A new UK-focused study of more than 20,000 Brits reveals a significant opportunity for brands to reach a valuable yet often overlooked audience – dedicated news followers.
The research by Stagwell is the second instalment of the News Advertising Study (which was first launched in the US in May) and sets out to further test brand safety concerns — the measures taken to ensure that ads don’t appear alongside content that could potentially harm that brand’s reputation.
In line with the inaugural study, the new survey of 22,116 UK adults conducted by Stagwell research consultancy HarrisX, reveals ads placed adjacent to news topics such as politics, inflation and crime perform as effectively as those placed next to business, entertainment and sports stories.
Mark Penn, chairman and CEO of Stagwell, said: “Our research continues to show brands should embrace advertising on news platforms rather than shy away from it.
“Investing in news offers business leaders the ability to reach incredibly valuable audiences. According to our new study, 25% of Brits are news junkies — on average checking the news four times a day and reading nearly five news articles per day.”
Further findings show that 76% of the British population follows the news closely or very closely, including 25% who check the news an average of four times per day.
Among Gen Z, a key demographic group for advertisers, the average purchase intent for brands whose ads were placed next to high-quality news articles on the Middle East conflict was 61%, compared to 58% for inflation and 57% for crime—differences that are statistically insignificant. To compare, purchase intent was 59% for entertainment (widely considered a ‘safe’ news topic).
Among mothers, another key target for advertisers, the average purchase intent for brands whose ads were placed next to articles on crime (a potentially negative story), and sports (a more neutral story) were each 66%, showing no difference between the two.
Jo Allan, CEO of Newsworks, said: “This is such an important study from Stagwell and one that we whole-heartedly support as it corroborates the body of work we have published over several years from The Hard News Project to Back Don’t Block and Trust, which includes Peter Field’s analysis of the IPA Databank.
“It is great to see that there is now a growing number of allies in the market who understand the importance of journalism, and the benefits brands can derive from advertising in quality trusted environments like news brands.”
Also our friends at Ozone have written about their partnership with the Stagwell project: We’re proud to partner with Stagwell’s ‘Future of News’ – Ozone (ozoneproject.com)
