Advertising Differs: A Content

Analysis of Print and Online Media

Ron Newman
FIU Spring 2007
The Importance of
Advertising

Ad sales make up 74.2% of total

magazine revenue.

Current strategy for magazine is to have

both a traditional magazine and Online
presence.

Publishers must effectively draw revenue

from online ventures.
Drawbacks of Previous Medium
Analyses

Online advertising differs

significantly from printed
advertising

Past studies create one exact for

each medium.
  
 

Traditional Example
Online Example
Drawbacks of Previous Medium
Analyses

Online advertising differs

significantly from printed
advertising

Past studies create one exact for

each medium.

Comparisons were split into

unequal categories - print
Detailed Content Analysis
A research technique for the objective,
systematic, and quantitative description of
the content.
Hypotheses
 Online advertisements will focus on high involvement
products. Traditional print advertisements will have a large
variety of low involvement consumer products.

 Online ads will concentrate more on brand awareness while

print ads will focus more on product specific aspects.

 The volume and variety of traditional ads will outnumber

their online counterpart.

 This study will measure the amount of synchronization

among the traditional ads to see if improvements have been
made since Sheehan and Doherty’s (2001) findings.
Categories Examined
Quantitative
 Number of Ads
 Number of Advertisers
 Size of Ad
 Location of Ad (Online)
 Visual Style (Online)
 Online Link (Traditional)

Qualitative
 Product Category – The nature of the advertiser’s
business.
 Product Classification – High involvement, or low
involvement
 Advertising Focus – What the ad message is
describing or selling – the Brand, Product, Service,
or Internet Site.
 Advertising Strategy
Secondary Online Ads
Click links or text links

Unrelated Logo links

Drop Down Lists

Magazine related advertisements

Numbers of Ads
Number of Advertisers

Comparison of Ads and Advertisers

800 761

700

600

500
Amount Coded

Online All Ads
400 Online Premium
Print
300 277
237

200 174
147
107
100

0
Ads Unique Advertisers
High Involvement / Low
Involvement
Advertising Focus

Hypothesis – Online ads will concentrate

more on brand awareness
Print ads will focus more on product
specific aspects.
Variety of Advertisements
Synchronization of
Advertising

Business and
Newsweekly category
highly synchronized

Fashion and Men’s

Lifestyle low
synchronization

Overall, findings
much higher than
previous studies.
Additional Findings of
Interest

The location of online ads tend to

be placed on the right side of the
screen.
Additional Findings of
Interest

Advertising Strategy
Additional Research
Opportunities

The study can be replicated to examine niche

publications

The focus of the content analysis can be

narrowed to a particular subset and broadened

The analysis can be lengthened to a longer time

period such as a six month or a year time span.

Different media platforms can be used in this

study such as newspapers and PDA’s and Cell
phones