Future of News APAC: Why news works for brands
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New research has found that advertisements placed alongside news articles perceived as “not brand safe” – such as those about politics or crime – perform as effectively as advertisements next to topics perceived as more brand-friendly, such as entertainment or sports.
The Future of News APAC Summit in Singapore on October 2 served as a launch platform for the APAC study, where industry leaders explored themes such as the resilience of quality journalism and its role in driving brand trust, and reaffirmed that the news audience is a key demographic group for advertisers. The South China Morning Post is the anchor partner for the Future of News initiative in Asia.
Objectives and results
The study, the first of its kind in this market, tested four different localised brand adverts placed adjacent to six types of news content: global politics, local politics, crime, business, entertainment and sports. The randomised experiment included 9,876 adults in four markets in the Asia-Pacific region: Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and Vietnam.
Eight reputational metrics were assessed. These included purchase intent – how likely or unlikely a respondent is to purchase or use services from the particular brand advertised – along with how favourable a respondent feels towards the brand. Perceptions of trustworthiness, value, and the ethics and appeal of the advertising company were also tracked.
The study found that it is safe for brands to advertise adjacent to quality news content, regardless of the topic. Advertisements placed next to stories covering politics or crime perform as effectively as advertisements placed next to positive business stories or sports and entertainment articles.
“The conclusion is that, simply put, advertisers should not be afraid to advertise next to quality journalism, regardless of what kind of quality journalism it is, because consumers discern the ads from the content and the difference between the two,” says Ray Day, vice-chair at Stagwell.
The future is news
The news audience – which comprises 74 per cent of the Asia-Pacific population – is a key demographic group for advertisers. It includes Gen Z, Millennials, university-educated adults, parents and “news junkies” – people who check the news an average of 7.2 times per day and read an average of 9.4 news articles per day.
“News junkies” comprise 21 per cent of the adult population in the Asia-Pacific region. This is comparable to readers dedicated to reading sports (19 per cent) and entertainment (also 19 per cent). Nine per cent of “news junkies” exclusively read news (and no entertainment or sports).
“News junkies” were found to be largely urban (71 per cent), highly educated (78 per cent have a tertiary degree), and the majority (70 per cent) are employed full-time. They tend to be younger, with 72 per cent being Gen Z and Millennials (aged 13 to 44).
The study found that there are no brand safety issues among key demographic groups for advertisers, including “news junkies”, Gen Z, Millennials, and university-educated adults.
“What we’re noticing increasingly is that the best kind of consumers are ‘news junkies’. This is an under-utilised and under-monetised audience,” says Day.