Who won the Sun?

Have you ever wondered which ads placed in the national newspapers are the most effective at engaging readers? Newsline has partnered with Lumen Research to find out.

Just in case you missed it, last week played host to Black Friday – aka feeding time at the capitalist zoo. Or the tenth circle of hell.

As was to be expected, Britain gathered in rabid hoards to mercilessly claw at and snatch from fellow shoppers, all in the name of marginal discounts.

Over in newspaper land, away from all the consumer chaos, was this week’s winner of Who won the Sun?, which came in the exciting form of unlimited broadband from BT (woo!).

93% of sales-hungry respondents engaged with the ad for 3.4 seconds – both figures above Lumen’s predicted norms.

However, as always, there appears to be some science behind the nation’s insatiable lusting for cheap goods that we, let’s face it, probably wouldn’t have bought if they didn’t have 0.07% off.

As Lumen founder Mike Follett explains: “Our memories are not independent of each other; we develop complex memory structures.

“It is crucial for brands to try and develop memory structures linked to their brand. Upon reading the word ‘river’, all of the associations become primed in your mind. Although you’re not conscious of it you will now have become more receptive to associated concepts like water or bridges.

“These associations are not innate, they are constructed and changeable. For example, if you were a rower you would have a very different set of associations with the word ‘river’ than a geographer.”

Follett added that while Black Friday is still fairly new to the UK, the number of associations we have with the concept are rapidly rising.

“By getting plenty of attention, BT will have associated themselves with Black Friday; should this be reinforced, the association could work both ways, with people thinking of BT whenever they think of Black Friday.”