Dan Andrews’ ban on print advertising nonsensical and uninformed: ThinkNewsBrands

The Victorian government’s decision to pull all public sector advertising from major metropolitan newspapers shows a deep misunderstanding of how the market works.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews last week announced that as of July 1, his government would cease advertising in the widely read print editions of The Age and the Herald Sun. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

The Victorian government’s decision to pull all public sector advertising from major metropolitan newspapers is nonsensical and shows a deep misunderstanding of how the market works, according to a key media industry body.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews last week announced that as of July 1, his government would cease advertising in the widely read print editions of The Age (owned by Nine Entertainment) and the Herald Sun (owned by News Corp, which also publishes The Australian).

The government will continue to advertise in regional newspapers, although very few such outlets publish print editions every day.

The move will deprive both The Age and Herald Sun of several millions of dollars of print advertising revenue each year, while groups such as Victoria’s firefighters union have warned that the absence of vital information about public safety could put lives at risk during emergencies.

Mr Andrews justified the pivot by arguing that the government was simply following the shifting media consumption habits of the “audience” and would deploy more of its advertising spending on digital platforms. “We’re not making any apology for focusing our efforts much more acutely on online, digital, television – that’s where the audience is and that’s where the return on investment for taxpayers is,” he said.

“The Victorian government is recalibrating advertising spending towards television and digital channels – because that is where the greatest community impact is – and that is what provides value for money,” a spokesperson for the Victorian government said on Sunday night.

Vanessa Lyons, executive general manager at ThinkNewsBrands.

But Vanessa Lyons, executive general manager of ThinkNewsBrands, a media industry body that promotes the value of investing in premium media, said the Victorian government appeared to be deeply uninformed about the advertising efficacy of different platforms.

“It’s one thing to refer to the ‘reach’ of an advertising campaign, but you have to be engaged and paying attention in order for any advertising to have impact,” Ms Lyons told The Australian.

“And it’s been proven time and time again that advertising in print news outlets has superior engagement, so when any advertiser is looking at their mix, reach is one thing, but it’s not the only thing.

“Making your decision based solely on that seems amiss to me. It doesn’t make sense to pull the plug on print.

“In terms of driving impact, standalone print advertising has the highest (impact) out of any media channel. Its level of engagement is phenomenal.

“The Victorian government shouldn’t draw the conclusion that no one is reading print.

“It’s simply not true and overlooks the fact that print has such great engagement.”

According to data released by ThinkNewsBrands in May, 12.4 million Australians read printed news each month.

More people aged over 65 read newspapers each week than access social media, while print news readership across Australia increased in the March quarter by 3 per cent, year-on-year, with a particularly strong rebound in the metro Melbourne market over that period.

A former senior figure within the Victorian government said “whoever is advising Daniel Andrews on this does not fully understand media”. “The numbers speak for themselves on how many people still look to print for their information right across the state. This is a very confusing decision.”

The move also angered Victoria’s United Firefighters Union, with the group’s secretary Peter Marshall telling the Herald Sun on Saturday: “The Andrews government’s decision to cut public safety advertising from all print newspapers is reckless and negligent and puts the lives of Victorians at risk.

“Public safety messaging around the maintenance of smoke alarms, safe cooking practices and bushfire awareness is absolutely critical in educating the community about managing the safety hazards in their homes and around their neighbourhoods.”

Opposition emergency services spokeswoman Ann-Marie Hermans told the Herald Sun: “A blanket ban on print advertising will only mean a less informed community and punish Victoria’s most vulnerable.”

Peter Marshall, national secretary of Victoria’s United Firefighters Union. Picture: Aaron Francis

A spokesman for News Corp declined to comment.

Michael Stephenson, Nine’s chief sales officer, said: “We will continue to work with the government to ensure they invest in safe platforms across Australia’s most-read and trusted mastheads, and not use taxpayer money on unregulated social media platforms with little safety provisions.” Other media figures have suggested the change in strategy was purely political, and a form of payback by Mr Andrews against the metro Melbourne mastheads.

The Premier has long been vocal in his perception that both the Herald Sun and The Age haven’t treated him fairly, and has eschewed one-on-one interviews with journalists from bigger media outlets, preferring a “small media target” strategy.

But sources within the Victorian government sources have rejected the “payback” theory. “If the government was reactionary to every shitty thing written about Daniel, we’d be reacting to a whole lot more than one editorial,” the source said.

Rather, the source said that it was simply down to the Victorian government’s growing belief that social media is the best way to directly reach the average voter.

Mr Andrews’ love of Facebook reached a crescendo during the pandemic.

Mr Andrews has about one million followers on Facebook, 223,000 followers on Instagram, and 442,000 followers on Twitter.