City media analyst Lorna Tilbian has said that advertisers must learn to fall in love with newspapers once again, pointing to the boost to revenue return on investment achieved by including print on media schedules.
In an article for the News Media Association published today, Lorna Tilbian, executive PLC director and head of media, Numis, cited the circulation increases enjoyed by newspapers during ther EU referendum as example of their continued importance.
Lorna wrote: “The political and economic upheaval caused by the EU referendum result is a timely reminder of the value of newspapers and the importance of trusted news journalism. Over the three days following the vote, national newspapers experienced an average print circulation rise of around five per cent, peaking at seven per cent on the Saturday. Regional newspapers also experienced lifts in audience figures.
“These uplifts are significant because they illustrate that when fast moving and complex events such as the referendum happen, people rely upon newspapers to interpret what is happening, and to tell them how they will be affected. The referendum circulation bounce unequivocally demonstrated that print newspapers remain an important source of information and, at times of instability and uncertainty, they become even more valuable to their readers.
“Advertisers who are shifting their money away from print need to give this some serious thought. Newspaper readers are highly engaged with the content and, for advertisers, this engagement translates into hard revenue return on investment.
