MediaVest research ‘upsets’ conventional media wisdom

MediaVest has launched its biggest piece of proprietary research, which investigates young people’s media consumption. The findings are depressing for ITV and the national newspapers.

The 60,000 research project, called MediaLinx, reveals that newspapers and ITV are increasingly rejected by 16 to 24-year-olds. They classify them as something their parents would choose to read or watch, with tabloids dismissed as “adult comics” and newspapers generally only used for job ads.

Through group discussions around the country, media event diaries and questionnaires, young people revealed their attitudes to various media brands. Micro media – such as the Internet and even ads on bus tickets and postcards – created a positive response.

Nigel Foote, MediaVest strategy and research director, says: “The most sobering thing was the rejection of mass media, where we spend most money. We need to combine the right micro-media channels with conventional disciplines.”

The findings that advertisers do not benefit from the environment of most current conventional media has implications for broadcast sponsorship, for example.

MediaLinx defines youth culture as a diverse “pick-and-mix” lifestyle, which could involve a young person enjoying a range of music and fashion that advertisers often underestimate. Media brands are defined by their key elements, rather than their own brand values.