000 Sydney properties found that those advertised in print as well as online during the marketing campaign added more than $120,000 to the sale price.

4. Speed

Not only do homes advertised in print sell for more, they sell faster. That same RP Data study found that Sydney homes advertised in print spent an average of 34 days on market, compared to 38 for online-only homes. Nationally the numbers are similar; properties advertised in print sold a week faster, and for an 8 per cent higher price.

5. Trust

Newspaper readers are a loyal group, with a certain level of trust in their chosen publication – so that trust carries over to what they see advertised in its pages. It makes them much more likely to view your listings favourably. 

What do you think? Is newspaper advertising still useful or is online-only the way to go when it comes to selling property?

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