Fears that print versions of magazines and newspapers will lose out to their online counterparts are not backed by the latest research into the habits of the advertisers dream – AB graded 25-54 year olds in economically active households, or “VIPers”.
The third wave of research from the VIPer consortium (see VIPer Research To Offer Advertisers Insight Into Rich And Influential) has found that while internet access has increased from 65% last summer to 77% this summer, 91% of VIPers questioned said that their readership of magazines has remained the same, despite the presence of a corresponding online version. Furthermore, only one in ten believes that electronic media will replace magazines within the next five years, and 86% disagree with the idea that they will be mainly reading their newspaper online in 10 year’s time.
The survey also showed that over 4% of VIPers said their readership of magazines had increased in the presence of online versions, while only 2% said it had dropped. Only 3% said that online newspapers had reduced their readership of the print versions.
The reason that old and new media can co-exist in this way appears to come down to the role it plays in reader’s lives. The VIPers surveyed indicated that they used the online newspaper sites “for a quick news fix” and for retrieving previously published articles, whereas the offline brands were used for analysis, comment and in-depth reporting on a daily basis. As for magazines, 79% of those surveyed felt that reading the online and offline versions were completely separate experiences.
Matthew Dodd of Times Newspapers, a spokesperson for the VIPer consortium, said, “The latest wave of VIPer gives us a clear insight into the ‘morphing’ of print media – with distinct, discrete roles emerging for both online and offline versions – and provides newspaper and magazine owners with a clear indication of what is required for the future prosperity of the industry.”
The survey found that the-times.co.uk was the most popular newspaper site, while top magazine sites included economist.co.uk, fhm.co.uk, and vogue.co.uk. It was also discovered that 51% of VIPers have made an online purchase, and that 50% plan to again. This group is estimated to have spend £399m online during the last quarter.
VIPer Consortium : Denise Gardiner, Media Planning: 020 7393 2455 Matthew Dodd, Times Newspapers: 020 7782 7511 Sally Gibson, More Group: 020 7478 2244 Gary Read, Condé Nast: 020 7499 9080 Lucy Bristowe, C4: 020 7306 6042 Katie Rastrick, Classic FM: 020 7518 2600
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