Research shows that PR’s perception of relevant social news is out of touch with a large proportion of European consumers, who prefer traditional news brands and broadcast media.Kantar’s study consisted of 6,000 consumers and 700 comms professionals across Western Europe. 

The top news source for the total population was TV, followed by newspapers and their websites, social networks, search engines and radio news. For Gen Z, aged 16-24, the top five news sources were social network, TV, newspapers and their websites, search engines and social influencers.

Comms practitioners accurately perceive social networks as the most important news source for Gen Z, however it loses a large proportion of the total audience by placing social influences and newspapers above TV news.

François Nicolon, senior director marketing, media division at Kantar, says ,“Whilst there is no doubting the value of social influencers to drive engagement with brands, it appears practitioners see them as more important in driving the news agenda than they truly are. Even amongst Gen Z consumers, social influencers ranked as the fifth most important news source, behind broadcast and news brands.”

Practitioners also believe podcasts are a far more relevant news source than in reality. Kantar’s TGI indicated that only 9% of consumers listened to podcast in the UK in 2020.

The concern for many comms professionals is the diminishing trust in media, with 52% stating this is their biggest concern. A further 36% admitted concern about the role of AI and algorithms in driving distribution.

“To prove their worth to stakeholders by engaging an audience at scale, comms professionals must have easy access to quality insight to understand campaign performance and audience behaviour,” says Nicolon.