Readers deeply engaged with newspaper brands

News consumers have a deep brand connection with their newspapers demonstrated by the high rate of home delivery in New Zealand and the increasing popularity of digital newspaper brands.

This from News Works commenting on the latest Nielsen Consumer and Media Insights report released Friday August 9.  News Works is the commercial arm of the Newspaper Publishers’ Association and represents all the interests of the newspaper industry.

Executive director Jenny Stiles says the latest Nielsen readership report shows that overall readership numbers remain high with 1.42m readers on a typical day rising to 2.26m across the week.

“Importantly, readership includes 485,000 people living in households with an income of $120,000 or more, an increase of 15,000 readers year-on-year. That demonstrates the ongoing relevance and connection for affluent readers, of importance to advertisers.”

But the increased number of ways readers can access newspaper brands has impacted hard-copy newspaper readership numbers this time around, Stiles says.

“While hard copy readership has shown some decline, there has been impressive digital growth by newspaper brands as readers switch seamlessly between print and digital formats.

“Stuff.co.nz and nzherald.co.nz are the country’s top news websites and when combined with the odt.co.nz they reach an impressive number of around 1.6 million New Zealanders each month.  That’s a year-on-year increase of nearly 16 per cent.

“And both the Herald and Stuff have increasing take-up of news apps on mobile devices with daily unique browsers up 34 and 22 per cent respectively for July compared to last year.”

Stiles says the reported decline in hard copy readership needs to be set in context.

“The increase in reading options has put pressure on straight newspaper readership numbers. But that can also be attributed in part to a retreat from the peak of 2011 where the country experienced several major news events – the Christchurch earthquake, the Rugby World Cup and the election.”
                                                                                                                
New research out this year from both TNS and Nielsen also proves that newspapers have unsurpassed depth of connection and engagement with readers that spins off to their digital brands, Stiles says.

“The high subscriber rates relate to loyalty and deep brand connection which is borne out in two pieces of recent research. They clearly show newspapers are highly-valued for their depth of credible content.”

The research shows newspapers are strongly positioned as being trusted and reliable and consumers enjoy the reading experience, where they are able to freely choose articles and advertising that is relevant to them, Stiles says.

She also cites Nielsen’s recently released Media Engagement Study (n=3,000 media consumers) which shows high levels of engagement for newspapers overall and for newspaper sections. That led to a demonstrable stronger call to action for newspapers over radio, TV and magazines, she says.

“This latest Nielsen survey measures engagement and inspiration levels as opposed to straight reach and will be a powerful tool for advertisers.”

About News Works
News Works NZ promotes newspapers and their digital platforms. News Works represents all the interests of the newspaper industry and provides free, current and unbiased advice and information. In addition New Works provides advice and useful tools to help plan and execute print campaigns. News Works NZ is a commercial entity of the Newspaper Publishers' Association (NPA).