News Drives Positive Results for AdvertisersNew commissioned study debunks myth that news is bad for brands
New York, NY (June 12, 2018) - News websites help drive sales for brands and create value for advertisers through quality journalism, according to a new Nielsen study commissioned by News Corp.
The 2018 Nielsen Media Lab survey and white paper highlights the power of news websites to positively impact consumer behavior and brand perception. Key findings include:
News sites drive a significantly higher increase in both purchase intent and recommendation than other publishing categories such as sports, travel, food, and entertainment.
News content helps increase positive brand perception and brand affinity.
Negative or political news content is no more likely to adversely impact consumer attitude towards a brand than any other publisher category.
Authenticity and actuality are precious qualities in an age of the artificial and the asinine. It is important that advertisers have adjacencies to reporting of the utmost integrity and verified veracity, and not have the brands tarnished by exposure in unsafe spaces and polluted places. Gilt by association is far preferable to guilt by association, said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp. This significant survey underscores the lasting power of news to engage, inform and enhance.
There is a common misconception among marketers that news is bad for brands, but as this survey shows: that's simply not true, said Jesse Angelo, News Corp's Chief of Advertising Solutions and CEO of the New York Post. News has always been and continues to be an effective place to advertise because of its ability to inform and engage its audience.
For some marketers, today's political climate or catastrophes can make the news space seem perilous to navigate. However, millions of consumers see tremendous value in staying informed and actively engage with news every day. The Nielsen data shows that this value to consumers drives what marketers seek most-positive connections that ultimately lead to sales.
Nielsen gathered and analyzed data from nearly 6,000 real consumers, resulting in new, evidence-based insights into how news, compared to other publisher categories, performs for brands. The survey, which was commissioned by News Corp's advertising solution NewsIQ, found that while brands experienced an increase in purchase intent across all publisher categories, news content was a clear leader in this metric with a 44% increase - significantly ranking above all other content categories.
The survey also showed that respondents were 42% more likely to recommend a brand to a friend when viewing content on news publisher sites, nearly 10% percent higher than the combined average of the other publisher sites.
In measuring brand affinity, business (39%) and news sites (38%) were category leaders - likewise in driving positive brand perception. In fact, even negative news content was no more likely to adversely impact consumer's brand perception than any other publisher category.
We're excited to work with News Corp to explore how the consumer experience is being influenced amidst this dynamic media environment and to help uncover data and insights that help brands connect and resonate with people through their news and media consumption, said Peter Bradbury, Managing Director of National Client Solutions at Nielsen.
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About the 2018 Nielsen Media Lab Survey
Nielsen Media Lab fielded a survey of 5,833 respondents ages 18 to 64 using a methodology designed to replicate the experience of reading a website article. The goal of the study was to test how a consumer's brand perception and how their purchasing behavior might be affected by the publication category in which their ad runs. Respondents selected from seven publisher categories business, news, fashion/beauty, travel, entertainment, and viewed - to view content from both category leaders and smaller websites.
To replicate the diversity of content that falls under the news category, articles that were determined under preset parameters to be positive, negative or neutral content, were served to the respondents. Additionally, five different product and service categories - CPG, auto, finance, retail and tech - were tested against the content to ensure that the findings were generally applicable to the marketing industry as a whole.
To get the report, please email: cgillard@newscorp.com.
About News Corp
News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content to consumers throughout the world. The company comprises businesses across a range of media, including: news and information services, book publishing, digital real estate services, and cable network programming and pay-TV distribution in Australia. Headquartered in New York, the activities of News Corp are conducted primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. More information: http://www.newscorp.com.
About NewsIQ
NewsIQ is a precision audience targeting platform powered by News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). NewsIQ gives advertisers access to an audience across a suite of News Corp businesses, including Dow Jones, NY Post, Move Inc., HarperCollins Publishers, Storyful, and News America Marketing. NewsIQ leverages News Corp's proprietary data, custom content studios, social listening technologies and premium brand-safe media inventory to help its partners achieve their marketing goals. For more information, please visit: http://newsiq.net.
Contacts
News Corp Corporate Communications
Ilana Ozernoy
212-416-3364
iozernoy@newscorp.com
News Corp Investor Relations
Michael Florin
212-416-3363
mflorin@newscorp.com
NewsIQ Corporat
