Irish Times quantifies value of its “non-clickers”
06 May 2013 · by Irene Fogarty 
The Irish Times runs four audience panels for research purposes (operated in conjunction with our business partner, RAM Panel). One panel is dedicated to irishtimes.com and represents our Republic of Ireland digital audience.
A huge advantage of the digital audience panel rests in the scope we gain to study the impact of online ads beyond traditional click-through rate metrics.
We are all aware that click-through rate, or CTR, means the interaction on a display ad bringing you to the brand Web site or tailored brochure page for that ad. In other words, you have to physically interact with the advertisement to be counted.
For me, CTR misses important aspects of engagement with ads, and we are not serving our advertisers well if we focus only on CTR as a measure of campaign success.
Strong voices in the industry show counter-arguments to CTR are gaining momentum.
As John Lowell of Starcom points out, “A click means nothing, earns no revenue and creates no brand equity. Your online advertising has some goal – and it’s certainly not to generate clicks.”
Equally, John Battelle, board member of the IAB, argues, “You don’t build brands by optimising for clicks. There needs to be other measurements.”
Globally, CTR continues to be low.
...[more]From digital recipes to real-life cooking courses at Styria Media Group
04 April 2013 · by Margareth Koller-PrischingEditor’s note: The following is a guest post written by Margareth Koller Prisching, a colleague of regular Media Research contributor Wolfgang Granigg.
Today, ichkoche.at can be presented as a digital success story of the Styria Media Group AG. Over the years, ichkoche.at got to know its digital community, understand its needs, and serve exactly those needs.
Ichkoche.at was founded in September 2007, as an Austrian digital cooking portal with its headquarters in Vienna. The site was re-launched in 2011.
In December 2012, ichkoche.at served an audience of 1,306,777 visits a month (according to ÖWA), making it the preferred Austrian cooking portal.
The cooking portal offers more than 12,500 recipes, ranging from sweet, traditional Austrian desserts such as sachertorte to Indian chapati to fiskbullar (Norwegian fish dumplings).
Ichkoche.at also offers a digital magazine that covers topics related to cooking, including fashionable table decorations, nutritional information about various ingredients, and book recommendations.
...[more]Digital newspaper: same advertising impact and so much more
26 March 2013 · by Erik Grimm
Dutch news media have invested heavily in editions for such devices as smartphones, tablets, and e-readers. A good decision because the penetration of tablets doubled last year.
About one-third of the Dutch population uses a tablet nowadays. With this growth, an enormous market opens up for mobile news. In December 2012, 21% percent of the Dutch used the iPad for reading a newspaper, and this number is growing every day.
Working in the advertising sector, the first question that comes to mind is, “Do the ads on a tablet work as well as on paper?" An interesting research question that is picked up by Cebuco, a news media marketing organisation in the Netherlands.
Reader Groups Research company Ipsos homed in on the reading behaviour of four representative newspapers in the Netherlands, at their request. More than 2,500 readers were divided into three groups: digital readers, conventional (“paper”) readers; and combined (“print + digital”) readers.
They were questioned about their reading behaviour, their attention for advertising, brand recall, and buying intentions.
The main conclusion from this study is that the reading behaviour of print and e-paper is similar. The pleasure and intensity of reading is the same, just like the engagement with the newspaper. Nine out of 10 enjoy the edition and two-thirds read almost every page. The engagement is high; 70% feel connected to the news brand.
...[more]Can advertisers benefit from the love between a media brand and its consumers?
13 March 2013 · by Bart de ProostWith great interest and enthusiasm, I have read the results of a new research study by Sanoma Media België. Sanoma België is a magazine-only publisher, but for this research in particular, it also considered newspapers.
“Does media brand leverage really exist?” That was the crucial question in the research.
Sanoma discovered viable metrics and valuable diagnostics of commercial return of media brands. On the basis of these metrics, researchers calculated an index per title.
The calculation of that score indicates the quality of a media contact: the engagement index! This index takes into consideration the strength of the media brand, the inspirational surrounding context, and the higher advertising effectiveness.
The study is based on 3,000 computer-assisted Web interviews (TNS online panel representative 15+), representing about five media types (television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and online), and +/-100 media brands for a total of more than 13,000 title observations.
If we compare the results of magazines (newspaper magazines included) and newspapers with television and radio, we conclude the following:
You can tell a lot about Irish newspaper habits by looking at their grocery shopping ethics
07 March 2013 · by Irene Fogarty
For the fourth consecutive year, The Irish Times has invested in Kantar Media’s TGI Republic of Ireland survey, which provides invaluable insight into media consumption habits across the Irish population. In addition, the survey offers subscribers a vast bank of consumer data, with more than 2,000 measured brands across 18 industry sectors and multiple sections exploring consumer behaviour and attitudes.
Compared against previous years, the 2012 survey release reveals a steady growth in the amount of Irish adults supporting nationally produced goods – expecting quality, fresh food from their supermarket and rejecting GM food products.
In 2010, 416,000 Irish adults strongly agreed they buy free-range products whenever they can. Last year, 453,000 strongly agreed – revealing an increase of 9%.
...[more]5 reasons De Persgroep België found advertising brand conversations aren't social media specific
06 February 2013 · by Ilse Peeters
It is impossible to imagine modern use of media by consumers without social media.
Advertisers feel they can no longer reach their target group through the traditional media alone and look for advertising opportunities on Facebook and Twitter.
Nevertheless, successful advertising campaigns through social media are rather exceptional, and the role of newspapers and magazines in creating brand awareness remains much more important.
To demonstrate this, De Persgroep België (publisher of newspapers such as Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen) carried out a survey in the summer of 2012, in cooperation with InSites Consulting, on the position of newspapers and magazines in the present media experience of consumers. Similar research was conducted by De Persgroep Nederland in 2011.
The Belgian survey comprised two parts:
- Qualitative online blog, where 30 Flemings added posts on their use of media for two weeks.
- Quantitative online study among 1,247 Flemings who reported in detail on the conversations they had about brands. This produced a total of about 3,500 brand conversations.
Do advertisers know well-targeted print ads can increase ROI 240%?
20 January 2013 · by Erik Grimm
Many news media are focused on new business models, profitability, and shareholders’ value. But in this quest for innovation and continuity, we might overlook one of the major assets of the news media: it’s advertisers’ value.
In tough economic times, with a critical look at diminishing advertising budgets, news media can still deliver excellent return on investment (ROI), even resulting in direct uplift at the counter.
In 2013 we expect to deliver some hard evidence of this belief.
Like everywhere in Europe, the Dutch news media, especially newspapers, are experiencing tough competition from other media channels. Most A-brand advertisers choose a multi-media approach, with TV and online as a base.
On top of that, newspapers, magazines, radio, or outdoor can play a secondary role. But they have to compete, even for a supporting role.
The low gross rating point (GRP) prices of television in the Netherlands make this pitch extra difficult — particularly for retailers who need weekly impulse shopping traffic and still rely on regular newspaper advertising.
The advertiser’s focus on media ROI and direct sales also offers chances.
A dedicated panel of GfK Panel Services is a validated source for this type of metric. This panel consists of a few thousand consumers whose media and consumer behaviour are continuously tracked.
A German analysis in 2011 of more than 100 multi-media campaigns delivered some promising results. If we look at sales ROI of media campaigns, newspapers belong to the most remunerative media channels.
These positive insights encouraged the Dutch news media promoter Cebuco to initiate some ROI studies for their specific market. The organisation signed up for seven studies; the individual news media will account for three extra cases.
When transformed to showcases, these studies can be used as incentives for other A-brands. And an aggregated study of the individual cases — planned for mid 2013 — will be able to bring out some general lessons for a better advertising ROI.
Of course, a secondary goal is to gain a fair share in the TV-dominated Dutch advertising market.
...[more]Data is king, so dig deeper than reader surveys — into statistical analysis
16 January 2013 · by Herve Barbot
Most publishers, editors, or sales managers ask researchers to conduct surveys to get answers to different questions.
It is natural for research departments or institutes (in many newspapers, at least in France, there is no research department and publishers hire external providers) to seek answers through qualitative or quantitative surveys of readers, subscribers, buyers, or residents — to collect undoubtedly relevant and useful information in a few days.
But there is another way, which we should use more and more. It is the statistical analysis.
Newspapers are sitting on a gold mine. Every day, they produce data: copy sales, subscriptions, classified ads, articles, complaints — by point of sale, by city, and through their Web site analytics. All this data, which measure and describe finely activity and performances, can be transformed into statistics — figures that can be analysed and give us so much meaning.
Let’s have an example of analysing the local performances of the newspaper.
The local news is the basis of a local newspaper. Accessing this local information is one of the reader’s main motivations for purchasing the newspaper. We measured it many times in ad hoc research.
But how can we explain why the newspaper sells better in one area than another? Is it because the newspaper deals better, more in depth or more regularly, with the life of the community?
Are there other explanations? Is it because the population of this area presents more affinity with the information? Is this population more educated, wealthy, or simply more attached to the territory? Is the distribution network better adapted, more efficient?
Can we plan how sales will go if we move certain parameters of the newspaper? More articles, more photos, more frequency?
To understand and answer these questions, we can listen to the inhabitants and readers of the areas where the newspaper succeeds, as well as to the ones from the less successful areas.
In other words, do research as usual!
...[more]Survey says European readers trust and value newspapers
18 November 2012 · by Irene Fogarty
In July 2012, INMA’s European Research Committee organised a unique survey exploring a timely issue for the printed newspaper: the trust and value readers placed in their printed newspaper of choice.
With the help of more than 30 publications across Europe, the committee undertook a survey of newspaper readers, resulting in 9,000 participants from 10 countries. Each participating publication sent the survey to its readers via their Reader Panel.
All results had to be representative of the title’s average issue readership and have a minimum response of 150 readers. Fourteen quality titles and 13 mid/mass market titles met the requirements.
Results were analysed by gender, age group, and target market of newspaper (quality vs. mid/mass market).
Each reader was asked to state his or her level of agreement with a given statement. In analysing the results, we combined the “strongly agree” and “slightly agree” results to get “any agree.”
Our survey results yield highly positive news for printed newspapers: 75% of European newspaper readers agree they trust the information they read in their newspapers.
However, quality title readers are more likely to trust their newspaper: 83% compared with 66% of mid/mass market readers.
A pronounced difference of opinion is evident between lower and higher age groups of readers regarding the level of importance of the newspaper in the daily life of the reader. On average, 56% of readers agree the newspaper plays an important role in their daily lives.
However, readers aged 60 and older are more likely than younger readers to agree with the statement: 64% compared with 44% of readers under 30. Quality title readers are also more likely than mid/mass market readers to agree: 61% compared with 51% of mid/mass market readers.
...[more]Survey highlights growing strength of newspapers in engaging Irish population
29 December 2011 · by Irene Fogarty
Since 2009, The Irish Times has subscribed to Kantar Media’s TGI (Target Group Index) survey. This population-representative survey explores consumer habits, attitudes and media consumption among adults (aged 15 and older) dwelling in the Republic of Ireland. The 2011 data release highlights newspapers’ strength as an advertising platform and shows significant growth in population engagement with aspects of newspaper editorial content.
TGI includes a substantial section on advertising engagement across six media platforms: television, magazines, newspapers, Internet, cinema and radio. In the last year, the number of Irish adults who say they pay most attention to ads in newspapers grew by 7.5%, to a population total of 1.1 million. Meanwhile, newspaper advertising emerges as “most useful” for more Irish adults (943,000) than any other advertising media in helping them make purchase decisions. The next highest scoring medium in this regard is television, the ads of which are rated “most useful” by 929,000 Irish adults. More Irish adults feel newspaper ads fit better with the rest of the medium’s content than any of the other media surveyed.
...[more]
