HC Deb 23 March 1978 vol 946 cc679-80W
Mr. Norman Atkinson

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the minimum number of daily newspapers in which he would have to take advertising space in order to achieve an 85 per cent. national coverage; and what this figure represents in percentage terms of the total amount it would cost to cover 95 per cent. of national potential readership.

Mr. Charles R. Morris

To achieve a coverage of 85 per cent. of the adult population in the United Kingdom with a single advertisement, the minimum number of national newspapers would be 11. A single insertion in all 19 national daily and Sunday newspapers would achieve a 92 per cent. coverage. The cost of a whole page advertisement in these 11 newspapers would be 77.7 per cent. of the cost of a whole page in all 19. To achieve 95 per cent. coverage, multiple insertions in the national newspapers would be necessary.

Mr. Norman Atkinson

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will list the newspapers and periodicals with circulation figures less than 50,000 within which he has taken advertising space during the past 12 months; and if he will set out alongside each publication the special characteristics associated with the readership of each of the papers he lists.

Mr. Charles R. Morris

I regret that the exact information for which my hon. Friend asks could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Many Govern- ment campaigns appear in a wide variety of local and regional newspapers and specialist magazines with circulations under 50,000 when the advertising is being directed to a particular audience or to a particular area of the country. For example, during the past 12 months nursing recruitment advertisements appeared in a variety of careers and nursing magazines. A variety of publications addressed to the handicapped, welfare workers and the medical profession were used for social welfare campaigns. The political journals were used for the new pension scheme campaign. Over 100 local newspapers were used for campaigns for the Employment Service Agency and the Training Services Agency to promote the opening of local job centres or to advertise specific vacancies in local areas.