Future releases new research

Future, a global specialist media company, has released original research exploring the media consumption and spending behaviours of passionate consumers, uncovering the value of this audience for advertisers.

Future says the new report - Ignite: The Power of the Passionate Consumer - examines two key audiences that turn to specialist media: Practical Intenders, people seeking advice online before making purchases, and Passionate Intenders, people that turn to specialist media content as their prime source of education and inspiration.

The study found that Passionate Intenders are proven to be valuable for advertisers, with longer-term spending power, more attention paid to advertising in premium media environments and a greater likelihood of becoming ambassadors of their favourite passion-related brands.

“While we’ve always known that reaching and building audiences with a passion is a winning strategy for advertisers, we were delighted at the true loyalty passionate consumers have for their favourite brands and media platforms,” said Jon Steinberg, CEO of Future. “At Future, we ignite the passions of millions of people every day. We’re proud to offer advertisers a premium, brand-safe environment that allows them to effectively reach and engage with these influential audiences.”

Future outlines key learnings for marketers as follows:

1. Passionate Intenders consume more content than non-passionate people. 95% of passionate audiences consume media every day versus those with an interest (84%). And this extends beyond a singular platform, with Passionate Intenders often bookmarking their favourite passion-related sites, subscribing to magazines, following media brands on social platforms and signing up for newsletters.
2. Passionate Intenders are more attentive to ads, and are more likely to purchase the products advertised. They are 2.4X more likely than those with an interest to pay attention to ads in a specialist media environment (46% Passionate vs. 19% Interested). Further, 68% of Passionate Intenders say advertising relevant to their passion has directly inspired them to make a purchase (vs. 13.4% Interested).
3. Passion-based spend is protected. Passionate Intenders are more likely than those with an interest to consider spending money on their passion as essential (90% Passionate vs. 44% Interested). Only basic necessities like groceries and bills outrank passion-related spend for these consumers.
4. Further, Passionate Intenders spend more. Annual spend on activities differs by passion, but on average consumers with a passion spend +69% more on their passion than hobbyists or those with an interest.
5. Passionate Intenders are the ultimate brand ambassadors. Around 7 in 10 consider themselves to be fierce ambassadors for their favourite passion-related brands. They are 2X more likely to engage with others about their passions than the Interested group.
6. “Terms like ‘passion,’ ‘hobby’ and ‘interest’ are often used interchangeably, and incorrectly, in conversations about specialist media audiences,” said Rich Thomas, insights director at Future. “Through this research we found that these categories of audiences are indeed very different, with passionate consumers far more likely to spend more, over longer periods of time, on their passion. People live and breathe their passions, and it's their need for high quality, trusted and expert content that keeps them coming back to their favourite media brands and platforms.”

The publisher says the research methodology involved an in-depth, ethnography-based qualitative interviews conducted in partnership with Trinity McQueen, and a robust quantitative group of 7,000+ consumers across UK and US to uncover insights into what defines a “passion,” how they spend, behave, feel, think and consume media related to their passions versus a hobby or interest.

A summary and additional data points around the study can be found here.