In his final INMA blog of the year, Newsworks communications manager Lewis Boulton explores how automotive advertisers can harness news brands to reach millions of readers in the new car market
Why do people read news publications?
It sounds like a trick question — news, of course! But, what does that mean exactly?
Politics and current affairs might be a given, but they’re far from the only things people read journalistic content for. Indeed, as our new “Youth” research has found, whatever their interests might be — show biz, food and drink, entertainment, sport — there’s journalism for them, and they’re reading it.
The same can be said for another section with particular importance to advertisers: motors.
One look at the data shows the scale of the opportunities news brands and, more specifically, their motoring content can offer car makers. The latest PAMCo data found 3.5 million UK adults plan to buy a brand new car in the next six months, with 87% of those reading any news brand content monthly.
When it comes to the motors sections themselves, TouchPoints “Superhub 2024” found new car buyers reading motoring sections are 224% more likely than the average adult to read news brands for ideas of what to buy. They are also 172% more likely to look for practical expert advice and 103% more likely to use this content to help form their opinions. What’s more, news brand motor section readers are 20% more likely to visit car brand Web sites, according to Ipsos iris data.
The clincher? Motor advertisers can take advantage of a higher-than-average ROI by using print advertising. Thinkbox’s “Profit Ability 2” study found that, while the average ROI for automotive brands is £4.65 per pound invested across all advertising platforms (up 54p on the cross-industry average), they can net a huge £9.33 per pound invested in print (up £2.97 on the cross-industry average).
Now that you’re convinced on the numbers, what about the creative? See which campaigns Lewis chose to feature in his full INMA column here.
