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The Advertising Media industry relies heavily upon quality media research to assist in the functions of strategic planning and media buying. There is a wealth of information available in the Australian market that Media Agencies subscribe to. The type of information that is provided by a range of different research suppliers include such things as: advertising expenditure, television program ratings, radio ratings, print circulation (number of copies sold), readership data on print titles (profiling the readers of specific titles), consumer behaviour, media habits and trends, etc.

OzTAM manages and markets television ratings data covering all channels for the five city metropolitan TV service and the National Subscription TV service, 365 days a year against over 100 demographic groups. OzTAM television ratings information is the currency by which television is bought, sold and evaluated. It is used by organisations such as television networks, advertisers, advertising agencies, media buyers and program suppliers. They use the data to assist them in assessing program and network performance and to understand viewer behaviour.

The most common application of this data by Advertising Media Agencies is to determine the performance of each programme against a target audience to help determine its value in being selected for a specific brands needs.

The OzTAM website provides a comprehensive explanation on the ratings system and they do offer a student pack on request which gives you a look at specific demographic performances. If you would like to request the student kit or make a specific request, please email info@oztam.com.au with your details.

Roy Morgan Research provides the readership currency for newspaper and magazines in Australia. The data is used by publishers, advertisers, media planners and buyers to buy, sell and evaluate print media.

The readership data shows how many people on average read a particular newspaper or magazine and profiles them in terms of their demographics, attitudes, activities and product consumption. Roy Morgan Research also provides a tool called MediaPLANNER to evaluate the combined reach and frequency for a campaign.  

The Readership survey is part of Roy Morgan Single Source which surveys over 55,000 people aged 14 years and over across Australia. The survey is conducted face-to-face on 48 weekends throughout the year.

Apart from the readership data, media planners and buyers use the Single Source data extensively in strategic planning to understand the target audience in terms of demographics, attitudes, activities, product and media consumption.

The following links provide more detail about Roy Morgan Research.

RMR Overview for students.pdf
www.roymorgan.com

READERSHIP AND REPORTS

Roy Morgan Research uses a composite measurement approach to establish readership. This means different methods are used to measure different types of publications.  This is unusual as most readership surveys around the world use only one method for all types of publication - with the widely acknowledged and unfortunate by-product of inflation of magazine readership, especially for monthly or less frequent magazines. 

The following links give an overview of the methodology and examples of reports.

Roy Morgan Readership Methodology.pdf
Report Examples.pdf

SINGLE SOURCE DATA IN STRATEGY AND MEDIA PLANS

The Roy Morgan Single Source data is used extensively by media planners and buyers, beyond the readership data. The data is used in strategic planning to understand the target audience in terms of their demographics, attitudes, activities, and product and media consumption across print, TV, radio, cinema and internet.

The link below explains in more detail how a strategic planner would use the data and includes a worked-through example for launching a new premium beer in the market.

Strategic Planning with ASTEROID and example.ppt

ACCESS LIVE DATA AND SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO USE ASTEROID

All this data comes together through Roy Morgan Research’s award winning software, ASTEROID.

To see how easy ASTEROID is to use, click through to the Roy Morgan Research website.

Audit Bureau of Circulations The ABC is a not-for-profit association that provides the service of audited proof of the average net paid sales per issue for Metropolitan and National Newspapers, Regional Daily Newspapers, Country Press, Ethnic Newspapers and Magazines.

The ABC audit proves the paid circulation for a publication. Every copy of every issue is verified to produce the Average Net Paid Sales per issue of a publication. Independent auditors are nominated to undertake the audit for the publisher and during the audit process they will sight and verify all records pertaining to each issue that falls within the audit period. These records include all sales outlets such as newsagents and supermarkets, subscriptions, bulk sales, returns and unsolds as well as any free copies and any other relevant documentation.

There are two audit periods per year, January to June and July to December therefore the information reported is an average of the issues within that period. In 2006 the ABC plans to roll out these audits 4 times per year for issues that have a circulation of over 25,000. In addition Metropolitan, National and Regional Newspapers also submit publisher statements for the half yearly periods April to September and October to March.

Media planners and buyers use ABC data to understand the average number of copies sold per issue of a publication and to calculate cost per thousand values.

www.accessabc.com

Circulations Audit Board

The CAB provides audited proof of the average net paid distribution per issue of a publication, reporting the distribution method (ie mailed, bulk, sold, individually delivered) and state breakdown for business & professional publications, specialty publications, community newspapers and indigenous & community language newspapers. In recent years the CAB has expanded to offer verification services for exhibition organisers, web and email publishers and unaddressed distribution providers.

The CAB audit reports the distribution for a publication. Every copy of every issue is verified to produce the Average Net Distribution per issue of a publication with special emphasis on how the distribution was undertaken. Independent auditors are nominated to undertake the audit for the publisher and during the audit process they will sight and verify all records pertaining to each issue that falls within the audit period. These records include all forms of distribution such as mailing proof, sales through newsagents and subscriptions, bulk distribution, requested, individually delivered and any other relevant documentation.

A CAB audit verifies the total average distribution of a publication over a defined audit period. The audit reports the average net distribution per issue, highlighting the printing and method of distribution.

There are two audit periods per year, April to September and October to March and audit requirements are based on issue frequency.

Media planners and buyers use CAB data to understand the average number of copies distributed per issue of a publication, how copies reached recipients and to calculate cost per thousand values. CAB data is reliable, independent data available to buyers to understand the distribution of a publication.

For more information on the ABC and CAB please visit http://www.auditbureau.org.au

Nielsen Media Research is the official contractor for Radio audience surveys in all markets throughout Australia, providing detailed listening data to subscribers for Radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, eight times per year. Regular surveys are also conducted in major Regional markets of Newcastle, Canberra, Wollongong and the Gold Coast plus many other adhoc market surveys.

Commercial Radio Australia Limited administers the Radio Ratings contract on behalf of all commercial Radio stations and assists in the continued improvement of the research program and an ongoing audit of the survey methodology. Nielsen Media Research's system is based on diaries, which record seven day, quarter hour listening to pre-listed Commercial and ABC stations.

Primarily, Advertising Media agencies use the information provided by Nielsen Media Research to help determine the share of audience each station attracts across a broad range of demographics and the particular performance of each station at different times of the day. This information helps a planner to decide which stations to choose in order to reach the right people and it also assists in deciding what time of the day offers the greatest opportunity in reaching the target market.

For more information and the most recent Radio Ratings survey results, please visit www.nielsenmedia.com.au and click through Media Update to Radio Ratings - Metropolitan Markets.

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COMPETITIVE EXPENDITURE AND MONITORING

Nielsen Media Research offer a service called AdEx which provide media expenditure measurement on TV, newspapers, consumer magazines, radio, cinema, outdoor and business to business publications. This information informs the subscriber on the estimated media expenditure for their competitors by medium and can provide details of activity that has been scheduled such as a spot listing of all television programs and radio spots broadcast, size/placement and title selection of print activity.

This information is extremely valuable in the development of media strategies as it can help identify where the demand and opportunities lie and allows the planner to evaluate the best approach to meet the brand or services objectives. The monitoring system also allows a buyer to ensure that all activity that was booked for their client appeared and was placed at the booked time and position, all of which increases accountability of the booking process.

For more information on the Nielsen Media Research services go to www.nielsenmedia.com.au.

The following charts provide an example of expenditure reporting and spot monitoring in the categories of machinery and gardening.

• Gardening All Media National Summary 2003
• Gardening Mag Spot monitoring
• Gardening Month Splits 2003
• Machinery Mpress Spot report
• Machinery MTV Spot Monitoring Example
• Machinery Radio Spot Report