Regional Rundown

Anna Bradley-smith travels the country to hear how media owners and agencies are serving their communities, and the opportunities that await those who join them.

According to Nielsen Consumer Media Insights (CMI), more than half of Kiwis live outside Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch – that’s 51 percent of our population or 1.96 million New Zealanders.

In a 'Life beyond the big smoke' study conducted by Nielsen on behalf of news media booking and advocacy company News Works, 86 percent of those living in the regions said they “felt very positive about life”. Eighty-six percent of people also said although they “may not earn as much as those in the big cities, they had a better lifestyle”. They noted a sense of community, plenty of time to spend with family and friends, and a low cost of living – in turn a nice home – as key reasons the regions suited them.

And that lifestyle hasn’t gone unnoticed by city-dwellers and foreigners who are moving to the regions and oftentimes bringing development, diversity, culture, and entertainment.

Brian Hill, CEO of News Works, says the importance of New Zealand’s regions in terms of population and GDP is possibly overlooked by brands, marketers and advertisers in the big cities.

“Also, we perhaps underestimate that their perspective and use of media is different to urban areas,” he says.

“Those in the regions definitely have more time. They have a lower cost of living so they seem to be more likely to be renovating their home or planning purchases, and they have a slightly slower lifestyle with more time to engage with newspapers and other traditional media.”

The Nielsen study showed those living in the regions between the ages of 25-69 years are less reliant on mobile phones than those in the cities and spend more time reading newspapers and less time online. They are also less likely to use social media and more likely to be influenced by newspapers and TV than radio when making purchase decisions.

And with 35 percent of the country’s GDP coming from the regions, and job creation, housing and tourism all on the rise, plus the Government’s $130.2 million commitment for economic growth projects across a number of sectors in regional New Zealand, it’s a hot market.

Hill says although subtle, there are differences in how audiences consume media across the country.

Across the regions, residents hold a strong sense of community and pride for the places they live, and data shows 63 percent of those who read a newspaper do so to feel in touch with their community.

With 1.02 million newspaper readers in the regions – 52 percent of the regional population – residents are highly connected to their local media.

“I think the relationship that the urban population has with its news media is strong, but in the regions it’s particularly strong because people rely on it for their perspective around what’s happening locally, they rely on it for community news,” Hill says.

When brands tailor messages and creative to particular regions, there are huge opportunities for success.

Hill adds achieving reach is clearly important, but in addition to this, there are countless opportunities using the regions’ unique relationship with their local media to tailor content and create effective and relatable campaigns.

As an organisation, News Works promotes the strengths of newspapers and their websites across New Zealand, with members including NZME, Stuff, Allied Press and a number of other independents, and it shares research and information with marketers and advertisers on the benefits and strengths of the country’s print and online media.

News Works' account management team use their newspaper experience to work with agencies to plan, cost and book print campaigns across most newspapers in the country – essentially a one-stop shop for the booking process.

Local news publications and companies spend years collecting information on and reflecting their communities, and curating content relevant to readers. The mutually beneficial relationship between communities and local media is evident throughout New Zealand’s regional towns.