Canadians are five times more likely to read a weekly newspaper than use Twitter, according to in-house research by the Department of National Defence. The military commissioned the media poll to gauge the effectiveness of its recruitment drives.
Data showed television, internet and radio remain the most popular media, according to interviews nationwide by Environics Research Group. Pollsters billed $81,625 for the research. Of Canadians asked what medium they’d used at least once in the last two weeks:
- • 87 percent watched television;
- • 82 percent used the internet;
- • 80 percent listened to radio;
- • 58 percent read the print version of a community or weekly paper;
- • 54 percent read the print version of a daily newspaper;
- • 54 percent visited Facebook;
- • 50 percent watched YouTube videos;
- • 50 percent read a magazine;
- • 21 percent used public transit, and had access to ads on bus boards;
- • 17 percent watched a film at a movie theatre;
- • 10 percent used Twitter.
Albertans and Ontarians were most likely to go to the movies, according to the Environics report Testing Recall Of Recruitment Advertising 2015. Québecers were least likely to use Twitter, only 5 percent. Atlantic Canadians were the least likely to use public transit, only 1 in 10.
Recruitment Advertising noted residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan were the least likely to use Facebook, at 43 percent, while more British Columbians – 66 percent – read community newspapers.
Typical YouTube users are young men, under 24, with a college education, Environics said. Only 38 percent of students nationwide read a daily newspaper.
The military’s 2015 recruitment drive Ready When You Are used video game techniques in depicting guerrilla warfare and leaping paratroopers with quick edits and “heavy breathing” sound effects. Focus groups found the ads “dark” and “aggressive”.
“The ads were generally considered thought-provoking, emotional, realistic and attractive despite the unsettling nature of the combat scenes,” concluded a report Recruitment Advertising Pre-Testing by Corporate Research Associates of Halifax; “The ads’ high energy creatively communicated by the music, rapidly changing images and unusual work environments grabbed viewers’ attention and reminded many of a video game.”
“The tone was described as ‘aggressive’, ‘dark’, ‘extreme’, ‘high energy’, ‘positive’, ‘exciting’, ‘adventurous’, ‘dynamic’, ‘harsh’, ‘exhilarating’ and ‘rough’,” said Pre-Testing. The consultant noted the ads had little appeal for “niche audiences including women, visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples.”
By Staff 
