WPP Media and Mediahuis NRC: news media boost advertising effectiveness

WPP Media, in collaboration with Mediahuis NRC and research agency MSI-ACI, has conducted an experimental study examining the impact of media context on advertising effectiveness. The study compared 34 media titles and platforms based on three factors: trust, engagement and audience mindset.

News media scored higher on all three factors than social media and other online platforms included in the study. Online advertising messages were more effectively retained in news media environments, achieving an index of 128 compared with social media (index 100). For the measured brand image indicators, the index rose to 148.

NRC achieved the highest scores for trust, engagement and audience mindset among the news media included in the study. Online, NRC recorded an index of 153 for message recall and 218 for brand image. Its brand image index reached 182 in print and 122 in podcasts, in each case compared with other news media examined. The positive impact of news media environments was also observed among 18- to 34-year-olds.

The study involved 4,900 respondents from the HBO+/AB1/W1 target group. Participants were exposed to identical advertisements for two fictitious brands across different media environments: in a digital newspaper, on a mobile website or as a podcast pre-roll. Researchers then measured factors including message recall, brand image and interest.