GeoMap analysis: new possibilities for the newspaper industry?

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).

By using Geoinsight, Mediasite has created a system that connects information about subscribers and newspaper delivery routes with all of the data available in the Business Analyst software.

The Map Program includes demographic data by county, municipality, primary circuit, store registers, shopping center registers, and more. This is combined further with Mediasite's own data such as coverage numbers, audience data, customer data from the TNS Gallup Consumer and Media survey, and newspaper delivery route logistics from Distribution Innovation, a company with an unique position in the Norwegian market for distribution.

The model parses Norway’s households into homogeneous and relevant market segments based on the life stage they are in, what area they live in, degree of urbanisation and purchasing power. For example, one can select special newspaper delivery routes where there is an over-representation of families and/or villas. Documenting this for the clients sheds light on the probability of one-to-one marketing and efficient direct marketing campaigns. Other demographic variables include gender, age, income, education, car brands, care age, marital status, families with children, cabins, and type of housing.

Pål Yngve Ødegård, research manager at Mediasite, is the architect of the map application. “In this process, we have considered several alternative solutions,” he said. “The choice fell on the analysis software Business Analyst because it gives us new and more detailed analysis capabilities of our regions. The Map Program is also an important contribution to sales presentations for all our media channels. For example, we use The Map Program frequently to document our coverage in relation to the location of chain stores and malls.”

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