Advertisements in regional newspapers and their websites are almost 50% more trusted than those on commercial television, new research has found.
The study also found that advertising on the websites of newspapers based outside London is nearly twice as trusted and relied-upon as other website advertising, with the long-established trust for the local print media now extending into their online divisions.
The study, by TNS Media on behalf of the News- paper Society, concludes by claiming that the recent massive growth in regional media channels, combined with the transfer of local press values to online editions, "offers advertisers an environment that is trusted, relevant, sought-after and acted-upon".
According to the research, which tested the opinion of four national brands after they were promoted in the provincial press, advertising on regional media websites is 77% more likely to be believed and relied-upon than advertising on other websites.
Media advertising made people 123% more interested in spending in the brand's category compared to people who had not seen the advertising.
Robert Ray, marketing director at the Newspaper Society, said: "We already know that people trust their local newspaper above all other media but we wanted to find out whether that trust is applied across all plat- forms, and how it relates to advertising contained within them.
"Now we know that local media online, and the advertising contained within it, shares the same qualities as the local newspaper.
"While these platforms often serve completely different needs, they combine to form a powerful tool which large national clients can use to target specific communities across the country."
Jennie Beck, head of TNS Media, added: "Local media publishers were pioneers in online news provision and this research shows the value of that early investment.
"Online and print brands work together commercially as well as editorially, with websites clearly drawing on the same brand values that make local newspapers the most trusted media in the marketplace."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article