GroupM Launches Responsible Journalism Initiative

GroupM Australia is supporting credible local Australian news publishers with the launch of Back to News – an initiative to support responsible journalism.

Back to News is an industry-first program to help brands support quality journalism by re-investing media budgets in credible news publishers. It provides Australian advertisers with access to high-quality, brand-safe ad environments on vetted local, national, and international news sites.

GroupM CEO Aimee Buchanan and Hedley Thomas

GroupM is working with Internews, the world’s largest media support non-profit, as part of a global partnership announced in February. In Australia, GroupM and Internews have vetted more than 200 local metro and regional news sites on board that have been vetted. These range from the Cairns Post, down to the Hobart Mercury and all the way west to the Pilbara News, covering every state and territory.

The initiative was launched with events in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales, where GroupM partnered with Walkley Award winning Australian journalists Lenore Taylor, Guardian Australia Editor in Chief; James Chessell Nine Managing Director, Publishing and Hedley Thomas, The Australian, National chief correspondent and creator of the Teacher’s Pet podcast, to showcase the importance of journalism in Australia.

News in Australia reaches 20.2 million people (Ipsos) and advertising in news environments, creates a trusted halo effect for brands including greater attention, higher viewable time, and better short and long-term recall (ThinkNewsBrands)
Ads seen on high quality news sites are perceived as 74 per cent more likeable (IAS)
These ads receive 20 per cent higher engagement than the same ads on lower quality sites (IAS).
For 84 per cent of consumers, trust remains neutral or increases for advertisers within news (IAB)
45 per cent are more likely to visit the brand’s website (IAB)
43 per cent of consumers would consider purchasing from brands advertising in news (IAB)
39 per cent of consumers are comfortable recommending brands that advertise in news environments (IAB)

The Back to News Initiative is underpinned by Internews’ Ads for News initiative, which was founded in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, and the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). Ads for News helps brands and agencies reach engaged news audiences on more than 12,000 trusted local news websites from more than 50 countries.

The news sites vetted by Ads for News, using extensive criteria developed by a multi-stakeholder industry coalition, can be accessed directly through a local market inclusion list, private marketplaces (PMPs) or a package of inventory against a biddable price.

Aimee Buchanan, GroupM AUNZ CEO, commented: “Supporting Responsible Journalism is a key pillar of our Responsible Investment Framework and one of the ways we are making advertising better for people – and communities. It’s critical that we support a balanced local ecosystem, where Australians have access to credible, fact-based and vetted news sources to minimize harmful disinformation circulating. Advertising plays a key role in supporting credible journalism by funding high quality news environments and in turn these environments are good for advertisers, providing access to brand-safe, high quality content environments. Through our partnership with Internews, we hope to see more Australian advertisers investing media dollars Back to News.”

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Aimee Buchanan GroupM