Survey Finds People Are More Receptive to New Messages on Sundays

  • by July 24, 2001
The second annual Sunday in America study from PARADE magazine has uncovered a growing trend among consumers that is good news for newspapers and advertisers -- the "Sunday state of mind."

Sunday is a day when Americans do what they want to do, not what they have to do. They are relaxed and most receptive to fresh ideas on Sundays, and actively look to newspapers for the information they seek.

A boon to publishers and advertisers, the "Sunday state of mind" offers exciting and extensive avenues to reach millions of readers with a variety of messages, the report shows.

"In this age of media fragmentation and hectic consumer lifestyles, the power and influence of the Sunday newspaper has never been greater," says PARADE President Jack Griffin.

The Sunday In America study and segmentation analysis, conducted by Yankelovich in conjunction with Harris Interactive, was commissioned by PARADE to address the readership challenges of the newspaper industry.

Here are some of the major findings:

* Sunday provides advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach consumers on the one day when they are most likely to think about planning, researching and buying products, and are more actively seeking such information.

* The Sunday newspaper prompts consumers to take action, such as making entertainment choices, making purchases, or researching an item they have read about.

* There are five distinct segmentations of the population based on people's goals for Sunday: Traditionalists, Rechargers, Explorers, Believers and Overwhelmeds. Each pursues their goals differently, and Sunday in America(TM) illustrates how newspapers and advertisers can help people meet their respective goals.

* Two-thirds of Americans read the Sunday paper, and they find it more entertaining, relaxing and worth the time than the daily newspaper.

* While this is true, most would like a more manageable Sunday newspaper: Keeping stories on one page is the No. 1 change readers would like to see. They'd also like brief indexes to each section of the paper and summarized versions of news stories. Size is not much of an issue.

* While most Americans prefer to read the Sunday newspaper in print form, some typically seek it out on the Internet. Those who do prefer the electronic version say they like it because it's more manageable to pick and choose what they want to read.

* Most popular sections of the Sunday newspaper continue to be local news, national news, comics and coupons.

"Americans have many similar goals on Sundays, but they go about achieving these goals differently," says Ann Clurman, a partner at Yankelovich. "The segmentation analysis shows this. The good news is that newspapers can now look to this information for guidance in reaching all potential Sunday readers -- no matter what category they fall into."

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