Associated New Media Creates Dedicated Research Arm
Associated New Media, the digital publishing division of Associated Newspapers, has underlined its commitment to market research and intelligence with the creation of a dedicated research division to provide advertisers with information about users of its websites.
The new division, dubbed Insight, will provide Associated New Media with on-going research and knowledge, informing all areas of its business including editorial, design, marketing and commercial. The information will also be used to provide partners with a unique understanding of the company’s users as well as more specific market knowledge.
Commenting on the new division, Mark Milner, chief operating officer of Associated New Media, said: “We are continually striving to gain a better understanding of our sites and their users to develop products that are attractive to consumers and commercial partners alike. To ensure the successful growth of the business, we need to develop even greater knowledge of our customers’ behaviour. The Insight team is extremely well placed to do this.”
One of the research group’s first projects will be to recruit a panel of dailymail.co.uk users to gauge UK consumer habits, views and opinions. The panel, operated independently by survey.com, will be representative of the site’s audience and will be surveyed at least once a month on issues such as advertiser awareness, Internet usage and political and cultural opinions.
The results of the group’s first study will be used to develop an in-depth understanding of the site’s audience, inform product development and marketing communications and to demonstrate the commercial value of the Daily Mail Online’s audience.
Andrew Smith, head of Insight, explained the purpose of the study: “The dailymail.co.uk panel is an extremely exciting project that will furnish us with knowledge on different levels. At its broadest, it will be a barometer of how people in the UK are feeling on a wide range of relevant issues. However, we will also be able to tailor surveys to determine detailed information directly related to our brands to help ensure the successful growth of the business.”
Associated New Media’s parent company, Associated Newspapers, recently announced a solid increase in revenues from display advertising. The company reported an 8.5% increase year on year in the eleven months to August, following a strong performance from its daily freesheet Metro and London evening paper the Evening Standard (see Metro And Evening Standard Boost Associated Revenues).
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