As the say in the movies, don’t miss the ending of the answer. Here’s the March 15 edition of Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Read on…
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Q. When a newspaper has more than 10-15% advertising space being taken up by an inhouse ads, what does it speak of the health of the publication?
A. There is nothing wrong in promoting various brand offerings of a newspaper in its own vehicle. Where else would they communicate? There are options for sure like TV, hoardings or radio but they require high investment. The ROI may not justify the investment. Besides, house advertisements are not published at the cost of paid ones. So, there is no opportunity cost. In fact, pressure on editorial would be less to produce longer copies or more number of stories. Finally, even an ad communicates a story, whether about a brand or about a cause. Hence if a newspaper publishes more inhouse ads than actually paid ones, it doesn’t say anything negative. It only reflects on the state of the economy/business. (Why am I getting a feeling that you are bored with my answer)