Research shows printed newspaper ads are effective

Advertisers want their ads to be noticed. Consumers actively avoid most ads because they find them annoying and the ads interrupt content being consumed. New research from News Media Canada examines engagement and the effectiveness of advertising through consumer responses to a series of engagement statements.

To determine an Advertising Effectiveness score, responses to two specific statements about various media were analyzed:

1)     “I usually notice ads in this medium” (NOTICE ADS)

2)     “It contains annoying ads” (ANNOYED BY ADS)

The top 3 traditional and top 3 digital media are shown below with Ad Effectiveness scores based on indexing all media measured. Printed Newspapers are the only medium that show a positive score. Readers notice the ads in Printed Newspapers and are less annoyed by them.

Other media with strong noting scores have higher annoyance ratings which render them less effective. Even when consumers notice ads on television or radio, they are more annoyed by them reducing their effectiveness. With digital media, consumers install ad blockers to avoid ads.

More data from the Local Newspapers: Engaged and Connected study will be available in the coming weeks.  For more information contact Kelly Levson at klevson@newsmediacanada.ca.