Survey highlights growing strength of newspapers in engaging Irish population
29 December 2011 · by Irene Fogarty
Since 2009, The Irish Times has subscribed to Kantar Media’s TGI (Target Group Index) survey. This population-representative survey explores consumer habits, attitudes and media consumption among adults (aged 15 and older) dwelling in the Republic of Ireland. The 2011 data release highlights newspapers’ strength as an advertising platform and shows significant growth in population engagement with aspects of newspaper editorial content.
TGI includes a substantial section on advertising engagement across six media platforms: television, magazines, newspapers, Internet, cinema and radio. In the last year, the number of Irish adults who say they pay most attention to ads in newspapers grew by 7.5%, to a population total of 1.1 million. Meanwhile, newspaper advertising emerges as “most useful” for more Irish adults (943,000) than any other advertising media in helping them make purchase decisions. The next highest scoring medium in this regard is television, the ads of which are rated “most useful” by 929,000 Irish adults. More Irish adults feel newspaper ads fit better with the rest of the medium’s content than any of the other media surveyed.
...[more]Is just one figure still enough for newspaper audiences?
05 December 2011 · by Bart de Proost
I am inspired by a column of the director, Stef Peeters, of our JIC (Joint Industry Committe) CIM (Centre for Information about Media) in Belgium and I totally agree with his point of view.
Increasing numbers of media and advertising professionals believe that traditional audience figures are falling well short as tools for strategic and tactical communication planning. And why is this? To put it briefly: the world has changed.
Today, socio-demographic information is no longer sufficient for identifying a target group. In their search for the maximum return on investment, Consumer Centric Holistic Measurement could be the ultimate resource for advertisers. With an integral vision of all possible (above and below) contact points with the consumer, it would be much easier to fuel communication planning and put together the most efficient contact mix. Online analytics promised a complete analysis of click-through rates — online conversion to offline lead generation. Could this be at last a glimpse of what the consumer really does over time?
Unfortunately not. There is no ultimate integral study of all the communication channels in existence. The most ambitious attempt at single source research, from communication to purchase, has proven to be technically and financially unfeasible.
...[more]Helping advertisers achieve better ROI
17 October 2011 · by Erik Grimm
The online media industry has set high standards; there is not a single media channel that delivers more data at the end of an advertising campaign than an online one, with the average campaign generating enough raw data to keep a research department busy for days. Ignoring the fact that this level of focus can lead to short sighted conclusions, it does mean the advertiser knows exactly what their investment has brought them.
Today’s stormy economic climate has increased the demand for a demonstration of ROI. This, combined with ever decreasing budgets means advertisers have to get the most out of their spend. These changing times mean that circulation figures or media reach is no longer sufficient for newsmedia, advertisers feel the need to quantify the awareness of their advert, and want proof of the ad’s impact or the generated shopper traffic.
In The Netherlands, where audience measurement is organised in Joint Industry Committees, the media houses, advertisers and media agencies have recognised this challenge. Currently the print survey NOM Media is looking at ways to make the step from media reach towards advertising reach. Selecting the right methodology is a big challenge even for an institute with decades of experience, with different options varying from a Scandinavian model to the American Starch-method.
One of the most interesting aspects here is the level to which advertising reach has to be reported. Does one choose the reach of a newspaper page or is ad recognition the right metric?
...[more]Newspaper magazines: saviours of newspapers and magazines?
27 September 2011 · by Ilse Peeters
Newspapers have been more than just the daily news for some time now. The expanded weekend issues, with their associated magazines in particular, ensure newspapers don’t just get thrown out with the next day’s trash. Le Figaro Magazine and Madame Figaro, The Observer Magazine, Guardian Weekend, Telegraph Magazine, Stella, Weekend Magazine (Daily Mail), You and Io Donna Magazine (Corriere della Sera) are just a few of the many examples in Europe.
In Belgium, two quality Flemish newspapers each came out with a new weekly magazine recently: their readers will now get two complete magazines with their weekend papers.
De Morgen (De Persgroep Publishing), with its revamped DM Magazine, focuses on in-depth journalist reports, portraits and interviews, plus an extended TV guide. This means the magazine is aimed mainly at men. DMUZE is a totally new weekly magazine focusing more on lifestyle, fashion and beauty, aimed at women readers. Its competitor De Standaard (Corelio)’s DS Weekblad aims to present ambitious journalism and current events, while DS Magazine keeps the focus on lifestyle.
Why are these publishers launching two new magazines on the market today, at a time when many people are questioning whether print media have a future at all? This is not a pure research topic, but still worth discussing on this blog.
...[more]Specially crafted children’s newspaper creates path for future readers
25 July 2011 · by Wolfgang Granigg and Tina Blaževic
How can one enthuse the youngest readers for a print product in the future? We would like to share lessons on this topic from the introduction of the Kleine Children’s Newspaper, a spin-off of the well-known Kleine Zeitung in south Austria from the Styria media house.
For quite some time, a general international trend has been observed that when a decrease in young readership takes place, a shift to online media occurs. Since younger readers are at the same time the readers of tomorrow, a decrease in this group is at first sight alarming and threatening for print titles.
This development was the reason the Kleine Zeitung thought about how or what can be done against this trend. Finally, after numerous considerations, discussions and analysis, it was decided to introduce a special spin-off of the Kleine Zeitung, which was designed in particular for the youngest readers between the ages of 6 and 11. This product was introduced to inspire children at an early age to read in general, and to get interested in print media. In addition, the product should make a valuable educational contribution.
A weekly 16-page newspaper was created, which can only be bought as an independent product through subscription. For present subscribers of the Kleine Zeitung, it costs €4.90 per month, and €6.90 for non-subscribers.
The newspaper is designed in particular for the target group — for example, all texts are published in a language appropriate for children and in an adequate design, although one does not omit current topics. A special focus is put on interactive elements like riddles and brainteasers, as well as on content elements that are proposed or created by the readers.
...[more]Research value emphasises already knowing answers, not asking more questions
05 July 2011 · by Simon Lindberg
The basis of a successful research department isn’t cutting-edge research. It’s the everyday nitty-gritty grind of analysing syndicated research and tracking the opinions of readers and non-readers.
Cutting-edge research and big-market surveys are all fine and dandy, and sometimes needed for a newspaper to make some sort of paradigm shift. But let’s face it, how often does that happen? And how many of you feel there are no budget restraints on research at your newspaper? Instead, the ability to make the most of syndicated surveys and basic tracking of your readers and non-readers is what brings the greatest rewards in the long run.
For instance, apart from socio-demographic data, the national readership survey in Sweden contains an abundance of information about our readers and our competitors’ readers: media consumption, lifestyles, interests, shopping habits and preferences. By mastering all that information and spreading it across all departments of the newspaper, everybody is up to speed on what makes our readers tick, enabling us to make better decisions on behalf of the newspaper.
...[more]Advertorial shows impact of real-time testing, fast turnaround of results
13 June 2011 · by Irene Fogarty
Advertorials can be highly effective engagement tools. A good advertorial will have synergy with the editorial environment in which it’s placed, thereby capturing the audience when in a receptive frame of mind to the advertiser’s message.
The brand’s credibility is heightened because of its integration within a trusted source of information, in this case the respondent’s newspaper of choice. The Irish Times audience has cited newspapers as the most trusted source of advertising after recommendation from a friend. Theoretically, advertorials should obtain a strong positive response from our audience.
Since 2005, The Irish Times has used RAM’s ad testing system for measuring advertising effectiveness (more information at www.rampanel.com). Our audience panel has 1,400 members. To date, we have 273 advertisement surveys in the RAM database for sector/ad size/demographic comparison and benchmarking. Our panel is weighted against the Joint National Readership Survey so is representative of The Irish Times readership in total (339,000 average issue readers as per JNRS/Lansdowne 2010).
Panel research using RAM’s ad hoc survey tool revealed that 61% of our readers budget more carefully for grocery shopping compared to last year. Another key issue for readers in regards to grocery shopping is to support Irish produce: 75% cite buying local produce as “very important” to them.
...[more]Low-cost, high-value research projects show editors strengths and weaknesses
11 April 2011 · by Graham Russell
It’s tough out there, isn’t it? The pressures on most media businesses have increased in recent years, not just because of our challenging economies but also because of the continued pressures created by media fragmentation and proliferation.
In turn, I think these pressures have forced most media researchers to find ways of reducing costs or, if not, certainly to undertake more work for no additional budget. (If this doesn’t apply to you, please use the comments section to share your secrets!)
That’s why, in this blog, I want to share details of a couple of recent research projects that my business has undertaken in-house and for little or no cost. I’m not going to pretend that these projects are earth-shatteringly innovative or new (they’re not), but they have certainly been of use and are easily replicated.
Feel free to get in touch if you need any further information or have any comments or suggestions. The comments section on this blog is a good place to start.
So, scene set, here’s project No. 1:
...[more]GeoMap analysis: new possibilities for the newspaper industry?
29 March 2011 · by Marianne Groven
Edda Media’s national sales syndicate in Norway, Mediasite, was recently awarded Edda’s Innovation prize for the fourth quarter of 2010. The project, called “New Sales Tools — Map Analysis DM,” will definitely contribute to increased direct marketing sales possibilities for Edda Media’s 42 local quality newspapers.
Mediasite wanted an innovative perspective for their product portfolio in order to meet the increasing demand for geographic analysis from clients on both local and national levels. Increased knowledge and implementation of geographic and demographic variables, combined with Mediasite’s local media, would present an opportunity to gain market share.
The sales tool was developed in collaboration with Geoinsight, a company which provides professional analysis tools and services to Norwegian industry and also is a consultancy for integration of the analytical capabilities of major infrastructure. (Geoinsight is the sister company of Geodata and a reseller of their Business Analyst solution, which is a packaged solution using Norwegian basic data and software from U.S. geographic information system technology provider ESRI).
...[more]The researcher’s spread: new techniques for an old medium, old techniques for new media
28 February 2011 · by Bart de Proost
It is an amazing time for media researchers nowadays. We can hardly cope with the speed by which questions are asked by our CEOs, marketing or sales people, and even editors who in years past were never eager for research.
So what’s happening?
I think we can bring it back to three big research questions:
- What is the impact of digital media on print?
- Which research is needed to defend the current position in print for readers and advertisers?
- How can research departments organise themselves to find answers to the questions above?
I start in advance with some new research findings.
In times when advertising revenues of traditional print media are under pressure, I was pleasantly surprised by several research trends.
...[more]
