Washington Post Circulation Salesman - Shame On You

When evaluating an advertising media for consideration, most people myself included, take into account the number of people that particular media deliver (eyes, ears or both) when determining if the price tag is fair. Television has Neilson, Radio Arbitron and in the case of newspaper, we use their circulation numbers to determine how many people are being exposed to our ads.


I'm going to relay a story that happened to me first hand, that will make me think twice before using the Washington Post for an advertising campaign in the near future.


I recently stopped by my local grocery store, who will remain nameless as they are not only innocent in this but are likely a victim in this story. Upon entering the store there was a table set up with representatives from the paper. they were handing out "gift incentives" and soliciting people to sign up for subscriptions. I happily announced that I already had a subscription for the sunday paper and had been a subscriber for a number of years. The rep thanked then notified me that since I was a sunday subscriber that I could recieve weekdays for free for the next 3 months.


I politely let him know that I don't have time to read the paper during the week and that even though it was "free" It would be a waste... Plus in the interest of being green, killing trees for the paper and burning gas to deliver it to my house just so I could walk it 10 feet from my driveway to the recylcle bin wouldn't make much sense. I was taken aback with what happened next. The rep actually confided in me that it didn't matter if I read it or not because by having more subscribers they can charge more for their ads.


(Stunned Silence)


I walked away smiling yet quietly disturbed... This gentleman didn't know I was in the advertising world. But this served to illustrate to me that the Post's claims of their readership number may not be exactly accurate, and in fact they are aware of how innacurate it is. This strikes me as (since it's deliberate) on the verge of being criminal.

I don't know if this is a tactic all newspapers use. I suspect it might be, particularly in the current difficult economic climate, also due to the fact that newspaper readership has been in a steep decline for some time now. If you are contemplating a newspaper campaign as part of your advertising plan... be sure you know what you're buying... Unread papers that go straight from the driveway into the recycling bin aren't helping your business grow.

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