• by Masha Geller , December 6, 2002

Once again, the Online Publishers Association has delivered on providing the industry with research that is likely to be used to every “The Web Should be Part of Your Media Plan” presentation from here to eternity (or at least until the next research study comes out).

On Friday, the OPA released new data that indicates that users of branded media websites are more likely to read, watch or listen to those same media brands offline.

"There is a strong inclination among online media consumers to also engage with the offline property," said Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the OPA. "In addition, the online and offline components of a media brand are synergistic in that they reach their audiences during different times of the day. This suggests that advertisers who communicate through offline media brands can achieve greater impact by adding an online component from the corresponding websites into their media plan."

OPA reports that among almost 5,000 Internet users aged 14+, 56% indicated that they are more likely to read, watch or listen to the offline component of the brand. Furthermore, those users with high affinity toward a particular media website are even more likely to watch the companion network or read the companion publication (66%), versus only 23% of low affinity users. The research also found that users of Special Interest (70%) and Sports (60%) sites are particularly likely to translate into offline readers/viewers/listeners of the corresponding brand.

Additionally, OPA research indicated that online media sites introduce valuable new consumers to the overall media brand and are a highly effective and efficient channel for driving print subscriptions. For example, as of September, NYTimes.com had generated more than 58,000 credit card subscriptions to The New York Times, USATODAY.com was the #2 source of new subscriptions for USA TODAY in 2002, and approximately 10% of all new subscriptions to The Washington Post are driven by washingtonpost.com.

Online media sites also increase sampling of companion TV networks, the OPA says. According to a recent MSNBC.com survey conducted by MarketFacts, 31% of MSNBC.com users said that they are more likely to watch MSNBC cable news, vs. 19% who said they are less likely. Media sites are also effective at driving viewers to programming. In April 2001, ESPN surveyed 4,961 visitors to ESPN.com the weekend of the NFL Draft. More than half (52%) of the respondents indicated that the information on ESPN.com made them more likely to tune in to the Draft on ESPN/ESPN2.