Amid a debate over USA Today's profitability (did it really sell only $20 million in online ads last year?), I stopped by our local Starbucks at 5:30 PT this afternoon to buy the last copy of today's edition. And then I started my tally. (Previous audits.)
The audit
I counted pages and advertisements. I did not include what appeared to be house ads. I did, however, count even the smallest, classified-like display ads as individual paid spots; they're indicated as a number inside parentheses (x). Here's what I found:
A section, 10 pages, four ads: FedEx, JPMorgan Chase, BP, Wells Fargo.
Money, six pages, 19 ads: Sprint, ETrade, Daily Getaways, Legal Monday (4), Business Monday (11), Sheraton.
Sports, 10 pages, two ads: ESPN, D&B.
Life, six pages, 23 ads: Daily Spotlight, Progressive, Shop for Gifts Today (11), Marketplace Today (10).
[Image: Newseum]
Monday, May 24, 2010
8 comments:
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I think that's the highest you've had yet for a non-Friday.
ReplyDeleteCorrect-o-mundo!
ReplyDeleteNo one can accuse USA Today of shilling for Moms Like Me in this story today.
ReplyDeleteI'll repeat something I posted about a week ago...
ReplyDeleteWould it make more sense to count ad pages than to count the number of ads? I think ad-page count is a more accurate measure of success.
For example, one full-page ad might say more about the product than three 1/8-page ads. In this case, the one full-page of ad would reflect a full page worth of revenue. The three 1/8-page ads would reflect less than half a page of revenue, discounts notwithstanding.
Anyway, just a thought.
That's a good idea; Ill try that next time.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Gracia Martore has ripped David Hunke a new ass because USAT did not mention MomsLikeMe in this story...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-05-25-mommywars25_CV_N.htm
Beggar Hopkins wishes he could have ripped Hunke a new ass.
ReplyDeleteI read that story, and wondered if that might cause a ripple. However, to be fair to the reporter, I don't believe her story mentioned any of Moms Like Me's competitors.
ReplyDelete