Examiner ad sales boost NNI revenue

STRONG advertising sales at the Irish Examiner helped push advertising revenue at member titles of the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) ahead by almost 18% during the first quarter of 2005.

Irish Examiner chief executive Tom Murphy said the increase in advertising activity reflect the growth in the Irish economy and comes as more companies opt for newspapers as the preferred medium in which to advertise their brands, products and services.

“The figures reflect strong growth in agency-led brand advertising and upbeat SME and retail sectors who are utilising the Examiner for recruitment and sales campaigns. The property industry and motor trade are placing increasing amounts of press advertising to sell more homes and push high volumes of cars, and doing so very successfully.

“With more people at work than ever before, consumer confidence is high and the outlook for the economy for the rest of the year is good,” he added.

A record €82.2 million was spent in NNI titles between January and March 2005, compared with €69.9 million during the same period last year.

Significantly, total revenue channelled through advertising agencies was up by nearly 23% to €44.5m, while direct advertising revenue rose by 11.8% to €37.7m during the first quarter of 2005.

The chairman of the NNI, Gavin O’Reilly said: “The key factors behind the current growth include continued strong activity in the property and recruitment sectors, as well as a material resurgence in both brand and retail advertising.”