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Market Insight - Local Media Advertising Insight

Market Summary - Local Media Advertising Insight

Media Update:

Local Media Advertising Market Summary

Date:

QTR 1 2024

Sponsor:

Reach Plc

At a Glance

¦      Local media in online and in print is read by 42 million adults every month
Source | JICREG 2021

¦      65% of people who read a newspaper every day, read a local newspaper
Source | TGI 2021

¦      There are more than 900 local media titles in the UK

¦      Reach plc have the largest online audience in the UK, with more than 39 million users every month

 

¦      Local newspaper online and in print (74%) are more than three times more trusted for local news and information than social platforms such as Facebook and Linked (22%)
Source | YouGov

 

¦      Local press online and in print is the most trusted sourced source for local news and information

-       Local press online and in print             74%

-       Local commercial TV                             73%

-       Local commercial radio                        73%

-       Search engines                                       43%

-       Social media                                           22%

-       Other websites                                        39%

 

¦      37.6 million people read local media online every month
Source | JICREG 2021

 

¦      10.9 millon young people (15-34) read local media on their mobile every month

¦      People are spending more time and money locally and are more positive about key issues at a local level

¦      Trusted local media prompts people to have a sense of pride in the area they live

 

¦      Nearly two-thirds of people act on the advertising in local media

 

¦      Corporate community involvement is important for 93% of people, with 84% more likely to buy brands that give something back to the community

 

¦      64% of people like to see national brands advertise with local news brands

Source | The Consumer Catalyst Study from Think Media

 

¦      Readers are more than twice as likely to act on ads in local media than ads on TV and social media

Source | The Consumer Catalyst Study from Think Media

¦      Local media - in print and online - is the most effective combination for driving consumer action.

Source | The Consumer Catalyst Study from Think Media

 

¦      Local media is nearly four times more trusted to provide relevant information about the local area than commercial TV and radio.

¦      Source | The Consumer Catalyst Study from Think Media

¦      Local news media, online and in print, is the most effective combination for driving consumer action, with readers more than twice as likely to act on the advertisements than those on TV and social media.

Source | The Consumer Catalyst Study from Think Media

 

For brands both big and small the opportunity is huge:

 

¦      Effectively target regions, cities,towns and even individual communities without a broad brush stroke approach of national media or the vagaries of IP targeting

¦      Positively link brands to what is most important to their consumers: where they live

¦      Reach people who do not engage with national press but represent a key local market that needs to be tapped

 

 


Email Contact:

melissa.collins@reachplc.com

Website:

https://www.reachsolutions.co.uk/our-brands
Email Contact
Website

Hot Topics

We believe that now, and especially after the past 2 years, finding ways to connect with communities has never been more important.


Lockdown has changed the way in which we view our local communities:

  • 58% of people in the UK feel a greater sense of community since the first lockdown


People are valuing their local area more than ever before:

  • 74% of UK adults rate their city, town or village as an important part of their identity


Local spending has increased in recent years as consumers value small businesses more than ever before:

  • 85% of people in the UK agree that it is important to support local businesses


(SOURCE: IPSOS IRIS |GB TGI-2021 AUGUST (JULY 2020 - JUNE 2021)-© KANTAR)

In Safe Hands with Local Media

Online safety and regulation has been an issue for a number of years, with high profile incidents fuelling concerns among both the public and advertisers. So it’s unsurprising that brand safety has become one of the industry’s most salient issues, with brands often worried about where their advertising appears.

We found that consumer concern is mainly limited to social media and user generated content video sites, with 73% expecting to see unreliable content on social media compared to just 19% with digital newsbrands. (Source: Reach Solutions, 2020)

In our survey, respondents were asked to imagine they were in charge of advertising for a brand. We asked them where they would choose to advertise their brand if they wanted it to be associated with qualities such as trustworthiness and reliability. The proportion aligning these values with social media and user generated content video sites is very low, demonstrating that these aren’t considered the right environments for brands to be advertising in. Only 21% would advertise on social media if they wanted their brand to be perceived as trustworthy, and this drops to 19% for UGC video sites.

However, the public do understand the power of aligning brands with the values of a quality, editorial news publisher. 45% agree that they would advertise with digital newsbrands to be perceived as trustworthy.

Furthermore, a study by YouGov found that local Press in print and digital is the most trusted source for local news and information. This is followed by local commercial tv and local commercial radio both at 73%. Yet again social media scores low with only 22% stating it as a trusted source of local news and information (YouGov 2018).

Even those outside the industry understand the importance of a quality, trusted environment and the benefits this brings for brands. The context of a safe, familiar news environment ‘protects’ advertiser brands from any negative associations with the content it sits alongside, and instead it’s the qualities of the environment that brands align themselves with.

As a result, advertisers should be more concerned about where their ads are being placed and what this environment says about their brand, rather than placing disproportionate focus on what content it may sit alongside.

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