What’s the best part of the week to advertise?

Key findings: What’s the best part of the week to advertise? RAMetrics data shows that there is not much of a difference for ad recall when we look at Monday to Wednesday compared with Thursday to Saturday Brands that advertise towards the end of the week tend to be more familiar to consumers(+8% points) and also score higher on branding strength (+4% points).They are also easier to understand (+4% points) People are more likely to take actions that fit with being at the end of the buying process in response to ads placed on Thursday to Saturday, such as visiting the advertiser’s website (+3% points), visiting the advertiser (+4% points) and actual buying (+5% points) Engagement with ads is very similar across the week, so earlier in the week is perfect for brand building and priming campaigns   What’s the best part of the week to advertise? The way people buy brands and products today is complex. Decision making is often irrational, with device laden consumers having access to information 24/7. It can be like a pinball machine – there is a trigger that causes people to enter the decision-making process, but once in, they bounce around from one touchpoint to another, often moving backwards as well as forwards before eventually making a decision. We’re always gathering ideas about brands, things that we might like to buy one day, so passive absorption of brand associations before a journey is a powerful method of influencing purchases. One of the key findings from our ‘How people buy’ study is that, because of the on-going seeding and absorption of brand associations, most journeys consist of an assumed front runner and the purpose of the journey is to cross examine that through various touchpoints to ensure its purchase won’t be regretted. Newsbrands and other media shape the parameters of consumer’s consideration sets both before they have even consciously begun a journey and then once they are actively engaged. You could think of this as priming potential customers in the early stages of the purchase journey and then prompting them lower down the funnel, closer to the point of purchase. This led us to question whether advertising on different days of the week has a greater or lesser impact across key brands metrics, including attention and recognition, engagement metrics and action metrics, reflecting different stages of the purchase journey. Analysis of the RAMetrics database shows that there is only a small difference in recall when we look at ads that appear on a Monday to Wednesday (63%) compared with ads appearing on Thursday to Saturday (65%). In fact, there are few differences in ad performance overall based on whether they appear at the front or back end of the week. Of course, Thursday to Saturday are traditionally the most favoured days for ads that seek to prompt immediate action, especially for supermarkets and other retailers. Brands that advertise towards the end of the week certainly tend to be more familiar (+8% points) and score a little higher on branding strength (+4% points). These ads are also easier to understand (+4% points). In addition, there is evidence that people are more likely to take actions that fit with being at the end of the buying process, such as visiting the advertiser’s website (+3% points), visiting the advertiser (+4% points) and actual buying (+5% points). However, the data for engagement measures suggests that advertising earlier in the week (when perhaps there is less competition) is just as successful in delivering brand building responses, both rational and emotional. We know from Peter Field’s recently updated analysis of the IPA Databank that newsbrands are highly effective at delivering very strong business results in the long-term, not just short-term sales that can undermine profitability. This suggests that the early part of the week is perfect for communicating brand values, getting brands on to the mental shortlist and giving gentle reminders prior to the big shopping days at the end of the week. So what about Sundays? Well the truth is that we have a bit of a conundrum. We expected ads in Sunday papers to perform strongly, as we know from other research we’ve conducted that they are read differently. People spend more time reading on a Sunday and they also keep reading the paper through the week. People are more relaxed, more open to absorbing brand associations and discovering something new. But the data disagree. Recall is lower (56%) according to RAMetrics and so are other measures. It is quite possible that the Sunday ads tested are simply not very good, as we know that creative has by far the biggest effect on responses. Indeed, the most recalled Sunday ad is noticed by 85% of readers, so it does not seem that the day itself is unconducive to high scores. It is also possible that the online research methodology using digitised papers is at odds with the Sunday reading experience. At the moment, we simply don’t know – so there’s our next challenge! Source: RAMetrics. Countries: England/Scotland. Mon – Wed 32 ads from 14/09/2016 to 03/04/2017, Thu - Sat – 32 ads from 14/10/2016 to 03/04/2017. Score base: read the newspaper.

Days of the week - Ad recall Ad recall: Do you recall seeing the ad? % saying yes Source: RAMetrics. Countries: England/Scotland. Mon – Wed 32 ads from 14/09/2016 to 03/04/2017, Thu - Sat – 32 ads from 14/10/2016 to 03/04/2017. Score base: read the newspaper.

Start of week vs end of week brand measures attention + recognition engagement action Mon - Wed Thu - Sat Attention: How closely did you read/look at the ad? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Branding: How difficult or easy was it to understand the source/sender of the ad? % scoring above 9 on 10 pt scale Familiarity: How well did you previously know the advertiser? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Like ad: How did you like the ad? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Easy to understand: The ad is easy to understand. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale New Information: The ad contains news or new information. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Positive: The ad makes me feel positive towards the advertiser. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Appeals to me: Ad appeals to you. % Yes Benefit: Have you benefited or will you benefit from something in the ad? % Yes Interesting: The ad is interesting. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Fresh approach: The ad has an original design. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Emotional Reaction: Did you react to the advertisement emotionally? % Yes Look for more information: Have you looked for or will you look for more information as a result of seeing the ad? % Yes Visit a website: Have you visited or will you visit the website as a result of the ad? % Yes Visit advertiser: Have you visited or will you visit this advertiser as a result of seeing this ad? % Yes Have bought/will buy: Have you bought or will you buy something as a result of seeing this ad? % Yes Recommend: Have you recommended or will you recommend the company / product due to the advertising? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale (Added in April 2016) Discuss: Have you been talking about / discussing the company, offer or product as a result of seeing the advertising? % Yes (Added in April 2016) Source: RAMetrics. Countries: England/Scotland. Mon-Wed – 32 ads from 14/09/2016 to 03/04/2017, Thu-Sat – 32 ads from 14/10/2016 to 03/04/2017. Score base: read the newspaper.

Sunday- Ad recall Ad recall: Do you recall seeing the ad? % saying yes Source: RAMetrics. Countries: England/Scotland. Sunday – 32 ads from 20/08/2015 to 03/04/2017. Score base: read the newspaper.

Sunday brand measures attention + recognition engagement action Attention: How closely did you read/look at the ad? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Branding: How difficult or easy was it to understand the source/sender of the ad? % scoring above 9 on 10 pt scale Familiarity: How well did you previously know the advertiser? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Like ad: How did you like the ad? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Easy to understand: The ad is easy to understand. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale New Information: The ad contains news or new information. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Positive: The ad makes me feel positive towards the advertiser. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Appeals to me: Ad appeals to you. % Yes Benefit: Have you benefited or will you benefit from something in the ad? % Yes Interesting: The ad is interesting. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Fresh approach: The ad has an original design. % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale Emotional Reaction: Did you react to the advertisement emotionally? % Yes Look for more information: Have you looked for or will you look for more information as a result of seeing the ad? % Yes Visit a website: Have you visited or will you visit the website as a result of the ad? % Yes Visit advertiser: Have you visited or will you visit this advertiser as a result of seeing this ad? % Yes Have bought/will buy: Have you bought or will you buy something as a result of seeing this ad? % Yes Recommend: Have you recommended or will you recommend the company / product due to the advertising? % scoring above 7 on 10 pt scale (Added in April 2016) Discuss: Have you been talking about / discussing the company, offer or product as a result of seeing the advertising? % Yes (Added in April 2016) Source: RAMetrics. Countries: England/Scotland. Sunday – 32 ads from 20/08/2015 to 03/04/2017. Score base: read the newspaper.

Print readers spend a lot of time with their paper Time spent reading print on the days people read Monday – 69 minutes Tuesday – 67 minutes Wednesday – 66 minutes Thursday – 67 minutes Friday – 67 minutes Saturday – 80 minutes Sunday – 87 minutes Newspapers (read Mon-Sat) Sunday Newspapers (read on Sundays) 1hr 9m 1hr 27m