Diane Collins, editor and publisher of the Seneca (Mo.) News-Dispatch, wants to know how weekly newspapers handle advertisers requesting specific locations of their ads: “Advertisers who don’t just ask for a certain page, but also ask for a specific spot on that page and specify which other ads are not to be near theirs. Do you treat placement differently for advertisers who have signed a contract?”

Collins received 25 responses, several of whom said there was nothing wrong with attempting to accommodate reasonable requests. Most, however, said newspapers should charge for guaranteed positions.

“When I was a publisher, we had a statement on the rate card that guaranteed position was available for a 25% charge,” said Harry Hix, the Engleman/Livermore Professor of Community Journalism at the University of Oklahoma. “This was applied on a first-come, first-serve basis. Advertisers could request a position, but none was promised or guaranteed without the 25% charge. We tried to honor all requests, primarily on a first-come, first-serve basis.”

Hix suggested that the easiest way for advertiser not to have an ad they don’t want on a page with their ad is to buy a full-page ad.

At least two newspapers charge $50 for placement on a particular page, The Woodstock (Ill.) Independent and the Valleyview (Alberta) Valley Views.

“With regard to placement on the page, we listen to their requests, but explain that ads must build from the bottom of the page and to the right — no floating ads,” said Cheryl Wormley, publisher of The Woodstock Independent. “Within that framework, we will do the best we can, again with the $50 charge. (No one has been willing to pay the $50 for a specific spot on the page.)

“Regarding specifying which other ads are not to be near theirs, our ad staff listens and explains that we make no promises but are sensitive to keeping competitors on different pages. Ironically, some competitors want to be on the same page — specifically real estate agencies.

“All advertisers are treated the same whether contract or not when it comes to placement,” Wormley added.

The Free Press of Buda, Texas, tells clients who request a specific space that large ads are placed first, with smaller ads filling in the space.

“If they want page 3, then we tell them to buy a big enough ad to demand that space,” co-publisher Cyndy Slovak-Barton said. “However, it is never set in stone, and we always tell them that we do what is best for the reader, which in turn is best for them. We do have some advertisers who like sports, while others like the community page. These simple requests are much easier to fulfill.”

Trey Foerster, publisher of the Iola Herald and the Manawa Advocate in Wisconsin, said that if an advertiser does not want to be near another competitor, he honors that
request.

“We put the better advertiser toward the front and the other at the back,” Foerster said. “If an advertiser wants a bottom right position on a right page, that's a position that requires an extra payment.”

Foerster said specific page positions could not be guaranteed without payment of a charge and that there was a quarter-page minimum for guaranteed placement.

Ross Connelly, editor and publisher of The Hardwick (Vt.) Gazette, said his 2,700-circulation newspaper had faced requests similar to those made to Collins.

“We don't guarantee ad location,” Connelly said. We do, however, reserve specific pages for specific towns we cover so businesses from a particular town are ganged together, with exceptions. Sports/recreation businesses are usually on the sports pages, entertainment businesses/events are usually on the entertainment pages, church suppers on the religion page, and so on.”

Connelly said if a newspaper allows specific locations on a page, it may run into layout and design problems. He tries to work with advertisers who contract with The Hardwick Gazette, but makes no promises when it comes to the location of competitors’ ads.

“Our job is not to stomp out the competition; the newspaper offers consumers choices for them to make,” Connelly said. “And you might point out that being near a similar advertiser offers advantages in that it allows a consumer an instant comparison regarding product, price, location, hours, and so on, e.g., car dealers. Don’t lock yourself into an agreement where you, essentially, are giving control of your own efforts to sell retail ad space and production/layout/design needs and constraints to someone outside of the newspaper. Be cooperative, explain your constraints and don’t play favorites.”

Joanne Cline, an advertising representative for The Press newspapers of Delaware County in Pennsylvania, said she has had to educate advertisers on the way newspaper pages are built.

“One of my clients wants to be at the top of page 3 or nothing,” Cline said. “We try to accommodate his wish as often as possible, but on occasion we cannot because of presold ads. We’ve also had to explain about building a page and how a large ad cannot be above a smaller ad, so he has adjusted the size many times so that he will dominate the page.”

Cline, whose newspapers charge a position fee of 20%, said she recommends color ads to advertisers who desire a particular placement.

“Color pages are always premium spots,” she said. “In most cases the client will choose to do color — a bonus for me!”

Two of the responses Collins received advocated a hard-line approach to special requests from advertisers.

“Tell ‘em to go to hell — politely, of course,” said Cary Stiff, former publisher of the Clear Creek Courant in Idaho Springs, Colo. “I used to sigh and say (under my breath): ‘Everybody wants to be an editor!’ You’ll be sorry if you let this get started. Tell them you’ll try to accommodate them, but you can’t guarantee placement (unless they’re willing to pay an outrageous premium, of course) because sometimes breaking news dictates where ads should go. Assure them that their ad will be well read — subscribers of local papers seem to read every word (a fact they’ll discover if their name ever appears in the police reports). Then put the ad where it’s most convenient for you.”

Mary Readman, of The Consort Enterprise in Alberta, said advertising position was not sold in her paper as a matter of policy.

“We don’t have contracts, but if we did, it would be stated clearly. We also don’t have front page advertising. We may try to accommodate a good customer for a special reason, but this rarely happens. What would constitute a ‘good reason?’ Fund raising for a charity, e.g. cancer, or a burned-out family or some such thing.”

Jim Sterling, the Community Newspaper Management Chair at the University of Missouri and the former publisher of the Bolivar (Mo.) Herald-Free Press, said he used to place ads where he thought they would be most successful.

“Once in a while someone asked for position, and when we could do that, we obliged them,” Sterling said. “Our basic policy printed on our rate card said it cost extra to guarantee position. But if the advertiser was in every week, with at least a minimum-size ad, we would not charge them. The problem would come when someone else wanted that space. Then it became a question of who ran the most advertising and who was with us every week. If someone came along with a nice ad once a year, we’d put them in a nice spot, but we wouldn’t bump anyone over.

“The best thing is to put it on the rate card: We reserve the right to charge a higher rate to guarantee position. It won’t keep them from complaining, but it does give you a fallback position if challenged.”

Sterling recommended giving a newspaper’s best advertisers a bonus if it could be done without costing time and money.

“We would tape a copy of the weekly ad to an 11x17 sheet which said ‘As advertised in the Herald-Free Press,’ and the account rep taped it to their front door. We got some promotion out of it, and the advertiser stayed happy and consistent. And it made the old publisher feel good to walk around the square and see lots of signs on businesses saying ‘As advertised in....’