APPLICATION OF RESEARCH

Application Of Research

a. Readership and Circulation survey

b. TRP

c. RRP

d. Audience Research

e. Exit Polls

f. Advertising Consumer Research

READERSHIP

Readership is a calculation based upon the average number of people who read an individual copy of the publication. The number is an estimate of how many hands a copy of a newspaper goes into. The theory is that though a household subscribes to a publication, it is read by multiple people in that household. For this reason, readership is always higher than circulation.

CIRCULATION

Circulation is the number of newspaper/magazine copies distributed on average in a day. Advertisers need to be aware when deciding which publications to place ads in, because circulation includes both paid circulation, as well as newspapers that are distributed free of cost.

Readership and Circulation help publications, such as newspaper and magazines, decide the cost of advertising. Advertisers also look at these numbers when they are looking to improve the visibility of their product or service. However, circulation and readership are not interchangeable terms and there are differences between the two.

 Readership Surveys

Readership vs Circulation - NRS, IRS; ABC

Need for Readership Surveys: ad rates, ad revenue, circulation, marketing, interests of public.

 

Readership Survey Methods

Masthead Method - Title and logo shown: Have you seen? Have you Read? Yesterday? Last Week? Recent Reading Technique (RR Method)

First Reading Yesterday (FRY Method)

Thro’ the book Method (TTB Method)

Readership Diary - ‘Frequency’

Magazine Page Exposure (MPX)

 

Primary and Secondary Readers:

Primary Readers: people who purchase/subscribe the copy of a publication and read it; the first readers. Secondary (or Pass-on) Readers: readers other than the first or primary reader.  

Readers per copy: average number of readers exposed to a copy of an average issue of a publication: Average issue Readers/Circulation

Average Issue Readers (AIR):

Claimed Readers: people who claim to have read or looked at a certain specific number of copies of a publication out of the previous ‘n’ consecutive issues of a publication.

Maximum Possible Reach (MPR) or Penetration: the proportion of the population that can be reached by a publication in a standard time period.

Print Coverage: the percentage of the target audience exposed to an average issue of a newspaper or magazine.

 

Circulation Audits:

Audit Bureau of Circulation: an organisation formed by media, advertisers and ad agencies to certify the circulation statements of its member publications which have been prepared or audited by recognised professional accounting firms.

Circulation: the number of copies of an average issue sold or distributed by a publication.

Print Run: the number of copies printed but not necessarily fully sold or distributed, of an average issue by a publication.

Controlled Circulation: the circulation of a publication that is sent free and addressed to specified individuals or organisations.

 

Data Collection Methods

Face –to- Face interviews,

Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI)

Telephone Interviews, Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI)

Self-Completion Methods:

Questionnaires sent by post

In-page Questionnaires

Internet Surveys

Bar Codes.

TRP / TVR – Television Ration Points / Target Rating Point: TRP is the percentage of the audience who has viewed a certain program or timeslot. It is a metric used in marketing and advertising to compare target audience impressions of a campaign or advertisement through a communication medium relative to the target audience population size.

In the particular case of television, a device is attached to the TV set in a few thousand viewers' houses to measure impressions. These numbers are treated as a sample from the overall TV owners in different geographical and demographic sectors. Using a device, a special code is telecasted during the programme, which records the time and the programme that a viewer watches on a particular day. The average is taken for a 30-day period, which gives the viewership status for the particular channel.

Target rating points construction- Target rating points quantify the gross rated points achieved by an advertisement or campaign among targeted individuals within a larger population.

For example, if an advertisement appears more than once, the entire gross audience, the TRP figure is the sum of each individual GRP, multiplied by the estimated target audience in the gross audiences. The TRP and GRP metrics are both critical components for determining the potential marketing reach of a particular advertisement.

Outside of television, TRPs are calculated using the denominator as the total target audience, and the numerator as the total impressions delivered to this audience x 100. (As in 1,000,000 impressions among the target audience / 10,000,000 people in total in the target audience x 100 = 10 TRPs).

TRPs are often added up by week, and presented in a flowchart so a marketer can see the amount of impressions delivered to the target audience from each media channel.

TRPs can also be calculated as 100 x reach x frequency, where reach is the percent of the target audience with at least one impression and frequency is the average number of impressions.

Calculating TRP- In India, two electronic methods are there for calculating TRP:

People meters device is installed in some places or set in selected homes to calculate the TRP. In this way some thousand viewers are surveyed in the form of justice and sampling. These gadgets record data about the channel or programme watched by the family members or selected people. Through this meter the information of TV channel or programme for one minute is carried out by the INTAM a monitoring team i.e. Indian Television Audience measurement. After analysing the information, the team decides what is the TRP of the channel or programme. Or we can say that this data is later analysed by the agency to create a national TRP data of various TV channels and TV programmes.

Second method is known as picture matching where the people meter records a small portion of the picture that is being watched on the TV. This data is collected from a set of homes in the form of pictures and later on is analysed to calculate the TRPs.

 

RRP- Recommended Retail Price

Recommended retail price (RRP) is the price at which the manufacturer suggests the retailers to sell its product. The RRP generally tells all the manufacturing and selling costs associated with a product. It is also known as the list price or the sticker price, or the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP). Its main purpose is to keep the prices the same everywhere. 

The recommended retail price usually applies to branded products or higher-priced goods, such as electronics and appliances. The RRP is mainly to provide a reference point, manipulating the consumers’ willingness to pay for goods.

Purpose of Recommended Retail Price

The aim of the recommended retail price is to establish similarity among the selling prices at different retail locations. The RRP is intended to control deceptive pricing practices and standardize prices of goods within a trade area of the company’s retail outlets.

The similarity of prices also seeks to ensure that basic and main goods are always available at reasonable prices without denying sellers a fair return on investment. It makes sure that all parties involved in a deal (manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer) will be able to earn profits at the end of the final sale. Although the price is called “recommended,” retailers can sell the products purchased from the manufacturers at the RRP, as well as below it. 

It is good to sell the products below the recommended retail price when there is excess inventory that needs to be sold out as early as possible. There can be multiple reasons for clearing out the inventory like the products becoming obsolete or getting perish. We can also sell below RRP when we sell huge quantities but we can do that only when the manufacturers of brands allow us because selling at low prices may destroy brand image and identity. On the other hand, we can also sell above the recommended retail price when the availability of certain items in an area is less. For example, there are very few stores that operate 24/7. They are providing services all day long, so they might charge a little higher but it is the sole decision of the owner. When the demand is high and the supply is less, then also we can go above the recommended retail price. To sum up, there are multiple factors that affect the recommended retail price (RRP) like market share stabilization, retail value chain, customers’ bargaining power, product’s demand status, marketing objectives, production expenses, and competition, etc.

 

AUDIENCE RESEARCH

Audience research here refers to two things: firstly, research measuring changing levels of media consumption amongst target audiences, and secondly, the (often qualitative) research which seeks to understand the complex, contingent and context-specific ways in which citizens make use of the media, both within governance processes and as part of their daily lives.

The main research that all marketers use before even thinking about the campaign is audience research. Audience research is designed to establish the size, composition, and characteristics of a group of individuals who are, or could be, potential customers. It’s important to note that this research is about the people and individuals who make up your target audience.

Goal - The goal of all audience research is to find consumer insights that can help you deliver on your campaign or business objectives. Because the goal of a digital marketing strategy is to influence the buyer's journey, marketers need to connect with the audience by knowing what they think, how they behave, and how they live their lives. You should know your audience as well as you know your best friend!

Benefits - One of the key benefits to conducting audience research is the ability to identify obstacles. For example, are other brands trying to communicate with your audience but not experiencing much success? Why? By being aware of such obstacles you can then develop appropriate, personalized content that is more relevant to your audience. Moreover, you want to find ways to stay ahead of your customers and discover solutions that anticipate future needs they may have. Audience research allows you to understand your customers, and ultimately makes you more effective in delivering your digital marketing strategy by catering to their needs.

To focus efforts, it is common practice to create a buyer persona. This is a description of your ideal customer in terms of motivations, demographics, and channels used to access the internet. Buyer personas help digital marketers choose the channels and messaging that will resonate with their ideal customer and efficiently deliver on objectives.

Data types: let's look at the data that you’ll want to gather when you conduct audience research.

We have three types of data:

·    Demographic

·    Psychographics

·    Behavioral

You want to have a good understanding of the three of these because each of them will give you different insights into your audience.

Demographics

Demographics are the hard facts about your audience.

Some examples of facts would be:

·    Whether they are male or female

·    How old they are

·    What their profession is

·    Whether they are married

·    Where they live

·    Whether they go to college

This information is about their social aspect and relative place within their society. It's not very personal, but it helps you peel back the first layer of understanding your audience; it gives you an initial glance at their make-up.

The socio-economic data in demographics include: gender, age, income level, occupation, marital status, location, number of children, education, religion, family size, ethnicity, nationality, social class, industry, number of computers, and generation.

Psychographics

Psychographics are much more detailed and complex. They can uncover anything that your audience might be interested in: their beliefs, life goals, or opinions. It's about gaining a deep understanding of your audience’s aspirations so that, when you talk to them, you are speaking a language that resonates with what they really want.

Psychographics can include: activities, interests, opinions, attitudes, values, lifestyle, and loyalty. It's about their lifestyle, their personality. For instance, maybe you want to reach someone that's 21 years old and works as an accountant, but also loves basketball. As there can be many different people types in your audience, you need to conduct demographic and psychographic research so that you really know who they are and avoid making any assumptions. This will help you navigate away from potential pitfalls or running campaigns that target the wrong audience.

Behavioral data

This is about how people use your product, or even how they navigate on your website, and how they use the different media that you want to use as your marketing channels.

What do they do on Facebook? How long do they stay? Why do they click? Where do they click? All of this is very important because it will allow you to transform the journey of your audience on your website and social media and know exactly where you need to target your effort. This data can tell you a lot about your customer. For example, when are they on your website? What time are they on Facebook? Maybe it's in the morning, maybe it's at night, and you don't want to miss those opportunities to engage with your customer.

By observing what people do, and how they behave online, using your product or using your competition’s products, you can understand the limitations of the user experience and perception to improve your message and overcome obstacles.

Behavioral data can include:

·    Online activities such as social media use

·    Website visits

·    Product and content use

·    Where they click

·    What the usual consumer path is on your site

·    Other relevant buying habits including brand preferences and product usage

So audience research is really about giving you all the context and information you need. It is central to any digital marketing strategy because if you don't have this data, how do you know where and how you are going to communicate?

 

EXIT POLLS

OPINION POLLS

Opinion polls seek to gather and comprehend public opinion on electoral issues. It enables candidates contesting polls to understand the voter’s mind and shape the campaign in such a way as to secure the maximum number of votes. It also brings into light those issues that are important to the public thereby ensuring that the interest of the masses is placed on the national agenda and political parties vie to secure these interests such that irrespective of which party comes to power, it’s the masses who win.

EXIT POLLS

Exit polls are conducted as people exit the election booth after casting their vote. Exit polls seek to determine for whom people actually vote. Exit polls are conducted in order to predict the outcome of the election before the votes have been officially counted and the results declared.

 

ADVERTISING CONSUMER RESEARCH

The prevailing paradigm in consumer research conceives of the consumer as someone who is information-centered. This model defines the consumer as someone constantly seeking out and manipulating information in order to make choices between consumer goods and services.

Much of the model building rehearsed in consumer behavior texts is designed precisely to give a systematic account of this information and the manner in which it reaches, and is then manipulated, by the consumer.

Much of the research reported in the field uses this paradigm to identify the important questions and data. In the field of consumer research, an information-based model on the consumer has become the foundation of inquiry.