Media Consumption following the death of The Queen

Undoubtedly the immediate days and weeks following the death of HRH the Queen affected us all in some way or another. It certainly affected consumption of media, and the way the media had to change their everyday broadcasting and reporting.

TV schedules were heavily disrupted prompting the conversation about whether coverage about The Queen was excessive, with 49% of audiences saying it was too much v’s 41% of people who thought it was “about right”. In spite of this, the Queen’s global popularity and influence was evident, with an estimated 4 billion viewers watching the funeral and an audience of 25 million viewers in the UK.

The Queens death and funeral prompted many of us to buy a newspaper…certainly this was something that was discussed in our office… around 5.5 million people who claim they “don’t usually buy a newspaper” said that they bought one following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Sun saw a 33% increase week-on-week of physical copies sold on Friday, September 9, while The Times saw an enormous 113% increase on the same day. Commemoration issues were in such demand that some copies of The Times were selling on eBay the day after for over £50.

News websites saw a surge in traffic over the period of mourning; The Sun drove over 10 million unique views for several consecutive days following the news, while The Times also saw huge uplifts, with over 11 million page views for content relating to “the Queen’” in the first five days following her death.

When it came to TV, OOH and wider media, the majority halted all advertising activity as a mark of respect.

From a marketing perspective there were brands that were wide of the mark with their sentiments (mentioning no names). You Gov released figures that suggested consumers were cynical of such brand responses, with almost six in 10 saying brand messages about the Queen were more driven by PR than a sincere desire to pay respects. Only 28% thought these messages were likely to be genuinely heartfelt.

How are audiences consuming media in 2019?

As the platforms we can use to consume media increase, the competition for our attention increases. The latest Touchpoints research provides insight into current media consumption patterns and how they are changing.

Access all hours

We spend 8 hours and 8 minute per day consuming media, this is less than a 1% increase from 2018.

94% of adults consume two or more media platforms in the same half hour each week.

Peak times for media consumption

Peak times for reading news brands are still in the morning and around lunchtime.

Digital media content is accessed throughout the day and we are exposed to out of home as we travel around.

Peak times for watching television/video and cinema are still in the evening.

Media consumption by weekly reach and hours

OOH is the second largest medium with a weekly reach of 100% and 3 hours and 1 minute per day of exposure.

Radio/audio takes third place with a weekly reach of 91% and average daily hours of 2 hours and 23 minutes. Year on year, radio/audio has maintained its reach but increased average daily hours from 2 hours 18 minutes in 2018 to 2 hours 23 minutes in 2019, an increase of 4%.

Listening to online streaming services e.g. Spotify, Apple Music etc. has shown significant growth in 2019 with adult weekly reach now standing at 33% (28% in 2018). 15 – 34s reach is now 57% (up from 51% in 2018).

Social networking/messaging is now the fourth largest medium for adults with 80% weekly reach (down from 87% in 2018) and average hours a day of 2 hours and 32 minutes (up from 2 hours and 29 minutes in 2018).

For social media Facebook still reaches 60% of adults each week (62% in 2018), with 42% of adults using Facebook Messenger. The weekly reach for Facebook for 15 – 34s has also declined from 81% in 2018 to 76% in 2019.

Instagram has increased its weekly reach from 24% in 2018 to 28% in 2019.

Whatsapp has also increased from 48% in 2018 to 53% in 2019.

With us wherever we go

Mobile phones are the device of choice for both adults and 15 – 34s (87% for all adults and 99% for 15 – 34s).

Desktops/laptops are the next favoured device with 79% of all adults and 86% of 15 – 34s personally using them. Tablets are used by 49% of adults and 43% of 15 – 34s (a very slight decline on 2018).

The Media Angel have over 60 years’ of helping clients effectively reach their audiences. Are you ready to get your marketing on track for 2020? Get in touch today and see how we can help you.

Sources: https://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2019/09/12/where-have-all-our-audiences-gone/

How are people using media in 2018?

Attest’s media consumption report 2018 is a survey of 1,000 people taken in July 2018 to compile a report on the habits of UK consumers. What’s their verdict on some of the biggest platforms?

Television 

86.8% of Brits report watching more than one hour of television every day, a rise from 82% in 2017.

When it comes to streamed and on-demand television, use has risen dramatically since 2017.

Women tend to watch more streamed television than men, with 75.7% of female respondents tuning in for at least one hour per day, versus 64.1% of men.

Londoners are more likely to tune into Netflix, Amazon Prime or similar for 1-2 hours every day (47.7%)

The ITV Hub app ranked as the second most downloaded iPhone app of May 2018.

Music Streaming

The most popular paid-for music streaming service is Spotify (35.1%).

However, Apple Music (27%), Youtube (25.3%) and Amazon Music (19.7%) are close behind.

News Media

Younger generations seem to be more interested in newspapers than older generations, with 37.7% of those aged over 40 admitting they do not read a printed newspaper on a regular basis, compared to just 23.2% of under 40s.

Magazines

Digital Media

Digital advertising grew at its fastest rate for nine years in 2016. But how are consumers using social media?

Source: Attest Media Consumption

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