News UK developed the ‘Sun Polls’ tool to survey the paper’s online audience to obtain attitudinal insights. The tool is based on the company’s first-party data platform, ‘Nucleus’.

Brands and educational institutions can now use the tool to gather insights and sentiment from the publication’s online readers.

The tool places single-question polls within editorial contexts relevant to a specific topic, with readers invited to respond to the poll while reading an article.

The publisher has launched the commercial offering for advertisers in response to the declining availability of third-party data. 

To date, the tool has been used by Travel Republic, to obtain feedback on consumer attitudes to travel, and Professor Victoria Baines at Gresham College, who has used it to poll readers on their attitudes to communications encryption. 

Paul Hood, digital development director, The Sun said: “Our Sun Polls tool has proven invaluable in keeping our finger on the pulse of the nation. Our audience is tremendously responsive to polls, which means we can quickly deliver a large panel response.

“As brands look at new ways to better understand and reach their consumers, especially with the decline of cookies, Sun Polls has the potential to be a key part of this new data mix.”