For 16-24s, reading a national newspaper during the average week is more likely than visiting the pub, according to the latest research from the Newspaper Marketing Agency.
The first detailed study of youth newspaper reading habits shows that 77% (5.6 million) of 16 to 24 year-olds read a national newspaper every week, compared with just 48% that claim to visit the pub regularly.
The research, which was carried out by RDSI and BMRB, shows that newspaper reading ranks highly in young people’s media consumption, coming out ahead of watching ITV1 (69%), accessing the internet (67%) and reading a magazine (59%). It comes second only to commercial radio listening, which accounts for 81% of media consumption amongst this age group.
NMA’s research also reveals that newspapers provide very effective access to 16-24s – around 25% of this age group read every issue of the Sun, compared to 23% having watched the final of Big Brother 5, one of the biggest TV events of the year. More young people actually read about Big Brother in newspapers than actually watched it on television.
The study shows too that the national press plays a significant role in young people’s lives, with 87% claiming newspapers help them understand important issues, 76% saying they provide a daily fix of news and 73% claiming they spark interesting conversations.
Commenting on the findings, Newspaper Marketing Agency chief executive, Maureen Duffy, said: “Newspapers provide a vital social fuel to keep young people up-to-date, inform opinions and help them interact socially with friends, work-mates and family. This is counter to many people’s assumptions that this key target group for advertisers doesn’t include newspaper readers and that all young people are glued to TV, PlayStations and the internet.”
According to the Newspaper Marketing Agency, newspaper readers have a highly active mindset when consuming the national press. Around 95% describe their mood as ‘interested’, 80% say they are ‘switched on’ and further 80% claim they are ‘entertained’.
The research also offers insights into young people’s attitudes to newspaper advertising. It shows that 81% of young readers like the fact that they can choose which ads to look at in a newspapers, 71% say they are more attracted to ads aimed at their age group and 69% claim they prefer ads that are related to articles.
Duffy added: “Our new research confirms that young people are advertising literate, they embrace advertising and have a receptive mindset towards it. And they’re actively engaged whilst reading – newspapers are not a fall asleep on the sofa medium. All these attributes can be used by advertisers to reach young people effectively through newspapers.”
The latest figures from the Advertising Association suggest that national newspaper advertising is in rude health. The industry is expected to see expenditure grow by a solid 3.4% next year, outperforming regional newspapers with a predicted 3.7% increase.
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