As the global coronavirus crisis unfolds, audiences are continually turning to trusted news media for information, and NewsBrands Ireland has reported record online traffic, strong print sales uplifts, and increases in news subscriptions for its member publishers.
Many of NewsBrands’ member news sites have reported that recent online traffic has broken previous records, with some publishers recording a 38% increase on average in the past few weeks, and others up to 75% on their weekly average.
Print sales for national newspapers have experienced significant positive uplifts with papers devoting a lot of the coverage to keeping the public informed as well as helping to take their mind of things with news and features about other national and global events, interviews, puzzles, crosswords, and entertainment.
News publishers have adapted quickly and effectively to the crisis, doing everything to keep readers up to date, with most newspapers and online news being put together remotely by hardworking journalists and editors. In addition, a number of new podcasts, newsletters and supplements relating to the coronavirus have also launched in recent weeks to cover the crisis.
Despite the surge in online traffic, many advertisers have been quick to add coronavirus-related phrases to their keyword blocklists in fear of brand safety issues. In addition, the uplift in newspapers sales has not translated to press advertising. NewsBrands Ireland are calling on the advertising community to work with them to address this issue and to take advantage of the engaged audience provided by its members’ newspapers and quality news sites which reach almost 70% of the population.
According to NewsBrands CEO Ann Marie Lenihan: “The public are relying on our industry to provide factual information during this crisis. The widespread misinformation which is circulating online is causing panic and alarm amongst our most vulnerable. News publishers are providing an essential service at this time and we need the support of our readers and advertisers to continue to deliver this service. Our print and online platforms offer quality engaged content for advertisers to communicate their message to the majority of the population.”
