Nearly Two Thirds (61%) of Canadians Prefer Looking at Ads in Newspapers than on TV

Toronto, ON - Almost two thirds of Canadians (61%) indicate that if given the choice, they'd rather look at the ads in at newspaper than watch advertisements on TV, according to a new national survey released today by the Canadian Newspaper Association and conducted by Ipsos Reid. On the whole, two thirds (66%) of Canadians indicate that they enjoy the page advertising of product/service inserts that come with a newspaper.

Further, two thirds (64%) of Canadians often keep the inserts and flyers around for a few days so that they can re-read what's being offered for sale or what's on special, and almost half (45%) of Canadians indicate that there are some days when they read the newspaper as much for the ads as for the content.

These are just a few of the findings from a national study which was conducted to ascertain what Canadians think about advertising in newspapers.

On the Whole, Two Thirds (66%) Enjoy the Page Advertising and Product/Service Inserts that Come with the Newspaper...

While on the whole, two thirds (66%) of Canadians indicate that they enjoy the page advertising and product/service inserts that come with the newspaper, some individuals are more likely than others to say that this is the case:

• Women (70%) are more likely than men (62%) to agree with this perspective, and 73% of households with children agree that this is the case.
• Those aged 35-54 and 55+ are equally as likely to take this position (71%), compared with those aged 18-34 (55%).
• Those with less than high school education (71%) and those with a high school education (70%) are most likely to share this view, compared with those who have post secondary education (66%) or have a university degree (55%).
• As for household income, those in the higher income groupings - 68% of those earning more than $60,000 household income per annum and those earning between $30,000-$60,000 household income per year (67%) - are more likely than those earning less than $30,000 household income per year (63%) to take this point of view
• Atlantic Canadians (74%) are most likely to express their enjoyment in this regard, followed by Ontarians (68%), those living in Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba (67%), and those in British Columbia (63%) and Quйbec (62%).

Almost Two Thirds (61%) Indicate That if they had a Choice They'd Rather Look through the Ads in the Newspaper than Watch Advertisements on TV...

This is a view that is shared by Canadians almost equally in their demographic groupings across the country:

• Men (61%) and women (61%) are equal in their assessment, and only slightly led by those who are aged 55+ (66%) compared by those who are aged 35-54 (61%) and those aged 18-34 (55%). In terms of household composition, those with no children (61%) are equally as likely as those with children (60%) to share this view.
• There is virtually no difference in any education category - less than high school (60%), high school (61%), post secondary (61%) and university (61%) are virtually identical.
• From an income perspective, those in the highest household income category ($60,000+ per year) lead the way with 65% agreeing that they'd rather look through the ads in the newspaper than watch advertisements on TV, followed by 62% of those in the household income category of $30,000 - $60,000, and 52% of those in the $30,000 or less household income category.
• Those most likely to have this point of view are from Atlantic Canada (70%), followed by those from Alberta (67%), British Columbia (66%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (65%), Ontario (65%) and Quйbec (45%).

Seven in Ten (70%) Often go Looking Through Advertisements in the Newspaper that Give them Information on the Latest Offerings and Sales Available in their Area...

The trend continues that those with children in the household are more likely (76%) than those without kids (67%) to go through the newspaper for the purpose of browsing through the ads. Other demographic variances include:

• Women (71%) are slightly more likely than men (68%), to agree with this point of view, and those aged 35-54 (74%) and those who are 55+ (73%) share similar views, followed by those aged 18-34 (60%).
• The less-educated tend to agree more with this perspective - high school (75%), followed by high school (73%), post secondary (70%) and University (57%). Household income category show some modest differences.
• Those with a household income of $30,000-$60,000 per year (73%) are slightly more likely to take this perspective than those with $60,000+ (69%) and those with $30,000 or less (67%) household income per year.
• Those in Saskatchewan/Manitoba and Ontario (74%) lead the way, followed by British Columbia (71%), Alberta/Atlantic Canada (70%) and, lastly, Quйbec (61%).

Two Thirds (64%) Often Keep the Inserts and Flyers Around for a few Days so they can Re-Read what's being Offered for Sale or What's on Special...

Ensuring that they don't miss out on any good bargains, two thirds (64%) of Canadians often keep the inserts and flyers around for a few days.

• Those in Saskatchewan/Manitoba and Atlantic Canada (75%) lead the way in this regard.
• Women (66%) are more likely than men (61%) to take this position. Those aged 35-54 (69%) are more likely than those who are 55+ (63%) and those aged 18-34 (57%) to agree. Those with children in the household (71%) are more likely or than those without kids (64%) to agree with this view.
• Less-educated Canadians tend to agree more with this perspective - 69% of those with less than high school education followed by 67% of those with high school education, 64% of those with postsecondary education and university educated at 52%. As for income, all groups are relatively within the same range -- $30,000-$60,000 annual household income (66%) and those under $30,000 per annum (64%) are just slightly ahead of those earning $60,000+ (62%).
• A greater proportion of residents in Saskatchewan/Manitoba and Atlantic Canada register 75% with this perspective, followed by those in Ontario (68%), Alberta (61%), British Columbia (59%) and Quйbec (54%).

Seven in Ten (68%) Indicate that When there are Special Holidays or Weekends (such as Christmas and Boxing Day, Valentine's Day and Easter) they Specifically Look Through the Newspapers to Make Sure they Know where to get the Best Sales...

Canada's highest proportions of holiday-bargain shoppers are outlined below:

• Those most likely to be the bargain sale hunters by using ads from newspapers are living in Atlantic Canada (77%).
• Women (74%) are more likely than men (62%) to take this view. As for age, those in the older age groupings of 55+ (71%) and those aged 35-54 (70%) are more likely than those who are younger, aged 18-34, (63%) to share this perspective. Those with children in the household (73%) are more likely than those without children (67%) to take this position.
• Less-educated Canadians tend to share this perspective - 73% of those with less than a high school education, followed by those who have high school education (69%), those with postsecondary education (60%), and those with university education (62%).
• The region most likely to agree with this perspective is Atlantic Canada (77%) followed by Saskatchewan/Manitoba/Ontario (72%), British Columbia (68%), Alberta (66%) and Quйbec (59%).

Half (49%) Indicate they Look Through the Advertising in Newspapers to get Ideas about what to Buy People for Special Occasions like their Birthday, Engagement, Wedding or Anniversary...

One half (49%) of Canadians say they look through newspaper advertisements in order to find that perfect gift for that special occasion.

• Those Canadians in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (58%) are most likely to do this, followed by those who reside in Alberta/Ontario (51%), and Atlantic Canada/British Columbia (49%) and Quйbec (45%).
• Women (52%) are slightly more likely than men (46%) to indicate that they do this. As for age composition, those who are 35-54 (51%) and those 55+ (52%) are most likely to take this perspective, followed by those who are aged 18-34 (45%). Those with children in the household (55%) are more likely than those without (48%) to have this point of view.
• Those with less than high school education (53%), those with postsecondary education (52%) and those with a high school education (51%) tend to share similar views on this practice, compared with those who are university-educated (37%) who are less likely to do so. As for income, there really isn't much difference: those earning less than $30,000 household annual income (52%) are almost equally as likely as those earning $30,000-$60,000 (50%) and those earning in excess of $60,000 per year (48%) to take this perspective.

Almost Half (45%) Indicate There are Some Days when they Read the Newspaper as Much for the Ads as for the Content...

Many of the demographic trends continue in this question and indeed throughout the survey:

• Women (48%) are more likely than men (41%) to agree that they sometimes read more for the ads than for the content. Those aged 35-54 (51%) are more likely than those aged 55+ (41%) and those who are aged 18-34 (40%) to indicate that they do this. Those with children in their household (54%) are more likely than those without (41%) to take this perspective.
• This practice is most likely to be shared by those who are less than high school educated (53%) and high school educated (49%), followed by those with postsecondary education (42%) or university (35%) education. As for income, those earning $30,000-$60,000 of household income per year (47%) share this perspective with those earning less than $30,000 of household income per annum (46%), and are slightly ahead of those who earn over $60,000+ of household income (42%).
• Atlantic Canadians (51%) are slightly more lightly than those in Ontario (48%) to have this perspective, followed by Canadians in British Columbia/Saskatchewan/Manitoba (46%), Alberta (45%) and Quйbec (37%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Canadian Newspaper Association from January 31 to February 4, 2008. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1428 adult Canadians was interviewed via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Canada been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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