Illustrative engagement. A representative scenario showing how we approach this kind of work in mass media. It does not describe a specific client; outcomes are described qualitatively.
Industry overview
What is shaping mass media
Media groups operate across TV, print, radio and digital, and need a joined-up view of audiences and advertisers.
- Audiences move across screens
- Advertisers want cross-media evidence
- Brands must stay relevant to younger audiences
Client background
A newspaper publisher, working in Gujarat. This is an illustrative engagement: a representative scenario showing how we approach this kind of work, not a named client project.
- Organisation
- A newspaper publisher
- Sector
- Mass media
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Quantitative research, Offline data collection (CAPI)
Client challenge
Advertisers questioned whether print ads were noticed.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: proving print advertising effectiveness.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of readers.
- Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 4 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 1,500 readers.
- readers1,500
Audiences we typically reach in mass media
Viewers, readers and listenersAdvertisersMedia plannersYounger audiencesRegional audiences
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Gujarat. Market: India.
- India
Research methodology
A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.
- 1Brief
- 2Reader recall study
- 3Insight
We measured ad noting and recall among readers the day after publication.
Quantitative researchOffline data collection (CAPI)
Sampling strategy
- readers
- 1,500
- Respondents were selected across Gujarat using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
Data collection
- Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person on tablets (CAPI), with time and location recorded for every interview.
Data quality & validation
- Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
- Time and location checks on field interviews
- Supervisor accompaniment in the field
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
Key findings
- Full-page and front-page ads achieved strong recall.
Show advertisers evidence, not claims.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: show advertisers evidence, not claims.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: full-page and front-page ads achieved strong recall.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The publisher used the data in sales.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: what do advertisers need?