The NRS Where Are We Where Are We Going

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The NRSWhere Are We?Where Are We Going?
Roger Pratt, MD, NRS Ltd
MRG Conference 17th November 1999
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Where Are We?

• One of the best (if not the best) readership
  surveys in the world
• Large (37,000) random sample
• Continuous fieldwork top-line data updated
  monthly, entire database every quarter

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Where Are We?

• We measure (to Sep 99)
• 24 national daily/Sunday newspapers
• 21 newspaper supplements
• 13 regional newspapers
• 112 general magazines
• 83 womens magazines
• total 253 publications

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Where Are We?
NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS

• Total Display Ad Revenue Oct 98 - Sep 99
• 2,398,294,000 (100)
• 1,337,721,000 ( 56) 19 Parent Titles
• 543,661,000 ( 23) 18 Supplements
• 516,912,000 ( 21) 341 Sections

Source MMS
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Where Are We Going?

• We are going to Improve the Best There Is
• Media List Order Rotation
• Management of the Media List
• Additional Newspaper Sections
• Readership Cumulation
• Model Bias (Replicated/Parallel Readership)

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Where Are We Going?

• Media List Order Rotation

Forwards Reverse

• Dailies
• Magazines
• Sundays
• Supplements

• Sundays
• Magazines
• Dailies
• Supplements

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Where Are We Going?

• Media List Order Rotation
• proposals required to ensure that supplement
  questions are asked in context of parent titles

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Where Are We Going?

• Management of the Media List
• including fillers, every respondent sorts
  through 306 titles (51 cards)
• but on average makes only 15 RPY claims
• and on average makes only 7 AIR claims

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Where Are We Going?

• Management of the Media List
• methods to reduce media list for individual
  respondents will be developed
• without reducing the total number of titles
• ask half the sample about Media List A, the other
  half about Media List B, fuse results?
• use filter questions to tailor the media list to
  individual respondents?

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Where Are We Going?

• Additional Newspaper Sections
• determined by IPA/NPA
• guided by existing/potential ad revenue
• high levels of confusion amongst readers?
• careful prompting to obtain reliable data

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Where Are We Going?

• Readership Cumulation
• how quickly does a publication achieve its
  average issue readership?
• distinction between in-home/workplace reading and
  public place reading
• method off-line survey, conducted periodically?

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Where Are We Going?

• We are going to Improve the Best There Is
• Media List Order Rotation
• Management of the Media List
• Additional Newspaper Sections
• Readership Cumulation

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Expiry Date ofCurrent Contract

• 31st December 2000

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Where Are We Going?

• Model Bias
• effect of replicated and parallel readership?

Respondent reads old issue of title but not
current one INFLATES AIR
Respondent reads two different issues in same
period DEFLATES AIR
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Where Are We Going?

• Model Bias
• effect of replicated and parallel readership?
• differential effect across different titles?
• no satisfactory solution yet been developed by
  any survey anywhere in world
• agreed that NRS will attempt to
• quantify bias
• eliminate/reduce it in published estimates

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Where Are We Going?
IPA 12
NPA 44
?
PPA 44
We are going where the IPA/NPA/PPA want us to go,
and that looks like good news.