1. GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING & NEWSPAPERS
Public Notice
2019

2. The government has a duty to inform Canadians about its programs, services, policies and decisions.
Advertising is one of many ways the Government ensures that individuals, families and businesses have the information they need to exercise their rights and responsibilities and to make decisions about their health, safety and security.

3. Canadians Want Government Advertising in Newspapers
Two thirds (64%) of Canadians want to see advertising for government programs and services in newspapers.
More than six in ten adults believe newspapers are the most appropriate media for government ads.
Source: Totum Research, January 2018; Base: 2,401 Canadian adults 18+ *Traditional + Digital formats
Q: Which of the listed media do you think are the most appropriate for advertising about federal, provincial and municipal/regional government programs and services? 

4. Public Notice There are two components to public notices:
Open and transparent communication from government to Canadians is vital and the proper dissemination of public notices assures that the public is informed about important changes that will impact their lives.
There are two components to public notices:
Informing the public of the notice, and
Providing access to the information pertaining to that notice.

5. Online Public Notices At Cost Of Public Awareness
In some areas within Canada, there is a push to move public notices into an online only format and to discontinue the requirement to publish notices in newspapers that represent the relevant audience for the notice. Often cost reduction is touted as the main driver for this push. This is a false savings as it comes at the cost of public awareness, the entire reason behind public notices. Online public notices can only be effective if the public knows where to look and is willing to take time out of their day to go searching for them. More than 8 of 10 of Canadians read their local newspaper, so when a public notice is published in printed newspapers the likelihood is far greater that it will get noticed by its target audience.

6. Newspapers – Print + Digital
Government has an obligation to reach all Canadians
Digital advertising has the ability to reach those in “connected” communities
Printed newspapers provide reach across communities with lower internet penetration

7. Canada’s Digital Divides Non-Urban Internet Penetration
Income
95% of Canadians in highest income quartile are connected
BUT only 62% in the lowest income quartile have Internet.
100%
27%
84% but access ranges from 17% to 90%
86%
80%
83%
78%
77%
84%
85% access in rural areas = 1,000,000 without broadband
Source: CIRA Factbook The Canadian Internet

8. TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING
Optimized Campaign = +
78%
TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING
22%
DIGITAL ADVERTISING
While ad dollars are increasingly moving to digital, it’s most effective to keep the bulk of the dollars in traditional media.
“More is better: spending across multiple platforms delivers greater ROI than investing in single platforms.”
Gayle Fuguitt, President, CEO Advertising Research Foundation
The Advertising Research Foundation examined 5,000 campaigns, representing $375 billion in spending.
Media Life Magazine, April 4, 2016

9. Newspaper Advertising Most Trusted
This slide details all the media, broken out by their traditional and digital platforms. And again, Newspapers top the Trust list in both printed and digital formats.
Google - included under Search Engine (28%) and Facebook in Social Media (23%).
Social Media has seen one of the largest declines in trust over 2016 according to the 2017 CanTrust Index. “Significantly fewer respondents say that their Facebook news feed is their preferred information source (19% in 2017 versus 31% in 2016), with similar trends for Twitter and LinkedIn (both at 6% in 2017 from 10% in 2016).” CanTrust Index 2017
And research among Americans echoes this – BuzzFeed and Ipsos Public Affairs survyed 3,000 Americans and found that “Over half of those who took the survey said they trust the news they read on Facebook “only a little” or “not at all.”
Trust in news media organizations remains the second most trusted, after not-for-profit organizations. Product and service sampling or word-of-mouth are the most trusted sources of information about a product, service, brand or organization, followed by traditional editorial content. CanTrust Index 2017
Source: Local Newspapers:Trusted and True, Totum Research January 2018

10. Newspaper Media Reach All Target Groups
Millennials read most on a phone. Boomers prefer to read in print. Adults years old over-index for both phone and computer platform readership.
% Readership
88%
Any Platform
88%
Any Platform
91%
Any Platform
87%
Any Platform
Source: Local Newspapers:Trusted and True, Totum Research January 2018
Millennials=age years; Boomers=age years

11. 83% of Canadians are Local Community Newspaper Readers
Adults 18+
84%
Prairies
88%
British Columbia
82%
Ontario
81%
Québec
87%
Atlantic
Every week in Canada, over 1,000 community newspapers circulate almost 19 million copies in key metropolitan areas, rural and remote regions, and all areas in between.
Vividata 2016 Q2 Readership and Product Database (July 2015 – June 2016 Fieldwork)
Respondents aged 18+, Read a Local Community Newspaper in the Past Month or Longer Ago

12. Social Media Doesn’t Reach Everyone
The government trend of reaching constituents using their own websites and social media is a concern for many reasons:
Almost one in five Canadian adults doesn’t use social media.
Governments have an obligation to provide access to important and relevant information to all Canadians.
Few communities are adequately served by online-only sources of local news and information. However, the ability of printed newspapers to deliver news and government information is proven and an essential tool for continued democratic and economic vitality.
Website information can be changed while newspaper public notices are printed, archived and remain as a permanent public record.

13. Social Media Usage And finally, let’s take a look at social media.
We asked respondents to indicate which of these things they use social media for.
Very few people use social media for vehicle related activities - only one-in-seven look at vehicle ads (14%).
Information about products and advertisements don’t rank very high on social media with about 1 in 5 people listing those items.
It is no surprise that most people use social media to communicate with others and share photos and video.
And a quarter of Canadians stated that they do not use social media at all.
Totum Research: Canadian Adults 18+ (January 2018)

14. Newspapers Score Highest On Engagement
Index
When Canadians were surveyed on eleven metrics* for media engagement, printed newspapers scored highest.
When reading a newspaper, Canadians give it their full attention, compared to other media where attention is fractured.
Newspapers score highest on engagement When Canadians were surveyed on eleven metrics for media engagement, printed newspapers scored highest. When reading a newspaper, Canadians give it their full attention, compared to other media where attention is fractured.
Totum Research: Canadian Adults 18+ “Newspapers are Engaging” (April 2014)

15. GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING & NEWSPAPERS
Public Notice
2019