New research released by News International reveals that consumers in a paid-for environment are more engaged with the content, have higher expectations of the quality of the content and have a more positive response to brands.

The findings come from a major qualitative and quantitative study conducted over 3 months (October 2010 to January 2011) by independent research company Promise. 1000 subscribers to The Times website and 900 non-subscribers were questioned for the quantitative stage. 

The research explored reactions to three types of online environments: paid-for (The Times), a free-to-access quality news site and an online portal. The research explored the overall appeal of all three sites as well as the perception of specific brands to see how they performed in each of the three environments – focusing on the travel, luxury, automotive and finance sectors.

The results of the survey showed that The Times differentiates, to the other sites tested, on clarity, exclusivity, engagement and “premiumness”.

Both brand and message recall are higher within a paid-for environment – by 21 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.

The Times website was also considered to be a more ‘premium’ platform than other general news sites. Those surveyed were asked to rate attributes of relevancy, “premiumness”, trust, believability, clarity, exclusivity, engagement, expectedness and fit and The Times website scored consistently higher in all attributes 

A de-branded ad test was also conducted across the three sites. In this, male users were prepared to pay 24 per cent more for a de-branded suit on The Times website while female users were prepared to pay 17 per cent more for a generic black dress.

But subscribers, while more engaged with the content, also expect more in return on a paid-for website – with higher expectations of relevance, exclusivity, and reciprocity.

Alex Hole, Digital Director of News International Commercial, commented that “this research shows that The Times website offers clients a premium environment for their advertising and that brands that advertise have a higher perceived value”.