Readers Respond To Newspapers' Digital Ads

NYT-B6

Consumers who read digital newspaper content respond to digital advertising as well, according to a new survey commissioned by the Newspaper Association of America and performed by Frank N. Magid Associates.

Newspapers have a wide digital reach, with 60% of respondents saying they looked at an online version from a laptop or desktop in the last week, while 26% said they looked at an online version using a smartphone, and 12% looked at an online version using a tablet. (There was overlap between these categories; overall, 67% of respondents fell into one or more of them.)

The survey, conducted from Jan. 20 to Feb. 1, 2012, consisted of 2,518 online interviews among adults 18+ who use the Internet, followed by another round of 1,179 online surveys for statistical balance, as well as nine focus groups conducted across the U.S.

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Among digital newspaper media consumers, the NAA-Magid survey found that 66% said they act on digital ads displayed with the newspaper content, while 61% of tablet users said they act on newspaper tablet ads, and 59% of smartphone users respond to ads with newspaper content viewed on those devices.

While print ad revenues may be declining, newspapers’ print products are also still reaching large audiences, with 66% of respondents saying they looked at the Sunday print edition of a local newspaper in the last seven days, and 64% saying they looked at the weekday edition in the same period.

Overall, 80% of respondents fell into one or both of these categories. 73% of respondents said they have used printed circulars included in newspapers in the past 30 days, and 74% said they make a point of looking at printed Sunday circulars.

The preferred means of consumption varied considerably by age cohort, with 65% of adults ages 18-34 saying they read the newspaper on a computer in the last week, compared to 48% of adults 65+. Likewise, 41% of adults ages 18-34 read the newspaper on a smartphone, versus just 11% of adults 65+.

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