Attitudes to Advertising - Ireland

In response to increasing demand for data concerning the dynamic economy and growth markets of Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland, Mintel has developed a series of reports covering a wide variety of sectors within both of these dynamic regions. Each one provides detailed coverage of key drivers as well as providing the very latest volume and value data. Also included are assessments of emerging trends, the activities of existing market players, brand ownership details, supply structures, future scenarios and statistical forecasts.

The Irish Series is segmented according to Mintel’s existing report definitions, namely Finance, Leisure, Market, Retail and ‘Specials’. This provides unparalleled coverage and will be a must for all companies who are either already active in this region, or will be looking to enter these distinct marketplaces in the future.

Issues in the Market

Definitions

A note on adspend data

Abbreviations

Insights and Opportunities

More NI-specific portals

Online media exchange

Empathise not patronise grey market

Findings in Brief

Irish ads compete with UK media

One in three negative towards advertising

Advertising budgets soar in RoI

TV is the main advertising channel in NI

Press the main channel in RoI

Irish search engines boost growth

New media opportunities offer vital link to younger generation

Factors Influencing Lifestyles

Key Points

Internet use becomes mainstream

Figure 1: Adult population who have used the Internet in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, 2001-06

Still focused on young adults…

…but growth is coming from grey consumers

Very little advertising per se

Too much focus on young people?

The most advertising-exposed consumer group

Declining audience size

Grey population too patronised?

Why bother?

Today’s grey market are a new generation

But some advertisers are taking note

Economic climate favourable to advertising budgets

Figure 2: Health of the economy, NI and RoI, 2002-07

Growth forecast for NI economy

RoI forecasts tighter times

Advertising, the media and children

Limited concern about the effects of advertising on children

Watching TV - bad for children’s health

Codes of conduct established

More media exposed than ever

More advertising regulations

Food and drink given particular emphasis…

…as have advertisements to children

Ads to children under review in UK

Use stats wisely

Can savvy marketers simply sidestep some issues?

Speaking to a multicultural Ireland

Sales opportunities exist

Strengths and Weaknesses

Competitive Context

Key Points

The competitive environment

International ads and media

Local dominance over global advertising?

UK TV exposure

Print media

Further multi-channel adoption widens scope of Irish advertising industry

Other above-the-line promotion - direct mail

Scrapped postcode system means DM will lose out to advertising in RoI

A growing number ‘opting out’…

Figure 3: Agreement with “I always choose that my name not be included on mailing lists”, NI and RoI, 2002-06

…leads to a shrinking target market, yet opportunities remain

Good for traditional advertising

Other above-the-line promotions - sponsorship

Sponsorship spending set to grow

Sponsorship gets noticed, but does it increase sales?

Figure 4: Agreement with selected sponsorship-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Below the line - sales promotions

Goodbye grocery order

Who’s Innovating?

Key Points

Channel innovations

Bluetooth

Bus and taxi-side advertising

Controlling downloadable TV shows

Interactive TV services

Mobile phones

‘Actual’ moving billboards are a captive audience

Online advertising

Pub advertising sidesteps regulations

Video games

Online media exchange

Advertising Expenditure Trends

Key Points

Adspend flourishes in a booming economy

Figure 5: Indexed advertising expenditure in Ireland, euros, NI and RoI, 2001-12*

Figure 6: Advertising expenditure in ireland, NI and RoI, 2001-12

RoI adspend set to grow by 6% per annum

NI adspend to grow by 4% per annum

Segment Performance

Key Points

TV dominates NI adspend

Figure 7: Estimated advertising expenditure in Ireland, by category, NI and RoI, 2006

RoI TV ads lose out to UK TV

Figure 8: Average annual advertising expenditure growth, by category, NI and RoI, 2001-06

Radio losing out in NI…

…boosting outdoor advertising

UK media affects NI adspend

Figure 9: Per capita advertising expenditure, in euros, NI, RoI and GB, 2001-06

€447 million spent on TV ads in Ireland

Figure 10: Television advertising expenditure, RoI and NI, 2001-06

Economic growth drives RoI TV advertising by 66%

Adspend in NI limited by lack of local channels

Newspapers: the fastest-growing channel

Figure 11: Advertising expenditure for print media, RoI and NI, 2001-06

It helps to READ

Radio adspend experiencing record growth in RoI

Figure 12: Radio advertising expenditure, RoI and NI, 2001-06

Non-commercial radio plays a large role in NI

Is the NI cinema market turning into a horror picture?

Figure 13: Cinema advertising expenditure, RoI and NI, 2001-06

Outdoor advertising: the fastest-growing medium in NI

Figure 14: Outdoor advertising expenditure, RoI and NI, 2001-06

Consumer Attitudes to Key Media Channels

Key Points

Attitudes to TV

Figure 15: Attitudes to selected television-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Future threat?

Digital TV is gaining ground

Half of NI adults rely on TV to keep them informed

Men go digital

Establishing trust among consumers

Attitudes to newspapers

Newspapers are a key media for half the adult Irish population

Figure 16: Attitudes to selected newspaper-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Free newspapers are diminishing in popularity

Irish becoming more fickle about the newspapers they purchase

Newspapers still an important source for entertainment listings in Ireland

Attitudes to radio

RoI audience is more radio ad-friendly

Figure 17: Attitudes to selected radio-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

NI radio effectiveness in question

Figure 18: Agreement with the statement “I often notice the advertisements on the radio”, NI and RoI, 2002-06

Men are the largest contingent of radio listeners in NI

Target older adults during news broadcasts

Attitudes to cinema

Declining number of core users

Figure 19: Agreement with “I am a regular cinema goer”, NI and RoI, 2003-06

In-home entertainment continues to threaten cinema admissions

Attitudes to outdoor advertising

More recognition of bus stop ads in RoI

Figure 20: Attitudes to selected outdoor advertising-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Visually stimulating posters make a strong impression

Buses get noticed and congestion helps

RoI adults more inclined to notice poster adverts compared to NI adults

Attitudes to the Internet

RoI online ads worth €13.5 million

An important role in product information…

Figure 21: Agreement with selected Internet-related statements, NI and RoI, 2002-06

…when making major purchases

Know how consumers view your product

New digital technologies will fuel growth of Irish advertising market

Lack of online visibility

A growing number of RoI portals…

…but no NI portals yet

Consumer Attitudes to Advertising

Key Points

Half of adults feel ‘bombarded’

Figure 22: Attitudes to selected advertising-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Majority still receptive

Figure 23: Agreement with “I feel bombarded by advertising”, NI and RoI, 2004-06

Have consumers become desensitised to advertising humour?

Figure 24: Agreement with “I expect advertising to be entertaining”, NI and RoI, 2002-06

Ignore advertising

Figure 25: Agreement with “I rarely notice the adverts in newspapers and magazines”, NI and RoI, 2002-06

Rising resistance to advertising

Figure 26: Agreement with “I find advertising a waste of my time”, NI and RoI, 2002-06

Is irritation blinding the target audience?

Targeting Consumers Through Advertising

Key Points

Figure 27: Advertising cluster group, NI and RoI, 2006

Ad Friendly - (22% in NI, 18% in RoI)

Demanding - (21% in NI, 22% in RoI)

Mail Friendly - (23% in NI, 27% in RoI)

Bombarded - (18% in NI, 18% in RoI)

High maintenance - (16% in NI, 15% in RoI)

Industry Views

Targeting the new ethnic community

New community = new consumers

But threats to Irish brands/companies exist

How important is ethnic advertising?

Little information available…

…leads to problems of stereotyping

What challenges face advertisers targeting ethnic groups?

How do we target them?

The generation gap

Why can’t advertisers speak to the grey market?

Ignore existing assumptions

Which media channels are useful?

What’s different about young people and the media?

Caution needed

What are the best channels for the younger audience?

New media channels

Unexplored territory

Slow adoption

Advertising apathy

Are consumers apathetic towards advertising?

Ads must work harder

A change in tone

Global vs local

Do adverts need a local flavour?

Budgets don’t match ideas

How can ads from Ireland better suit the audience?

Changes in the next few years

Appendix

Lifestages

Regional definitions

Conversion factors

Exchange rate

Population 2005

BMRB Target Group Index (TGI) sample sizes

Adults who have used the Internet

Figure 28: Adult population who have used the Internet in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 29: Consumers who choose “The effect of the media and advertising on our children” as a concern, by demographic sub-groups, NI, 2006

Employment statistics

Figure 30: Percentage in employment, by age group, NI and RoI, 2000-05

Household size

Figure 31: Number of households, by size, NI and RoI, 2000-05

Figure 32: Growth in number of households with children, RoI and NI, 2000-06

Long-term responsibilities

Figure 33: Average age at marriage, men and women, NI and RoI, 2000-05

Figure 34: Average age of women at birth of first child, NI and RoI, 1991-2005

Working hours

Figure 35: Average number of hours worked a week, by gender and working status, NI and RoI, 1998-2005

Population statistics

Figure 36: Population change, by age group, NI, 2000-20

Figure 37: Population change, by age group, RoI, 2000-20

Figure 38: Forecast population change, by age, NI, 2000-20

Figure 39: Forecast population change, by age, RoI, 2000-20

Figure 40: Current worries, NI and RoI, 2006

Marketing to children - codes of conduct

Figure 41: Advertising spend per capita, NI, RoI and GB, 2001-06

Market forecast explanation

Figure 42: Advertising expenditure in the UK, 2001-06

Figure 43: Top 20 cinema advertisers in RoI, Jan-Dec 2006

Figure 44: Top 20 cinema advertisers in NI, ‘000s, Jan-Dec 2006

Figure 45: Top 10 outdoor advertisers in RoI, Jan-Dec 2006

Attitudes to television

Figure 46: Attitudes to selected television-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 47: Attitudes to selected television-related statements, NI, 2006

Figure 48: Attitudes to selected television-related statements, RoI, 2006

Figure 49: Attitudes to selected television-related statements, NI, 2006

Figure 50: Attitudes to selected television-related statements, RoI, 2006

Attitudes to newspapers

Figure 51: Agreement with “I read a newspaper most days” by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 52: Attitudes to selected newspaper-related statements, NI and RoI, 2002-06

Attitudes to radio

Figure 53: Attitudes to selected radio-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 54: Attitudes to selected radio-related statements, NI, 2006

Figure 55: Attitudes to selected radio-related statements, RoI, 2006

Figure 56: Attitudes to selected radio-related statements, NI, 2006

Figure 57: Attitudes to selected radio-related statements, RoI, 2006

Attitudes to cinema

Figure 58: Cinema attendance in Ireland, NI and RoI, 2001-06

Figure 59: Cinema infrastructure, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 60: Agreement with “I am a regular cinema-goer” by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Attitudes to outdoor advertising

Figure 61: Attitudes to selected outdoor advertising-related statements, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 62: Attitudes to selected outdoor advertising-related statements, NI, 2006

Figure 63: Attitudes to selected outdoor advertising-related statements, RoI, 2006

Figure 64: Attitudes to selected outdoor advertising-related statements, NI, 2006

Figure 65: Attitudes to selected outdoor advertising-related statements, RoI, 2006

Attitudes to the Internet

Figure 66: Attitudes to selected Internet-related statements, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Attitudes to direct marketing

Figure 67: Agreement with “I always choose that my name not be included on mailing lists”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Consumer attitudes to advertising

Figure 68: Agreement with “On television I enjoy the adverts as much as the programmes”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 69: Agreement with “I expect advertising to be entertaining”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 70: Agreement with “I rarely notice the adverts in newspapers and magazines”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 71: Agreement with “I rarely notice the adverts in newspapers and magazines”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 72: Agreement with “I feel bombarded by advertising”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 73: Agreement with “I find advertising a waste of my time”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Figure 74: Agreement with “Nearly all TV advertising annoys me”, by demographic sub-groups, NI and RoI, 2006

Targeting consumers through advertising

Figure 75: Agreement with advertising-related statements, % point difference from average, by cluster group, NI, 2006

Figure 76: Agreement with advertising-related statements, % point difference from average, by cluster group, RoI, 2006

Figure 77: Demographic breakdown, by cluster group, NI, 2006

Figure 78: Demographic breakdown, by cluster group, RoI, 2006

Figure 79: Agreement with “On television I enjoy the adverts as much as the programmes”, NI and RoI, 2002-06