Publishers have always reflected and represented society, culture and the moments that matter most. This has never been truer than over the past few years, where we have seen enormous reliance on premium editorial for guiding the nation through the pandemic and more recently informing on the cost of living crisis.

In our privileged position as an extension of most of the UK’s most read and respected publishers, Ozone has an exclusive window into what people are paying attention to, when and why. This is something we will always share with our agency and client partners to help inform their planning in order to build campaigns that reflect the real world and, as a result, drive maximum impact.

One such example of this is the change we are seeing within the health category. As the predictable ‘new year, new me’ phase comes around again, we know we are going to see the usual spike in health and fitness engagement. However, within this we have seen a gradual shift in focus from short-term fitness goals to longer-term lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and improvements in diet. In 2021, nearly 50% of all healthy living page views in Q1 were driven by fitness, with only 7% coming from nutrition. One year on and there were more than 7m page views about healthy eating in January, accounting for over 33% of engagement. Recognising the extent of this societal change in a relatively short period of time highlights the opportunity for brands to communicate with readers in a way that is most aligned with their real-world goals, rather than what they expect people to be most interested in based on legacy.

The cost of living crisis has also highlighted just how quickly subjects that would not typically be at the top of the reading list can increase in importance. In the space of one year there has been a 25x increase in engagement with home utility related content, and looking back over recent months we can clearly see the moments that played the biggest role in driving user engagement. All three of the largest spikes in the personal finance category have been driven by announcements from the Government regarding the current crisis; the Spring budget, the increase in interest rates and the mini budget in September. With the ability to reflect back and identify the moments that matter most, brands can be ready for when similar moments happen again. By planning ahead for seemingly ‘unforeseen’ events, brands can be a part of the conversation as it happens, and in turn maximise cut-through and relevance.

The cost of living crisis has also meant cut-through during key sales periods like Black Friday is harder than ever. Additionally, and thanks to an over-reliance on legacy planning, many brands are still dependent on the same periods and the same highly competitive environments, and ignoring clear periods of opportunity. While ad spend more than triples during the two weeks leading up to Black Friday, many people have already used trusted premium publishers to research some of the best deals available well before this.

The evolution of new planning paradigms

Looking at recent years, the second week of November represents a big opportunity – engagement was up +50% week on week, but ad spend was only a fraction of what it was closer to Black Friday week itself. In 2022, interest began even sooner – as early as mid-October – as people got organised to find the best deals. With this insight advertisers can be confident in going live with campaign activity in time for the key spikes, and certainly well before the deluge of ad spend in the fortnight before the big event. Cut-through in highly competitive markets amongst financially stretched audiences is a continued challenge for brands, therefore understanding the key triggers and periods of highest engagement outside of historic planning cycles can only serve to improve the results of both brand and performance campaigns.

As more premium publishers join Ozone’s alliance our primary gain is no longer scale but rather depth of data, and with that a greater understanding of audience behaviour, seasonality and category-specific insight. As you read this Reading The Nation Year in Review, keep in mind that it is purely a reflection of the real-world; a diary of what has mattered most to people, when and why. Armed with this knowledge brands can successfully ensure they’re reaching their audiences at the key moments, ahead of the competition and surfacing the right reasons to believe to drive relevance.

During what’s been a turbulent few years, consumers are – more than ever – looking to brands for advice as well as information and entertainment. At Ozone, we aim to be the avenue through which advertisers can enter the nation’s conversations.

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