There was huge national interest in General Election 2011, which was reflected in the viewing figures across RTÉ’s most extensive election coverage ever. The marathon coverage on RTÉ One drew large audiences throughout the main count day, Saturday. Starting at 11.00am, audience figures kicked off with 236,000 individuals in multi-channel homes tuning in and steadily increased throughout
the day with 574,000 multi-channel individuals tuning in after the Six O’Clock News and 506,000 after the Nine O’Clock News, representing over 40% share of the TV audience. A total of 24 live Outside Broadcast and Satellite Units combined, for the first time, with broadband technology, gave the most rapid transmission of results as they happened. And with this new technology available, for the first time on television, a ‘whip round’ to all 43 constituencies was made possible as the earliest tallies became available.
Coverage continued until after 3.00am, with an average of over 100,000 staying with the programme after midnight. The extraordinary reach figure for all RTÉ News and Current Affairs programming was over 2.7 million – an increase of over half a million from Election 2007.
Despite the fall in sales, consumers still spent €7m every week to purchase national titles. In a week when it was confirmed the Sunday Tribune will not be published again, the constant refrain these days is that all newspapers are heading for the graveyard. However, the latest circulation and readership figures shows that some publications remain a very powerful media force. Newspaper sales did fall in 2010, but consumers still parted with €7 million every week to purchase a national title. The latest data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations shows that, on average, 570,000 daily newspapers are bought in the Republic from Monday to Saturday. On Sunday, this increases to 900,000. For provincial weeklies, the total number purchased is 480,000. That’s a total of 4.8 million buying decisions every week for a newsprint product. According to the JNRS survey which monitors newspaper reading habits, 84 per cent of the adult population regularly read paid-for daily or Sunday newspapers. An estimated 1.8 million adults regularly read a daily newspaper, and 2.4 million adults regularly read a Sunday the future of the newspaper business in Ireland.
The Dublin-based local newspapers Northside and Southside People, are now ABC membership approved and official audited circulation figures for the titles will be published in May. North Dublin Publications, publisher of the weekly titles, has been in operation since May 1987 and its three titles – Northside People (east), Northside People (west) and Southside People have a combined print run of 120,000 copies. Distribution of the titles is split between door-to-door delivery and through prominent pick-up points. The titles are printed by Webprint in Cork and distributed by Door 2 Door, based in Ballymount, Dublin. Maria Nulty, general sales manager with North Dublin Publications, said the company wanted to unpin its confidence in the strength of it circulation by applying for ABC membership. “In these challenging times, it is more important than ever to invest in your product and offer your clients added value. We believe that having ABC figures to back up our circulation claims will help attract new business for our titles, particularly from advertising agencies looking for cost-effective solutions for their clients in the Dublin area.”
In Rio de Janeiro heated transit shelters were used with the image of beaches to recreate Brazil’s long hot summers. Displayed during Europe’s harsh winter, the panels were equipped with a powerful heater to entice Europeans to get out of the cold and holiday in Brazil.
Often we forget that our favourite movies were once books. As a reminder this campaign ran with complete booksfrom start to finish, recreating iconic images from famous films.
To get consumers to consider using their brand, this campaign used a new audio device to interact with them. Audio Spotlight emits a narrow high frequency beam of sound, which can only be heard by one person at a time, making it perfect to communicating an intimate message.
The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) is rolling out a series of “energiser” events for 2011 that will take the format of a series of thought provoking talks and workshops for IAPI members across all levels. The first of these is to be held on March 23rd at 8am in IAPI and is entitled “How psychology is inserting itself into the practice of advertising” and will be delivered by Dr Kenneth McKenzie a social psychologist in Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin who will address how psychology is inserting itself into the practice of advertising. He will also outline what advertising people need to consider before they try to adopt psychology in writing briefings and making pitches. Places are limited and booking is essential – email aisling@iapi.com to book your place.
Jan-Dec 2009 V 2010 had a marginal increase of 1.34% YoY. Radio had the biggest decline, down 9.4% YoY. Press shows a growth YoY, up 4.7% vs same period last year. TV saw a 1% drop, Outdoor a 3% drop and Cinema was up 7.5% YoY.
TGI allows a deeper understanding of TV audiences and their relation to both offline and online platforms. The latest TGI data shows that median average TV viewing in Ireland is 18 hours a week, compared to 20 hours a week in GB. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), Irish adults are more likely to think of themselves as TV addicts. A quarter do so, compared to 16% of their counterparts in Britain. The good news for advertisers is that 27% of Irish adults find TV advertising interesting and something to talk about – compared to only 15% of GB adults. Based on this statement, the most receptive TGI Lifestage groups are Fledglings, Empty Nesters, and Senior Sole Decision Makers (see below). Potentially lucrative Empty Nesters are 20% more likely than the average Irish adult to find TV advertising interesting.
2010 saw the profile of TV on demand raised thanks to events such as the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Half a million Irish adults have used TVOD to date and 240,000 watch TV for one hour or more a week using the service In Ireland the majority of TVOD viewers (60%) access services through their TV set, with 30% using a PC. As yet, only a small minority view TV on demand using a mobile device.
More broadly, 400,000 Irish adults watch TV online. Again, 15-24s are the key age group – in Ireland a quarter watch TV online and 18% do so regularly, compared to only 7% of the 25-34 age group. Over 200,000 people download TV programmes from the internet. Sixty-five per cent of those who do are aged 15-34. Two-thirds of Irish adults ‘prefer’ to watch television programmes at the time they are broadcast, rather than record them. Almost half the population say they often record a programme on TV then don’t get a chance to watch it. Time poor ABC1s are more likely to watch recorded TV, with Irish ABs 24% more likely to watch an hour or more a week (compared to the national average). Busy and outgoing 25-34s are the age group most likely to watch an hour or more of recorded TV each week. Base: All adults 15+
Source: Republic of Ireland TGI 2010
Fledglings = 15-34, single, no children, live with parents.
Empty Nesters = 55+, married or living as a couple, children have left home.
Senior Sole Decision Makers = 55+, not married and live alone.
Ryanair, the budget airline, is partnering with publisher Ink to create customised ads on home-printed boarding passes, which target fliers based on their travelling routes and location. Ink, the in-flight magazine publisher, is developing a system that will customize advertising for travellers, according to their route and demographic data. The ads will be printed on Ryanair boarding cards and will target destination and departure points. A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Passengers are required to reference their boarding cards on a number of occasions during a trip, providing repeat exposure for advertisers.” The revenue from the ads will be used to keep Ryanair airfares low
