NMA News Topicality Special presents new qualitative research showing how ads that connect with the news deepen engagement and offer advertisers opportunities for better targeting.
Read the Topicality Special (PDF)

Download the associated presentation (PPTX) (NB. Large file. Over 100MB*)

Some key points from the research:

• Topical advertising can reinforce a customer's connection to a brand, or help potential customers to re-evaluate and think differently about a brand
• The newspaper does the work of setting out the story, and the brand surfs through. Consumers see the ad's relevance from following the news story
• Topical ads can align a brand with positive values, like the passion of sports event or the glamour of a fashion show. Equally, they can work to counteract negative associations
• Identifying with a particular group – like sports-mad men or fashion-loving women – aligns the brand with the interests of those readers. The range of national newspaper titles, special pages and sections provides plenty of opportunities for targeting
• Because of newspapers' flexibility, topical ads can not only be planned in advance around predictable events, they can piggyback on news stories running in that day's newspaper
• The 12 topical ads tested in 2009 NMA cosmetics and toiletries research against six core branding and response metrics scored on average 5% points above the average of all the ads tested

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* If you'd like the presentation on CD, please contact us.