Maximizing Print in the Planning Process

1. Maximizing Print in the Planning Process 10th WORLDWIDE READERSHIP RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM 21-26 October,2001 The Exelsior Hotel, Lido Venice

2. Content • Status of Current Readership Research • Readership Research Issues • The Planning Process

3. 1. Status of Current Readership Research

4. Models used to Estimate Average-Issue-Readership • Recent Reading • FRIPI • FRY • TTB • Specific Issue • Frequency • Mixed Models 57 1 0 0 2 2 2 Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

5. Recent reading • Recency question:Did you read or look at (publication) yesterday/in the last 7 days/in the last 30 days? • = LLP/LDP (Average Issue Readership – AIR) • 57 surveys Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

6. Recent reading Definition of Recent Reading: • The readership of an average issue is equal to the readership of any issue in an issue period. • Recent reading requires that the interviewer establishes, for each measured title, when a respondent last read any issue. The proportion claiming to have done so within a period of time preceding the day of the interview and equal in length of the interval between the appearance of successive issues is taken as an estimator of the readership of the average issue. Michael Brown, Consultant (1990; 1999)

7. Recent reading Assumptions for Recent Reading: • Publication is exactly regular, with all publication periods being the same length. • Readership patterns are also regular. But the RR model is not invalidated by the fact that some people read ‘early’ and others ‘late’. • Any issue’s audience grows to its full size over a period no longer than the issue period. Michael Brown, Consultant (1990)

8. Recent reading • Replicated reading: when a single issue is read over a period of time longer than the issue period – readership is overestimated. • Parallel reading: when two or more issues ar read within a period of time equal in length to the issue period – readership is underestimated. Limitations of Recent Reading: Michael Brown, Consultant (1990)

9. FRIPI • FRIPI stands for:First Reading In Publication Interval • When did you read this particular issue of…for the first time? Was it within the last…days (issue period) or longer ago? • 1: South Africa (AMPS) Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

10. FRY • FRY stands for:First Read Yesterday • 0: discontinued in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Finland Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

11. TTB • TTB stands for:Through-the-Book • 0: now discontinued in Canada, (USA - 1995) Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

12. Specific Issue Readership • Specific Issue Readership question:Did you read the latest published issue of…? • 2: Japan (ACR) & Ukraine (NRS) Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

13. Frequency • Frequency used to estimate AIR • 2: Poland (PBC General) & Sweden (ORVESTO) Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

14. Mixed Models • Use of different models within the same survey • 2: Australia & New Zealand (Roy Morgan Readership Surveys) Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

15. Method of Interview • Personal – Pen & Paper • Personal – CAPI • Personal – DS CAPI • Telephone • Self-completion • Mixed - tel. and self-comp. • Mixed - tel. and personal 46 3 1 8 4 1 1 Belgium, UK, South Africa France (AEMP) Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

16. What’s New? • CASI: Computer Assisted Self Interviewing - NL • PML: Personalised Media List – UK • Measurement of newspaper supplements and sections (including in-paper) – UK, India, Argentina, Denmark,… • Measurement of electronic newspapers and magazines - Norway • Research on Audience Accumulation - USA, UK • APX, Advertising Page Exposure – GermanyQRP, Quality Rating Points - Denmark • … Summary of Current Readership ResearchErhard Meier, Ipsos-RSL

17. 2. Readership Research Issues

18. Challenges • Falling response rates on the surveys • More titles, supplements, sections, …with different publication intervals to be studied • Title confusion • Measuring online reading • Online measurement of offline reading • Quality of reading • Measurement of Velocity (Audience Accumulation)

19. Challenges • Falling response rates on the surveys • More titles, supplements, sections, …with different publication intervals to be studied • Title confusion • Measuring online reading • Online measurement of offline reading • Quality of reading • Measurement of Velocity (Audience Accumulation)

20. Challenge 1: Falling Response Rates Non-response: does it matter? • Media measurement studies demand high response rates: non-response could impact the overall measurement of print media or advantage specific publications at the expense of others. • It is well known that some demographics such as age and gender are affected by response rates. • But, do readership habits of non-responders differ from those responding to the surveys? Non-responders – an opportunity to look into their hearts & soulsHasting Withers, PMB Print Measurement Bureau & Ivor Thompson, Thompson Lightstone (Maritz Research Inc.)

21. Challenge 1: Falling Response Rates Non-response: does it matter? Yes, there are different patterns: • Overall media consumption by those responding to the survey was higher than for non-responders • Overall, non-responders do not read as much • When comparing print titles there are some publications that are advantaged by lower response rates, while other titles would have lower readership levels without higher response levels. So yes, response matters. Conclusions based on the PMB Return-to-Sample study: Non-responders – an opportunity to look into their hearts & soulsHasting Withers, PMB Print Measurement Bureau & Ivor Thompson, Thompson Lightstone (Maritz Research Inc.)

22. Challenge 1: Falling Response Rates Can CASI help? Objective: combining data collection methods (= find as many respondents as possible) CASI is NOT bound to one particular way of recruiting respondents • Can be used in face to face, Webinterviews, … • Respondents can answer the question how, when and where they feel the most comfortable • The questionnaire itself should be the same for all respondents, regardless of the way in which they are recruited Searching for best CASI practises: experiments for a new data collection method Alke Bassler & Costa Tchaoussoglou, SUMMO

23. Challenge 1: Falling Response Rates Can CASI help? Findings of the Dutch experiments • The majority of respondents is very well able to fill in the questionnaires themselves. • In the few cases where the interviewer has to take over (CAPI), this does not influence readership figures. • The observed contractor’s effect is a reminder to pay attention to even minute details. • CASI can be used in f-2-f interviews as well as in a computer panel (multi channel distribution). differences in results is mainly due to differences of the sample composition. • The quality of data collected by CASI is improved by the greater diligence and accuracy of the respondents when filling in the questionnaire themselves without time pressure. It is advisable to have respondents fill in all the answers (no shortcuts). Searching for best CASI practises: experiments for a new data collection method Alke Bassler & Costa Tchaoussoglou, SUMMO

24. Challenges • Falling response rates on the surveys • More titles, supplements, sections, … with different publication intervals to be studied • Title confusion • Measuring online reading • Online measurement of offline reading • Quality of reading • Measurement of Velocity (Audience Accumulation)

25. Challenge 2: More titles to be studied A solution: Personalised Media Lists Objective: reducing the number of titles any one respondent is asked about, while maintaining, or even increasing, the overall media list. PML® is a technique to filter which titles a respondent is asked about based on: • A small number of demographic questions • Topic interest questions • Asked at the beginning of the interview !The complexity of the filtering is such that PML is only feasible using on-screen prompting (DS CAPI). Personalised Media Lists Katherine Page, Ipsos-RSL

26. Challenge 2: More titles to be studied A solution: Personalised Media Lists The five main elements of the PML Technique: • A small number of demographic and topic interest questions are asked before the readership interview commences. On the basis of these questions the computer software selects which magazine titles the respondent will be shown. • The media list has been segmented into clusters. If a respondent is selected to see a particular cluster of titles, he/she will see all the titles in that cluster. • For each cluster, past Survey data has been analysed to identify those variables which are most powerful in predicting whether a respondent is likely to have read any title within that cluster. 3 strata are defined for each cluster: likely to read, unlikely to read and very unlikely to read. • All respondents in the ‘likely to read’ stratum will be shown all magazine titles in that cluster. Only a sample of those in the other two strata will be shown these titles. • The sample collected in the lower two strata of respondents is used to estimate and ‘replace’ the small proportion of readership claims which have not been collected directly. This is achieved by a series of mini-fusions. Personalised Media Lists Katherine Page, Ipsos-RSL

27. Challenge 2: More titles to be studied Uneven publication intervals: PRR Recent Reading assumption: the publication is exactly regular, with all publication periods of equal length. ⇒ RR is unsuited for situations where the interval between successive issues varies. Pure Recent Reading calculates the number of readers for the actual issue periods, depending on the day of the interview and the day of publishing Pure Recent Reading: the solution for non-daily newspapers? Knut-Arne Futsæter & Tore Østnes, TNS Norsk Gallup

28. Challenge 2: More titles to be studied Uneven publication intervals: PRR The wording of the RR question used for newspapers in Norway (CATI): Except today, when did you last read or look at…? • Yesterday (Monday) [Interviewday = Tuesday] • 2 days ago (last Sunday) • 3 days ago (last Saturday) • 4 days ago (last Friday) • 5 days ago (last Thursday) • 6 days ago (last Wednesday) • 7 days ago (Last Tuesday) • Longer ago The average publication interval of a newspaper issued on Monday, Wednesday and Friday would be: • Monday issue (Monday + Tuesday): 2 days • Wednesday issue (Wednesday + Thursday): 2 days • Friday issue (Friday + Saturday + Sunday): 3 days Average = (2+2+3)/3 = 2.3 days Pure Recent Reading: the solution for non-daily newspapers? Knut-Arne Futsæter & Tore Østnes, TNS Norsk Gallup

29. Challenge 2: More titles to be studied Uneven publication intervals: PRR • Calculate AIR based only on the interviews conducted the day after the issue day for each title, would in the case of a three-day newspaper mean that 4 out of 7 interview days would be thrown away! For smaller and even more low-frequency newspapers this would lead to sample-size problems. • Using “actual publication periods”: Pure Recent Reading: the solution for non-daily newspapers? Knut-Arne Futsæter & Tore Østnes, TNS Norsk Gallup

30. Challenges • Falling response rates on the surveys • More titles, supplements, sections, …with different publication intervals to be studied • Title confusion • Measuring online reading • Online measurement of offline reading • Quality of reading • Measurement of Velocity (Audience Accumulation)

31. Challenge 3: Title confusion Avoiding title confusion in f-2-f Are colour masthead cards indispensable to avoid mix-ups? • Total readership: B&W or Colour: no differences • AIR: Colour < B&W (not significant) • Titles with an above-average or below-average share of regular readers: same effect • Weeklies-AIR: Colour >/= B&WBi-weeklies/Monthlies-AIR: Colour < B&W • Titles that always use the same colour design: Colour = B&WTitles that change colour design every issue: Colour < B&W Logos in a colour arbitrarily decided may lead to confusionfor titles that vary their colour design from issue to issue! The effects of different masthead card designs: colour vs. Black-and-white Johannes-Schneller, Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach

32. Challenge 3: Title confusion Avoiding title confusion in f-2-f Are colour masthead cards sufficient to avoid mix-ups? (Test with Colour logo and Colour logo with additional text compaired to B&W*) • Both colour and additional text that explicitly indicates that the mother title is not meant, lead to effects in the same direction in this case. Conclusion:Only features that recur from issue to issue should be used for designing logos on masthead cards. Logo colour is NOT among these for ALL magazine titles.If colour is of special value for recognizing a title, and if the risk of mix-ups is especially high, additional text on masthead cards may be used in some circumstances. * For this test two titles that use identical logo colours for every issue were chosen. The effects of different masthead card designs: Colour vs. Black-and-white Johannes-Schneller, Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach

33. Challenge 3: Title confusion Avoiding title confusion in self-completion (1) • Should mini mastheads be incorporated on the questionnaire to aid recall? • Respondents are evenly split between those using and those not using the mastheads. Where used, they tended to be used as a check when the respondent was not sure about a given title. • Thus: on selfcompletion questionnaires it is important that a typescript representation on the left hand side remains as a primary stimulus. Mastheads have a secondary function in order to avoid confusion. • What grouping of titles should be used to avoid title confusion? • The grouping of titles in generic groups rather than by frequence was felt more likely to reduce the problem of title confusion. Self-completion questionnaires: the importance of testingHilary Birt, Ipsos-RSL

34. Challenge 3: Title confusion Avoiding title confusion in self-completion (2) Title confusion bias can be reduced by grouping similar titles. • When similar titles appear in different places whithin the media section of the questionnaire, each of the similar titles will generate higher screen-in rates and reading frequencies as compared to situations where similar titles are grouped. • Situations where audience estimates will be higher can occur: when a respondent reads both of the magazines but one of the two magazines is only infrequently read. In such a situation, showing both titles together may actually support the respondents’ recall of having read the lesser-read magazine. Measuring and minimizing positional and title confusion biases in print media audience estimatesMarco Vriens, Barbara Graham, Eric Melton, Tony Incalcatera, Milward Brown IntelliQuest – Valentine Appel, Consultant

35. Challenges • Falling response rates on the surveys • More titles, supplements, sections, …with different publication intervals to be studied • Title confusion • Measuring online reading • Online measurement of offline reading • Quality of reading • Measurement of Velocity (Audience Accumulation)

36. Challenge 4: Measuring online reading Offline measurement of online readership “We are now reaching the point where online reading should explicitly be excluded within the print question and vice versa.” • Rather than taking a “source of copy” approach, questions about off- and online readership should be kept separate in the questionnaire. • Print readership questions will need to explicitly exclude readership of online editions to minimise location confusion. • Good research practise to minimise title confusion such as grouping and logo prompts applies equally to online publications. • Boundaries must be explicitly defined for online publications – for example the exclusion of non-domestic websites and other irrelevant websites. • Questions relating to online readership must actively encourage respondents to consider all possible reading occasions and locations. • The accepted recency period employed on the majority of surveys is one month. This period is primarily dictated by the need to generate reasonable sample sizes of site users; a shorter period would of course improve the accuracy of respondent recall. • Genre-based screening filters significantly reduce total website claims and should therefore be avoided. When two worlds collide: offline measurement of online readershipRichard Asquith, BMRB International

37. Challenges • Falling response rates on the surveys • More titles, supplements, sections, …with different publication intervals to be studied • Title confusion • Measuring online reading • Online measurement of offline reading • Quality of reading • Measurement of Velocity (Audience Accumulation)

38. Challenge 5: Online measurement of offline reading Measuring magazine reading via the internet Advantages of surveys on the internet: • Advantages of self-administration: respondents can answer at their own pace, perhaps with greater thoughtfulness and accuracy, and errors due to variance among interviewers can be eliminated. • Advantages of CAPI: respondents and interviewers do not have to be relied upon to follow skip instructions. • Web surveys can be done much more quickly than mail or face-to-face studies. Measuring magazine reading via the internet: testing the effect of number of titles and other questionnaire design issuesJay Mattlin, Knowledge Networks – Bruce Goerlich, Starcom Media Vest Group

39. Challenge 5: Online measurement of offline reading Measuring magazine reading via the internet Major disadvantage: • Inappropriate for general population surveys, because they are inherently biased towards those with Web access, especially frequent Web users and those who like to share their opinions on the Web. • There is no way to obtain a random sample of Internet homes or computers with internet connections or e-mail addresses, because there is no sampling frame for any of these populations. A solution: • A panel equipped with a Web TV unit that gives them access to the Internet through their television sets. Measuring magazine reading via the internet: testing the effect of number of titles and other questionnaire design issuesJay Mattlin, Knowledge Networks – Bruce Goerlich, Starcom Media Vest Group

40. Challenge 5: Online measurement of offline reading Measuring magazine reading via the internet Major conclusions from tests: • Conducting magazine audience research on the internet with a random sample CAN produce credible estimates of average issue reading. • The use of this new medium to collect these data does not imply that they can be produced with radically different approaches. • The category-filter/category grouping does not always work for all categories. Nonetheless, there is evidence that the categories have to be carefuly constructed so that they are specific and recognizable. Measuring magazine reading via the internet: testing the effect of number of titles and other questionnaire design issuesJay Mattlin, Knowledge Networks – Bruce Goerlich, Starcom Media Vest Group

41. Challenges • Falling response rates on the surveys • More titles, supplements, sections, …with different publication intervals to be studied • Title confusion • Measuring online reading • Online measurement of offline reading • Quality of reading • Measurement of Velocity (Audience Accumulation)

42. Challenge 6: Quality of reading Quality of Reading, what’s the status? • Much data available/little used“Many buyers have thrown up their hands and reverted to basic accounting procedures, buying with audited circulation estimates combined with their personal assessment of the quality and editorial fit of a magazines with advertiser values.” • Constrained efforts due to: • Pressure to match TV with statistical timeliness and “goodness” of audience estimates • Media vendor horror over what agencies can potentially do with the numbers • Budget allocations based on serious econometric measures of Return on Investment Measuring the qualitative value of magazinesCynthia Evans, The MediaEdge/Y&R/WPP

43. Challenge 6: Quality of reading The need to measure ad reach The Weight-Watcher’s Laws of Advertising: • Don’t pig-out: moderation makes advertising work harder. Each additional exposure contributes a little less, so shoveling-it-in in bursts or flights is not cost-effective. • Don’t skip dinner: More continuous advertising brings increasing marginal response. Spreading the advertising across time is more cost-effective. • Eat a balanced diet: the importance of media-mix. No matter how much more effective one medium is at the start, there comes a point where the next dollar should be spent somewhere else. Counting calories – on the need to adjust issue readership dataErwin Ephron, Ephron, Papazian & Ephron, Inc.

44. Challenge 6: Quality of reading The need to measure ad reach Magazines should have a feast! • Adding print to a TV schedule will increase reach because Print will duplicate TV less than TV will duplicate itself. (Again diminished marginal utility.) • Data integration and fusion will let us use Print-survey product data to plan Television. This will confirm that magazines target users far better and more cost-effective in building selective reach than TV. The 2 factors, diminished returns and targetting, will drive the inevitable restructuring of media spending. Counting calories – on the need to adjust issue readership dataErwin Ephron, Ephron, Papazian & Ephron, Inc.

45. Challenge 6: Quality of reading The need to measure ad reach What’s wrong with this picture? Simply said, it’s not happening The fourth Weight-Watcher’s law screws things up: 4. Count the calories honestly • The currency for magazines is average issue readership. • Additional information on the Opportunity to See the advertisement would make the calculation of ROI more realistic. • The need to measure ad reach (or ‘impact probabilities’ – Neil Shepherd-Smith) Counting calories – on the need to adjust issue readership dataErwin Ephron, Ephron, Papazian & Ephron, Inc.

46. Challenge 6: Quality of reading AIM, Advertising Impact Measure • Launched by The International Herald Tribune in 1999 • Linked to EMS, EBRS & ABRS • AIM conceptualises quality of reading in 2 basic dimensions • The actual reading behaviour of the last issue in terms of page exposure and reading intensity, summarised in an overall AIM factor per publication • Attitudes to the publication, giving insight into the reader/publication relationship, tapping on differences in functionality and Umfeld between titles AIM, Advertising Impact MeasureWim van der Noort, Interview-NSS, Brian Shields, International Herald Tribune

47. Challenge 6: Quality of reading AIM, Advertising Impact Measure • Behavioural Impact Measures available in the AIM-survey • Proportion of pages read • Time spent reading • Average number of reading occasions (‘pick ups’) • Multiple page exposures • AIM factor AIM, Advertising Impact MeasureWim van der Noort, Interview-NSS, Brian Shields, International Herald Tribune

48. Challenge 6: Quality of reading The AIM Factor • Based on PEX (Page Exposures): • % of pages read on the most recent reading day X • The number of reading days at any issues in the last publishing interval • But AIM differs from PEX in the following ways: • Instead of the number of reading days, the number of seperate reading occasions (pick ups) is asked for • The number of reading occasions is related to the last issue read instead of any issue in the last interval • The proportion of pages read is measured for each of the claimed reading occasions AIM, Advertising Impact MeasureWim van der Noort, Interview-NSS, Brian Shields, International Herald Tribune

49. Challenge 6: Quality of reading The AIM Factor AIM Factor = (Proportion of pages read) x (Average exposure per page read) x Time spent reading Average pages read Sum of proportion read on each reading occasion = Net overall proportion read “The AIM factor is not something that is “out there” in reality. It is an artificial construct, though perfectly transparant.” AIM, Advertising Impact MeasureWim van der Noort, Interview-NSS, Brian Shields, International Herald Tribune

50. Challenge 6: Quality of reading Quality Rating Point - Denmark • Readership of the editorial content page by page • Large-scale page traffic study (n=20.000) • Field: October 2000 – February 2001 • 14 newspapers • CATI (new questionnaires every day including a full description of editorial content!) • Readers in private homes (not at working places) • Who have the newspaper that they recently have read at home • Recording page per page: • Page not seen • Seen or glanced at the page • Read part of the page • Read all or almost all of the page Quality Rating Point – The New Currency Morten Kromann-Larsen & Rolf Randrup, Taylor Nelson Sofres/Gallup