Independent research carried out by Research & Analysis of Media (RAM) on behalf of NewsBrands Ireland shows that advertising published in newspapers are twice as effective in terms of “action” compared to the industry benchmark. The findings of the research into advertising effectiveness were presented at a NewsBrands Ireland seminar this week.
As part of the research RAM evaluated the effectiveness of five 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 an advertiser’s website, visiting the advertiser or buying the product or service.
Trustworthiness: The RAM survey found that news brands deliver a level of trust unparalleled by other channels with 45% ranking news brands as having the most trustworthy news content compared with TV (22%), Radio (15%), Internet (13%), and Social Media (3%). In addition, 56% believed that information in news brands titles was more reliable than in other media channels while 63% believed that news brands 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 news brands creates a significant effect and impact on the effectiveness of commercial campaigns.
According to Ann Marie Lenihan, CEO of NewsBrands Ireland: “The RAM study confirms what our industry has known for some time – that news brands 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.”
Dianne Newman, CEO of RAM UK & Ireland which conducted the research says: “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.”
In addition to the RAM research, Morag Blazey, CEO Ebiquity Intel, presented the findings of its recent Re-Evaluating Media Research which 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.
She also 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).
