The average Irish Times newspaper reader has money and occupies a high social class, with 79% of readers falling into the ABC1 (higher social class) bracket: the highest proportionally of any Irish daily title (source: JNRS/MBL 2012).

Our readers’ pre-tax family income averages €60,923, compared with a population average of €41,945 (source: © Kantar Media TGI Republic of Ireland Survey 2012).

However, recent research using The Irish Times Reader Panel shows our readers are highly engaged with — and prompted to action by — advertising from budget grocery retailers.

To illustrate this point, we look to a TGI Republic of Ireland Survey, which shows a steady, year-on-year increase in the number of Irish Times readers shopping at European grocery retailer Lidl. Since 2009, the number of readers using Lidl has grown by 14% (source: © Kantar Media TGI Republic of Ireland Survey 2012).

Our reader panel research underlines this pattern of readers turning to budget grocery retailers. Reader feedback from two recent Lidl advertisements in The Irish Times shows the ads achieved fantastic interest and drive to action.

Using our reader panel (managed in conjunction with our business partner, RAM Panel), we surveyed one insert appearing in the main section of the newspaper, plus one, full-page advertisement from our weekend supplement, “The Irish Times Magazine.”

We have factored in separate “weighting” profiles for these two sections, based on the Irish Joint National Readership Survey’s estimates for our readership. This means we can produce a total campaign reach across the two platforms, minus duplications, measuring actual people, not impacts.

Our campaign results show unduplicated reach at 364,400 individuals, with an exposure frequency of 1.25. Average reader recall across the two platforms was a huge 67%.

Benchmarking the results against advertisements from the same sector underlines the success of the campaign. Since 2012, we have tested reader reaction to 44 grocery sector advertisements appearing across the newspaper and its supplements:

• On average, 38% of readers who see a grocery ad in an Irish Times platform intend to visit the advertiser, while 35% will express purchase intention.
  
  
• On average, the Lidl campaign drove 47% of readers to consider visiting Lidl, while 42% expressed purchase intention.
  
  
• In actual numbers, our weekend magazine full-page ad drove 84,300 people to consider purchase, while the insert added a further 72,850, giving a total purchase interest of 157,150 people.

Our research shows that quality titles can also be an ideal medium for budget grocery retailers, attracting a high-income, but value-conscious customer with greater spending power.