Eastern Cape research offers readership insight

The Eastern Cape community, described as one of the most diverse and widely distributed in South Africa, represents a diverse newspaper readership of 434 000 Xhosa, Afrikaans, English and Zulu readers. Research from Compass24 reveals other key insights, including a market with a potential household income of R1.4billion.

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The province, whose GDP grew by 3% quarter on quarter for 4Q 2011, is a growing market for advertisers and investors.

The research identified the following statistics:

88% live in formal urban areas
74% are LSM 6+
81% prefer advertising in the newspaper to knock & drop;
65% are aged between 20-49 years
20% have accessed the internet over the past 12 months

The Eastern Cape also seems to be a hub of job creation. In 4Q 2011, 28 000 jobs were created, of which 27 000 were in the formal sector.

"When you combine the positive research outcomes with an ever-growing number of jobs in the province, it opens up huge opportunities for clients looking to grow their market share," says Evan Smith, Ads24 - local newspapers business manager.