GDPR, sport sponsorship, commercial radio: 5 killer stats to start your week

1. GDPR fails to improve brand experience

Despite brands’ best efforts, 46% of consumers don’t believe GDPR has made any difference to brand experience and 17% say things have become worse over the past 12 months.

The majority of consumers claim to have a good understanding of the data law, with 93% saying they’ve heard of GDPR and 39% suggesting they know a ‘fair amount’ or a ‘great deal’ about it.

Almost half (48%) say they understand their rights around how their personal data is used and 41% believe companies give them more control over their data than they used to, which rises to 49% among 25- to 34-year-olds.

However, 40% of consumers don’t think companies even care if they are in breach of data laws.

Source: Ipsos Mori

2. Sport sponsorship is fixed around a few key sectors

Sport sponsorship investment is mainly centred around five key sectors led by gambling, which accounts for 18.3% of sponsorships, followed by financial services (9.4%), professional services (7.8%), automotive (6.7%) and travel & transport (6.1%).

Football is dominated by gambling (32.4%) while rugby is led by financial services (15.2%) and alcohol (12.1%). Cricket sponsorship is split across alcohol, professional services and travel & transport – all 11.1% respectively.

When it comes to men’s sports, gambling is once again the top sector at 19.9%, driven almost entirely by football, followed by financial services (9.6%) and professional services (8.3%). For women’s sport, automotive (16.7%) and travel & transport (12.5%) lead the way.

Source: Caytoo

3. Almost half of Brits think the ad industry needs to change

Almost half (48%) of UK consumers say they don’t like seeing the same advert multiple times, which is why 48% of Brits believe the advertising industry needs to change.

Brits aren’t alone either. Consumers in the US and Germany say they experience a similar level of repetitive ads and 47% and 49% of consumers respectively express a desire for the industry to move away from this activity.

However, just 38% of consumers in France don’t like this advertising technique, with only 40% saying change is needed.

More than a quarter (29%) of UK consumers judge brands poorly when they produce bad advertising and while consumers are open to adverts, 44% would prefer to see fewer ads.

Source: Conversant

4. Ikea sees 495% social lift from TV ads airing during Game of Thrones

Ikea has topped the list of brands that experienced the greatest social boost from ads airing during Game of Thrones.

A study measured each brand’s social media engagements during the five-minute period following the start of a TV ad, comparing them to the engagement rate in the five minutes prior.

Ikea came top with a 495% social lift, followed by 335% growth for O2. BT came in third, with eight ads generating a social lift of 242%. BMW (185%) and Iceland (158%) rounded out the top five.

Source: 4C Insights

5. Commercial radio posts biggest ever audience

Commercial radio reached a high of 36.1 million listeners in the first quarter, a record audience.

There are now 1.7 million more people listening to commercial radio stations than the BBC radio networks combined, marking commercial radio’s biggest lead over the public broadcaster.

Two-thirds (66%) of the population listen to commercial radio stations each week and 89% to radio overall. Total listening hours for commercial radio are up 1.6% year on year, driven mainly by the growth of national stations and brands.

Source: Rajar