The story behind those stick-on ads

In the good old days, when newspapers were printed on larger sheets, there was something we enjoyed doing whenever school kids toured our offices. We would teach them how to fold a newspaper into a four-cornered hat – a pressman’s hat.

It was a way of celebrating the newspaper as a physical thing. Sure, a newspaper is a collection of news and information; but it’s also something you can touch and feel, fold, clip, or roll up and stuff into your back pocket.

Even as more people read newspapers on computer screens, we hear from a lot of people who say they still enjoy the physical sensation of holding a newspaper in their hands.

And that physical interaction with our product is at the heart of one advertising innovation that sometimes shows up on Page One of the Daily Herald: those 3-inch by 3-inch messages that are stuck on the page like one of those 3M Post-It notes.

Our sales staff calls them “peel-n-deal” ads, and the newspaper started offering them in the fall of 2010. They’ve been around the newspaper industry for 12 or 15 years, advertising folks estimate.

Sue Strong, the Daily Herald’s production director, says the equipment for applying the stick-on notes was installed in Everett about the time her crews took on the nightly job of printing USA Today for the Pacific Northwest.

The ads are pre-printed and delivered to the Daily Herald in cardboard sleeves called “cards,” Strong says. And the applicator is a piece of equipment formally known as a Barstrom labeler.

It seems obvious that a number of advertisers like the novelty of the product and the prominence it gives their messages.

Ron Lee, advertising director, is enthusiastic about the “high level of engagement” that these full-color ads deliver. The readers grab them and peel them off – and that’s something you can only do with a physical product, not a smart phone or a PC screen.

And once they’ve peeled it off the front page, they can transfer it to their refrigerator and save it until the next shopping trip, Lee says. And that’s a real asset at a time when things like coupons are growing dramatically in popularity.

“We’re always looking for new ways to engage readers with the newspaper, in this case helping advertisers engage readers with a small coupon or message that easily peels off for redemption, or to set aside as a reminder,” says David Dadisman, publisher of the Daily Herald.

“Unfortunately those sticky notes sometimes end up on top of a great photo or story,” he adds. “And that can be annoying to some readers. But growing this new revenue stream helps The Herald keep our newspaper prices as low as possible, so the reader is the ultimate winner.”

Once readers grew accustomed to seeing front page stick-on ads, negative reactions dwindled to an infrequent handful, says Neal Pattison, executive editor. “Those things probably bug my photographers and designers more than they bother readers.”

A week ago, for instance, the Herald Health magazine told the story of an inspirational 7-year-old medical patient – and editors put her smiling photo on Page One of the newspaper to promote the article.

And, Pattison reports, “The stick-on note hit her, splat, right in the face.”

But as Lee, the advertising director points out, “Most folks are willing to remove (the ad) if it is covering something they want to read.”

Although these ads are small, they offer advertisers a lot of variations. They allow printing on the back – so businesses can include a map or directions to their stores. Some can have multiple pages folded together – and there are even some “peel-n-deal” ads that allow readers to scratch them to reveal numbers to messages, just like lottery tickets.

Each week, Here at The Herald provides an inside peek at the newspaper. Is there something you would like to know? Email Executive Editor Neal Pattison, npattison@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.