Study shows newspaper advertising works

     I do a lot of asking for evidence that online ads work. The Sacramento Business Journal offers evidence -- that newspapers work. Despite all the hand-wringing, etc.  Yes, the study is by the Newspaper Association of America, which is hardly an unbiased organization. But there are figures. Fifty-nine percent of consumers doing comparison shopping uses newspapers.

     I know from personal experience that's true. I drink Coke (actually, Diet Coke while the rest of the family drinks Coke Zero).  Since Coke gouges on its price in Milwaukee, I look each Sunday in the newspaper to see if it's on sale (cheaper) at 1) Pick 'n Save, 2) CVI, or 3) Walgreens. If it's not on sale (and generally Pepsi is, but Coke isn't), I pick up a couple of weeks' supply at Costco, which means driving 17 miles.  The point is, that I do use the newspaper to comparison shop. I don't go on the Internet. Just as a comparison, just now I went to Google and typed "Coke milwaukee price today." The answer: about 322,000 hits. The newspaper works -- and maybe someday, newspapers themselves will start selling this point, and smarter advertisers will realize that evidence of new media advertising superiority isn't there yet (except that it's much cheaper; just as advertising on TV at 3 a.m. is much cheaper).