Press advertising spend increases

NATIONAL Newspapers of Ireland has reported an increase in spend on press advertising last year to €367 million.

The group said that €207m of that spend was by agencies, who increased their spend by over 8%.

This level of increase — against a backdrop of general economic uncertainty — is proof that agencies understand newspapers and recognise the unique benefits of the medium, according to Maeve Donovan, group chairman.

“Newspapers offer a cost-effective means of precisely targeting a clearly-defined readership audience whilst other media have to take account of increasing audience fragmentation and thus reduced opportunities for targeting,” she said.

The overall spend on press advertising of €367m is up 1.3% on the previous year’s spend.

Aegis Media, incorporating Carat, Brindley Advertising & Vizeum, was the top spending agency with a spend of almost €50m.

The NNI said it has “actively engaged” with the advertising community in recent years, investing in a series of initiatives designed to encourage the agencies to explore why newspaper advertising is so powerful as a medium and why newspapers are such an essential part of everyday life in Ireland.