Dashing through the aisles in a two-berth open shopping trolley… Christmas is well and truly here in news brands, and nothing is jollier than a festive spread. With increased consumer confidence in an extremely competitive market, there’s plenty up for grabs for supermarkets advertising in news brands
Shoppers read news brands
While UK shoppers spent a massive £13.7 billion on Christmas groceries in 2023, 2024 spend is expected to be even bigger. Improved consumer confidence, coupled with a willingness to shop around, means Christmas supermarket spend is a cash bonanza worth fighting for.
With a monthly reach of 44 million or 81% of UK adults, news brands have huge reach and wide appeal with supermarket shoppers. Reach rises to 83% for main shoppers and households with children and 84% for ABC1s, making news brands’ specialist content and first-party data ripe for targeting key audiences.
Print or digital — the creative opportunities are endless
Whether reading online or in print, key target groups are reading news brands for ideas of what to buy — from wine enthusiasts to alcohol reducers and Sunday roast fans to five-a-day fanatics. While advertising on either platform provides a clear business uplift, our research shows that using print and digital together supercharges effectiveness, with a 61% uplift.
From festive cover wraps and double-page spreads to content partnerships, news brands offer rich creative opportunities to complement mixed-media campaigns. With 88% of online supermarket shoppers reading digital news brands, the treasure trove of creative opportunities online should not be ignored either.
Festive news brand advertising boosts the bottom line
Beyond the creative are the hard facts showing that news brands work for supermarkets. RAM data shows that supermarkets outperform the cross-sector average on ad recall, brand recognition, engagement and action in both online and print news brand environments. To top it all off, Thinkbox’s Profit Ability 2 research shows that print ROI for large retail massively outperforms the media average, returning a whopping £8.11 for every £1 spent.
Take a look at our deck full of Christmas supermarket insights below.
