Local newspapers cornerstone of news in Northern Cape

Local newspapers are the cornerstone of communication and news in the Northern Cape, and potential advertisers should hone in on the region’s Afrikaans and Tswana speaking readers. This is according to Compass24 – a research survey conducted under the auspices of Ads24, the national advertising sales division for Media24’s newspapers and digital properties.

“We researched a sample of 334,534 in the Northern Cape region, specifically for the titles , Kalahari Bulletin Upington and, Kalahari Kuruman Noordkap. Why? Northern Cape residents are rated third in South Africa in terms of being the most active in local community matters. Over half of the Northern Cape population responded in the positive about wanting to make a real difference in their society,” said Karen Dyke, Strategy and Insights Specialist at Ads24.

She noted that the Northern Cape had mostly Afrikaans and Tswana speaking inhabitants, and that increasingly, advertisements are tailored to this very important and lucrative market.

The results of the research, labeled Compass24, revealed that:

• societies are becoming more community-focused;
• local newspapers are becoming a differently relevant advertising medium; and
• community-centricity implies a different attraction to local newspaper titles.

Compass24 researched communities in the Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northern Cape and North West. In the Northern Cape, other important information includes:

• 67% of the population are aged between 20 and 49
• 13% have accessed the internet over the past 12 months
• The potential average household income is R854 million a month
• 95% live in formal urban areas
• 78% are in the LSM 6 category
• 52% prefer advertising in the media over ‘knock and drop’ methods
• Afrikaans, Xhosa, English and Tswana dominate the language landscape

“Our research enables more informed planning for advertisers, making it less of an intuitive process that is the case at present. The ultimate aim is to create a sophisticated, scientific tool able to support and justify the credibility of local paper ad-spend.”

Compass24 was first initiated in 2008; the current Compass24 research builds on the foundations and data initially released. “I am confident that the latest Compass24 will provide reliable and current reach figures for community papers and statistics embedded in a broader consumption context,” said Dyke.