The ROI study, carried out by effectiveness consultancy Benchmarketing and covering 500 econometric models, revealed that newspapers increase overall campaign effectiveness, as well as boosting other media. According to the report, the effectiveness of TV doubles with the addition of newspapers, while online display becomes four times more effective. 

Looking at individual sectors, the study found that adding newspapers to a campaign increased effectiveness by 5.7 times for finance, three times for travel, 2.8 times for retail, 1.7 times for automotive and 1.2 times for FMCG. 

“Advertisers who want the best return on their investment should study this data," said Rufus Olins, CEO of Newsworks. "It is clear that newspaper brands boost other media as well as performing a powerful role in their own right.

"Running a campaign without newspapers is like trying to bake a cake without baking powder.”