Introduction to the NRS
In the first of a series of pieces for Newsline, the National Readership Survey’s (NRS) chief executive Mike Ironside gives an introduction to the survey and outlines some new developments.
As Britain’s largest single source of readership information, the NRS provides media planners, buyers and salespeople with the readership figures for the vast majority of national daily, Sunday and key regional newspapers in the country.
With an estimated 85% of all press advertising expenditure covered by the survey, the NRS sample is by far the largest and most reliable source of detailed readership data. Besides breaking down readers by demographic and lifestyle classifications, the survey also accounts for other interesting consumer habits, such as people’s use of technology. Research released by NRS in December highlighted that contrary to popular belief, the most avid users of technology, those aged between 15 and 24 years, read 24% more titles than the average British adult. The research also showed that this age group are at the forefront of consuming all types of media content online, including RSS feeds, listening to radio and watching TV online.
Each year, NRS carries out approximately 36,000 interviews across the country lasting on average 27 minutes. The sample is constantly changing and no one is interviewed twice – NRS is not a ‘panel’. Therefore, when reviewing year-on-year or 6-month changes it is crucial to remember that completely different sets of people are included and as such the data are subject to variation. NRS does however conduct statistical tests on the changes to confirm whether period-on-period changes are real, rather than due to different samples. That way, we can be 95% confident that the change is a real one, ie there is only a one in 20 chance that the change is not ‘real’. Where other period-on-period changes are concerned, most are so small that they could be down to sample variation alone, and therefore do not necessarily reflect a real change. However, when making any period-on-period comparison, we suggest it is important to express it as a difference in the readership estimate, rather than a change in the actual readership.
Until recently, most media agencies when asked would have described the survey data as ‘slow’, ‘outmoded’ and ‘volatile’, possibly suggesting it is the poorer cousin of the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). However, following a series of road shows in the past 12 months, NRS has opened the eyes of stakeholders and users to the depth, scale and quality of the data, which makes it just as vital as ABC, TGI and TouchPoints data to planners and buyers.
Over the past year, there has been a series of other developments that have all contributed to the data’s increased relevance and ease of use. In September, we unveiled a new-look website, which for the first time allowed users to access digital versions of the NRS quarterly volumes. Now also echoing the effects of the organisation’s closer work with the ABC, the rebranded site includes eight-year trends graphs which compare both businesses’ data. Similarly, NRS data has been made accessible on ABC’s website.
In a further bid to keep publishing and media industry stakeholders constantly updated with survey developments, NRS has developed an e-alert system. In recent months, the website has also featured a members’ forum and blogs from key industry figures.
Finally, as an acid test of the overall engagement of the survey, the NRS earlier this year appointed a User Advisory Panel (UAP). The UAP is a collective of stakeholder representatives drawn from the planning and buying areas of the business. It ensures any developments or enhancements meet the needs of the end users, and is not necessarily made up of NRS advocates.