The Oregonian Newspaper is changing

Guest Opinion,

The Oregonian, with daily circulation of over 700,000, now has an advertising sleeve that takes up half the front page. Even when you visit the Oregonian online you will sometimes see the new type of ads. This follows on the heels of the paper raising their newsstand price from $.75 to $1.00.

These appear to be smart moves for the Oregonian as they try to beat the times. The latest numbers show that nationwide the average newspaper circulation is down 7%, Sunday newspapers are down 5.3% and newspaper ad revenue is down an incredible 29.5%.

Watching the Oregonian make these changes is watching them at their most aggressive salesmanship. This will pay off in the end, but not before this recession and internet have fully run their media-changing course.

The Oregonian seems to think this is the future of print advertising. Here are two probable difficulties with this belief:
1. It’s annoying. Seriously, who wants to pull of an insert to see the full front page?
2. It’s eye-catching, for now. One year from now it will be just as old as regular newspaper ads.

Their promotion piece for the new advertising venue declares;

Available 7 days a week, this innovative new package gives a one-two punch that will jump-start customer demand regardless of what business you’re in. Spadea combines impossible-to-miss, front-page positioning with full-page merchandising.

What’s your thought, is this the future of print news advertising?