Latest NewsBrands Ireland advertising effectiveness research proves that Press is an Action Media

Study independently conducted by Research & Analysis of Media (RAM) found that ads in Irish newsbrands titles are twice as effective in terms of Action compared to the industry benchmark
Research unveiled at NewsBrands Ireland ‘reAction’ event in the Iveagh Garden Hotel

31 May 2018. NewsBrands Ireland, the industry body which represents Ireland’s national newspapers and their online editions, today unveiled new research into the effectiveness of advertising in newsbrands titles.

Independently conducted by international research company Research & Analysis of Media (RAM), the study evaluated the effectiveness of 5 ad campaigns running across national newspapers over a 10 day period in March 2018.

An independent panel of 1,300 respondents were asked a series of questions around the key effectiveness metrics of Recall, Recognition, Engagement, Action. Additionally, the panel were asked their opinions on trust, context and relevance.

Amongst the top line findings were:

Newspaper advertising triggers action

Ad campaigns by Ford, Lidl, Sky, TUI, and Harvey Norman were shown to the panel and each campaign scored twice and sometimes three times the industry benchmark for Action. (See in attached deck).
‘Action’ refers to ‘Looking for more information’ , ‘ Visiting the website’, ‘Visiting the Advertiser’ or ‘buying the product or service’

Trustworthiness

The RAM survey found that newsbrands deliver a level of trust unparalleled by other channels with 45% ranking newsbrands as having the most trustworthy news content compared with TV (22%), Radio (15%), Internet (13%), and Social Media (3%).
56% believed that information in newsbrands titles was more reliable than in other media channels.

63% believed that newsbrands were the most trustworthy source for news

Newspaper Advertising is an integral part of the medium

Newspapers were found to be one of the least intrusive media outlets for seeing advertisements with just 20% saying that they found newspaper advertising to be intrusive compared to 66% of respondents who said that they found advertising on social media to be intrusive.

In summary, the research shows that the engagement, trust and personal identification readers have with their newsbrands creates a significant effect and impact on the effectiveness of commercial campaigns.

Speaking at the ‘reAction’ event, Ann Marie Lenihan, CEO of NewsBrands Ireland said: “The RAM study confirms what our industry has known for some time – that newsbrands are an action media. The report is intended to help marketers and agencies determine their media choices by responses to advertising, and not simply by audience numbers.

As a platform, this study demonstrates, that we are still capable of mass appeal; ads placed among relevant content can engage, drive awareness, and drive sales among readers.”

Speaking about the research, Dianne Newman, CEO of RAM UK & Ireland, said:

“Our research highlights the importance and relevance of the context in which the ads appear should not be underestimated or ignored. Where you advertise has important consequences for brands – they benefit from the relationship and perception that consumers have with the medium.”

Also speaking at the Newsbrands ‘reAction’ event was Morag Blazey, CEO Ebiquity Intel, who presented their recent Re-Evaluating Media research. The study makes an impartial and robust re-evaluation of online and offline media. The results highlight a major discrepancy between perceptions of individual media and what the evidence says, suggesting that it is time for the industry to re-evaluate media decisions to optimise advertising budgets.

Morag discussed the disconnect between print’s marketing performance and the perceptions of its performance. The report found that newspapers’ performance outperforms marketers’ perceptions of it in multiple areas. The study found that, ranked out of 10 media channels, newspapers came second in increasing brand salience (vs eighth in marketers’ minds) and third in generating ROI (vs eighth).

Click here to download the presentation

The event concluded with a panel discussion on the theme of ‘Advertising Effectiveness: Perceptions Vs Reality’ which was chaired by Sunday Business Post journalist Colette Sexton, and featured contributions from: