Fast forward 18 months, and that trend has just sped up, right? Well, er, yes, and, er, no. For a while, sales of newspapers fell to an all-time low due to lack of commuter purchases and general ‘living of normal life’ as a result of the dreaded C-word.

During this time, the way we absorb media completely shifted. So much so that it was discovered that people were trusting national media more than their own doctor. Yep, you read that correctly. A shocking statement, but when national media has been our go-to for the past year, it provides further evidence for just how much we rely on and consume media in our day-to-day lives. This was just one of the fascinating insights shared by experts Kantar at a recent PR Moment seminar we attended: Revealed: People’s Media Consumption habits.

Kantar conducted a survey in March 2021 with consumers aged 16-64 to find out their preferences in the growing age of media. In terms of accessing news, these consumers found T.V to be the most dominant source, with Newspaper websites & print coming in second. This promotes a positive message for this area of the industry and predicts a rise in the need for print media again after the decline due to the pandemic.

Other findings discovered that social networks may be the go-to for new food trends and beauty hacks, but didn’t dominate when it came to accessing news, ranking in third, However, this was as expected due to the purpose of these social media apps.

The webinar concluded with a panel discussion from Luke Bigwood, Head of Brand, Communications & Public Affairs at Good Energy; Hannah West, EMEA Communications at Oracle and Anna Salter, Evaluation Director at Kantar. They discussed that due to the rise in media consumption it has now become a lot easier for brands to create multi-channel campaigns, in turn, creating more successful outreach. More traditional and print media also seems to be key, as it is perceived as a trustworthy source for communications. How does the saying go? It’s there in black and white?…

So, what does this mean for brand owners using PR and digital to build relationships with consumers? It seems multi-channel campaigns and building a trustworthy profile on and off line is the key to relationship success.

If you’d like to find out more, contact us at sayhello@rtc.london