Media Involvement Study 2002

MEDIA INVOLVEMENT STUDY 2002
Prepared for:
Periodicals Publishers Association
Queens House
28 Kingsway
London
WC2B 6JR
Prepared by:
NFO BJM
United Kingdom
4 - 5 Bonhill Street
London EC2A 4SR
Telephone: 020 7891 1200

Facsimile: 020 7891 1299
Richard Eldershaw
8282a
9th April 2002
CONTENTS
PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 2
3. ATTITUDES TO MEDIA 4
4. PREFERRED MEDIA FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS 8
5. ACTIONS TAKEN AFTER EXPOSURE TO MEDIA 13
6. INTERNET USAGE AN D MAGAZINES 20
7. ACTIVITIES WHILE USING MEDIA 23
8. WEIGHT OF MEDIA CONSUMPTION 26
9. PRODUCTS PURCHASED 32
10. TABULATIONS 34
11. TECHNICAL APPENDIX 35
12. QUESTIONNAIRE 40
L:\Dylan \Consumer Research Working Party\final \Report.doc 10/04/2002

1
1. INTRODUCTION
The Periodicals Publishers Association commissioned NFO BJM to carry out a study to examine
the relationship people have with various media. This followed a similar exercise carried out in
the USA by The Magazine Publishers Association in 2000 and a previous study undertaken by
the PPA.
The study focussed on magazines, newspapers, television, commercial radio and websites on
several areas including usage, attitudes, preferred media for obtaining information and ideas,
actions taken and activities done while using the media.
A key part of the study was to examine respondents attitudes to websites and any possible
threat it might pose to magazines.
2,030 interviews were conducted amongst adults aged 12 or in Great Britain using a random
location approach.
Interviews were conducted at home using a combination of face-face pen and paper and self-
completion interviewing.
Fieldwork took place between 12th November and 3rd December 2001.
Further details of the methodology can be found in the technical appendix.

2
2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
General attitudes
• Magazines are more likely to be seen as tailored to the reader and containing information of
interest than any other medium.
• Advertising in magazines, along with that in other publications, is seen as much less
annoying, intrusive or as degrading to the medium than advertising in broadcast media or the
Internet.
• Advertising in magazines is viewed more positively than advertising in other media, with one
in three, significantly more than for any other medium, seeing them as providing a helpful
buying guide and relevant.
• Almost as many agree they are more likely to pay attention to advertising in a favourite
magazine and that they sometimes make a purchase as a direct result of advertising in
magazines. Magazines are much more likely to be used than other media to inform the
choice between competing products.
• People are, marginally, more likely to trust magazine advertising than that in other media and
only advertising on commercial TV channels is more likely to be seen as inspiring
[20%:18%].
Preferred media for topics of interest
• Half or more of those interested in beauty and personal appearance, fashion and clothes,
celebrity news and gossip, motors, child-related topics, health and fitness and photography
prefer to look in magazines for information and ideas.
• Magazines are second choice after TV for food and drink, home improvement and DIY,
gardening, travel and holidays among those finding these topics of interest, as well as those
interested in TV programmes.
• Magazines are in second place to the Internet only for computers and the internet. Both the
Internet and TV are seen as better sources of information by those interested in science and
technology.
• Areas of relative weakness for magazines in general are jobs, business and company news,
personal finance and investment, items for sale, the arts and sport, for each of which around
a quarter or fewer of those to whom they are of interest say they prefer magazines.

3
Actions taken after exposure to media
• Two thirds of those who had read magazines had picked up ideas from them, two fifths had
followed advice, two fifths had bought something and well over a third had tried something
for the first time.
• A similar proportion of website users were as likely to have made a purchase and taken any
action at all, but in absolute terms this is fewer people. Other media had less influence on
their audience/readers.
Internet usage and magazines
• Website users regard them as a gateway to meeting their information needs, but four out of
five resent pop-up ads and only one in seven often clicks through to see the full ad. Almost
half agree that using the web is a rather lonely and unsociable activity, but the majority do
not feel it either takes up too much of their time or is a cause for stress. Only one in four
classify their relationship with the web as ‘like a friend’.
• Comparing the web and magazines among those with experience of both, magazines are
more likely to be associated with relaxation, enjoyment, and ease of use by a factor of at
least 2:1. They are equally likely to be trusted and, while few feel guilty when engaged with
either, there is marginally more guilt about using websites.
Activities while using media
• Comparing TV, magazines, newspaper supplements and websites, websites are the media
where users did the least amount of other activities on a regular basis; TV are the media
where users did the most amount of other activities on a regular basis.
• Under a third of TV viewers watch the advertisements ‘nearly all’ or ‘a lot of’ the time. A
quarter regularly switch to another channel, a third talk to someone, over a quarter do
something else and one in five leave the room at least a lot of the time. Two thirds fast
forward through the ads on recorded programmes at least a lot of the time, with only one in
seven doing this very seldom.
Weight of consumption
• Over four out of five adults 12+ read magazines with the same proportion reading
newspapers. Almost everyone watches TV but only three out of five listen to commercial
radio while less than half use websites.
• Websites use does not appear to detract from magazine consumption since users of
websites were, on average, heavier users of magazines than users of any other media.

4
3. ATTITUDES TO MEDIA
In Q9, respondents were shown a list of 12 statements and asked to say which media they
thought each statement applied to. Due to the nature of these statements, this question was
only asked of respondents aged 15 or over.
For the following two general statements, magazines performed best out of the six media
measured.
Media to Which …… Applies (1)
Usually tailored to my Contains information

needs most interested in
45%
35% 36%
30%
24%
21% 20%
17% 17%
10%
7% 8%
en r
en r
dio
s
TV
V
lem p e
lem p e
s
rs
rs
es
es
ite
ts
ts
dio
ite
al T
pe
pe
pa
pa
Ra
zin
zin
ial
bs
bs
Ra
pa
pa
i
ws
Su e w s
erc
erc
ga
ga
We
ial
We
ws
ws
ial
Ma
Ma
Ne
mm
mm
erc
pp
pp
N
Ne
Ne
erc
Su
mm
Co
Co
mm
Co
Co
Base: All 15+ (1903)
While only around a third of adults aged 15+ claimed that magazines were usually tailored to
meet their individual needs, this was still around two thirds higher than for newspapers, the next
highest claim. Slightly greater scores were recorded for all media for the information statement.
In this study, there were several findings indicating that women are more disposed to magazines
than men and these two statements reinforce these findings.
Perhaps because of the seemingly limitless boundaries of the Internet, only a minority of
respondents felt that it was tailored for them.

5
The other statements focused on advertising in the media. In the following three statements it
can be seen that advertising was thought to have the most negative affect on commercial
television where around a half of respondents often found the advertising annoying, 39% claimed
they thought advertising made the medium worse and 36% claimed they found advertising to be
intrusive.
Print in general fared a lot better with only a minority of respondents claiming a negative attitude
to the advertising in magazines, newspapers and newspaper supplements. Commercial radio
and websites recorded figures in between print and television.
Often find the advertising Medium is made worse

annoying by having advertising
51%
39%
23%
20%
18%
16%
10% 11% 9% 8% 8% 7%
en r
lem a p e
s
en r
rs
dio
es
es
rs
TV
V
ts
lem p e
dio
ite
ite
ts
al T
pe
pe
zin
zin
pa
p
Ra
bs
bs
ial
Ra
pa
pa
ws
ga
ga
i
erc
erc
Su e w s
We
We
ial
ws
ial
ws
Ma
Ma
Ne
pp
mm
mm
erc
erc
Ne
pp
Ne
N
Su
mm
mm
Co
Co
Co
Co
Base: All 15+ (1903)
The advertising is too intrusive
36%
17% 15%
7% 7%
5%
en r
s
TV
lem a p e
dio
rs
ts
ite
es
pe
ial
Ra
bs
zin
p
pa
Su e w s
erc
We
ga
ial
ws
mm
Ma
erc
pp
N
Ne
mm
Co
Co
Base: All 15+ (1903)

6
On the remaining statements on advertising, magazines performed consistently well, producing

the highest number of claims for six out of the seven statements. Commercial television
channels and newspapers generally produced the next highest claims. In each of these
statements websites, newspaper supplements and commercial radio stations were ranked lower
to varying degrees.
Advertising in this medium This medium has advertising

is helpful as a buying guide that I find relevant
35% 34%
24% 23%
22%
18%
13% 14%
9% 10%
6% 5%
en r
en r
dio
lem a p e
lem p e
dio
s
s
es
es
rs
rs
TV
TV
ts
ts
ite
ite
pp s p a
pe
pe
Ra
zin
zin
Ra
p
bs
bs
ial
ial
pa
pa
ws
ga
ga
ial
erc
erc
ial
w
We
We
ws
ws
Ma
Ma
Ne
Ne
erc
erc
pp
mm
mm
Ne
Ne
Su
Su
mm
mm
Co
Co
Co
Co
Base: All 15+ (1903)
I’m more likely to pay attention to I sometimes purchase a

an advertisement if it appears product or service as a direct
in/on one of my favourite result of the advertising
30% 29%
28% 26%
16%
14%
8% 9%
7% 6% 6% 5%
en r
en r
s
s
TV
V
es
lem p e
lem p e
dio
dio
rs
es
rs
ite
ite
ts
ts
al T
pe
zin
zin
pp s p a
pa
pe
ial
Ra
Ra
bs
bs
pa
rci
ga
pa
ws
ga
erc
We
We
ial
ial
w
ws
e
Ma
ws
Ma
Ne
Ne
mm
mm
erc
erc
pp
Ne
Ne
Su
Su
mm
mm
Co
Co
Co
Co
Base: All 15+ (1903)

7
The advertising can help me decide I can usually trust and believe
between two similar products that the advertising
I’m considering purchasing
28%
23% 22%
21%
17%
15%
9% 9% 10% 8% 7%
4%
en r
en r
s
s
rs
rs
TV
TV
es
lem p e
lem p e
dio
dio
es
ite
ite
ts
ts
pe
pe
zin
zin
pp s p a
pp s p a
ial
ial
Ra
Ra
bs
bs
pa
pa
ga
ga
erc
erc
We
We
ial
ial
w
w
ws
ws
Ma
Ma
Ne
Ne
mm
mm
erc
erc
Ne
Ne
Su
Su
mm
mm
Co
Co
Co
Co
Base: All 15+ (1903 )
I find the advertising can be inspiring
20%
18%
8%
6% 5%
4%
r
en r
e
s
TV
pe
lem a p e
dio
zin
ts
ite
pa
ial
Ra
bs
ga
p
ws
Su e w s
erc
We
Ma
ial
Ne
mm
erc
pp
N
mm
Co
Co
Base: All 15+ (1903)

8
4. PREFERRED MEDIA FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS
Two questions were asked relating to topics of interest. Firstly, respondents were read a list of
topics and asked, ‘For each topic, can you please tell me whether you are interested or not
interested in it?’ (Q6a). They were then asked a follow up question for those topics in which they
were interested: ‘Which of these media do you prefer when you’re looking for information and
ideas on _____ (topic)?’ (Q6b).
Topics of Interest
The following chart shows the proportion of those aged 12+ claiming interest in each topic.
Topics have been ranked in descending order of interest amongst those 12+.
Proportion Interested in Topic (1)

TV Programmes 76%
Music, cinema, theatre 72%
65%
Food & Drink*
Travel & Holidays 61%
Sport 49%
Home Improvement, DIY* 48%
Gardening* 46%
Fashion, clothes 45%
Health & fitness 43%
37%
Computers, the Internet
Base: All 12+ (2030) / * Not asked of 12-14 year olds

9
Proportion Interested in Topic (2)
Celebrity news & gossip 33%
Beauty & personal appearance 32%
Items for sale 30%
Science & Technology 30%
Cars & motorbikes 26%
Jobs, appointments* 26%
Personal finance, investment* 23%
Baby/childcare, parenting* 19%
Business, company news* 17%
Photography 14%
Base: All 12+ (2030) / * Not asked of 12-14 year olds
Not surprisingly there are many differences to be noted by demographics and differences by
gender, age and social grade are shown in the main tabulations.

10
Preferred Media
The following table summarises the media that respondents preferred when looking for
information and ideas on topics of interest to them. These data have been ranked in descending
order of magazine preference.
Preferred media for information and ideas on topics interested in
Base Magazines Newspapers Newspaper Television Commercial Internet

Supplements Channels Radio Websites
% % % % % %
Beauty/persn. app. 636 72 10 8 26 1 6
Fashion, clothes 886 66 13 10 27 1 9
Celebrity news/gossip 667 61 37 9 43 4 7
Cars and motorbikes 508 60 30 7 25 2 21
Baby/childcare, parent. 398 56 16 11 35 2 13
Health and fitness 864 53 19 7 29 2 9
Photography 288 48 14 5 20 * 18
Food & Drink 1,330 46 21 14 55 2 8
Home Improvmnt, DIY 980 43 13 9 53 2 7
Computers, Internet 709 43 14 6 15 1 64
Gardening 935 41 16 11 61 1 5
TV programmes 1,539 40 43 18 42 1 3
Travel and holidays 1,210 32 23 14 47 2 29
Science, technology 581 31 24 7 51 2 34
Sport 965 29 44 8 66 8 15
Music, cinema, theatre 1,434 27 47 12 33 12 17
Items for sale 588 26 64 8 8 1 30
Pers. finance, invest. 459 20 54 16 19 2 30
Business, compny nws 337 19 62 12 28 4 35
Jobs, appointments 495 12 70 9 5 2 37
Base: Respondents interested in each topic
* Denotes a figure of less than 0.5%
The table shows, for example, that 72% of respondents interested in ‘Beauty and personal
appearance’ preferred magazines when looking for information and ideas on that topic.
In seven out of the 20 topics, magazines were the preferred media source for information and
ideas: ‘Beauty and personal appearance’, ‘Fashion, clothes’, ‘Celebrity news and gossip’, ‘Cars
and motorbikes’, ‘Baby/childcare, parenting’, ‘Health and fitness’ and ‘Photography.

11
Television channels were the preferred media source for ‘Food & Drink’, ‘Home Improvement,
DIY’, ‘Gardening’, ‘Travel and holidays’, ‘Science and technology’ and ‘Sport’. Some of these
topics are indicative of the proliferation of certain types of television programmes, such as
Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook, Ground Force etc.
Newspapers were the preferred source for ‘TV programmes’, ‘Music, cinema, theatre’, ‘Items for
sales’, ‘Personal finance, investment’, ‘Business, company news’ and ‘Jobs, appointments’.
These items could be identified as being more factual based topics such as listings or classified
ads, perhaps where the most up to date information is required.
For only one topic, ‘Computers, the Internet’, did respondents claim Internet websites to be the
preferred source for information and ideas. However, it is significant to point out that websites
were the second most preferred media source for ‘Items for sales’, ‘Personal finance,
investment’, ‘Business, company news’, ‘Jobs, appointments’ and ‘Science and technology’.
Websites also generated a reasonable score for ‘Travel and holidays’.
Clearly the more established media – magazines, newspapers and television – play a valuable
part in the sourcing process for information and ideas on a variety of topics. What impact the
Internet will have in the next few years remains to be seen.
To try to give an indication we can look at 16-24 year olds, a young group with high website
penetration. Looking at this age group amongst the topics that magazines were particularly
strong in, the Internet does not appear to pose a threat and, indeed, magazines as a source of
information and ideas are even stronger amongst this age group than for the population overall.

% % % % % %
Beauty/persn. App. 120 89 7 5 24 1 6
Celebrity news/gossip 129 80 33 9 34 4 9
Fashion, clothes 179 79 11 6 21 3 11
Health and fitness 133 74 15 9 20 3 12
Cars and motorbikes 77 72 32 5 21 1 26
Base: Respondents 16-24 interested in topics
It should be noted that where the sample size is less than 50 the topic has not been shown.
With the powerful search facilities of the Internet, it is understandable why websites would be
used in the process of sourcing information and ideas. What is interesting is that the Internet
appears strongest for some of the more factual based topics, as shown in the table on the
following page.

12

% % % % % %
Computers, Internet 133 40 12 2 15 1 76
Science, technology 81 41 21 7 35 3 54
Travel and holidays 139 35 19 13 44 2 52
Jobs, appointments 113 14 76 10 4 3 42
Items for sale 88 42 58 10 8 3 41
Base: Respondents 16-24 interested in topics
It could be within these types of areas that websites pose the greatest threat, perhaps more so
for television and newspapers than any other media.
Data can also be analysed by the individual magazine and newspaper genres. These data are
detailed in the main tabulations, although to give an example of the differences we have looked
at ‘Beauty and personal appearance’, the topic where the highest proportion of respondents
interested in that topic preferred magazines as a information and ideas source. The following
chart shows that readers of teenage/young women’s magazines are about 50% more likely to be
interested in this topic and prefer to use magazines than readers of women’s weekly magazines.
Readers of women’s monthly magazines fall between the two.
Those interested in Beauty / Personal

Appearance claiming preferred source as
magazines
Readers of teenage/young 62%

womens’ magazines
Womens’ monthly 50%

magazines
Womens’ weekly
43%
magazines
Adults 12+ 23%
Base: All 12+ (2030)

13
5. ACTIONS TAKEN AFTER EXPOSURE TO MEDIA
In Q8, respondents were asked to select which, if any, of four actions they had carried out as a
result of using a particular medium.
The following charts show the proportion of all respondents who claimed to have taken each
action as well as a net figure of all four actions.
Actions – Any Action

Watching a television channel 82%
Reading a magazine 79%
Reading a newspaper 71%
Reading a newspaper supplement 60%
Using the Internet to look at websites 42%
Listening to a radio station with ads 38%
Base: All 12+ (2,030)
Actions – Picked up Ideas

Base: All 12+ (2,030)

14
Actions – Followed Some Advice Given

Base: All 12+ (2,030)
Actions – Tried Something for the First Time

Base: All 12+ (2,030)

15
Actions – Bought Something

Base: All 12+ (2,030)
Television and magazines are the media that are most likely to stimulate action. Around eight
out of ten respondents claimed to have taken at least one of the four actions as a result of
watching a television channel or reading a magazine. There is a noticeable gap between these
media and newspapers and supplements. Websites and commercial radio ranked the lowest.
Looking at the specific actions, more respondents claimed to have picked up ideas, followed
some advice given and bought something as a result of reading a magazine than any of the
other media.
These data can also be analysed by looking at the proportion of respondents using each medium
who claimed to have taken each action. The charts on the following three pages show these
data.

16
Actions – Any Action

Base: Respondents using respective media
Actions – Picked up Ideas


17
Actions – Followed Some Advice Given

Actions – Tried Something for the First Time


18
Actions – Bought Something

Amongst users of each media, magazines and websites were most likely to generate action
amongst their respective users. Television channels followed closely behind, while there is a
noticeable gap between the top three media and newspapers and supplements. Commercial
radio ranked the lowest.
Nearly nine out of ten respondents who read a magazine claimed to have taken at least one of
the four actions as a result of reading a magazine. Looking at the magazine genres shows that
this ranged from 97% for Men’s and Style Magazines to 85% for Weekly TV Magazines. It is an
indication of the growing power of the Internet that website usage ranked second in the above
table, although there is not a real difference between the overall figure for the Internet and that
for magazines.
Looking at the specific actions, proportionally more magazines readers picked up ideas, followed
some advice given and tried something for the first time as a result of reading a magazine than
any of the other media users, including users of the Internet.
Another sign of the importance of websites is that 43% of website users claimed they bought
something as a result of looking at a website. This was the highest proportion amongst all the
media although magazines did record a similar figure of 41%. Of course, in absolute terms, as
readership of magazines is higher, more people buy as a result of reading or looking at a
magazine than from using the Internet.

19
We’ve seen that, overall, magazines and websites perform equally well amongst their users in
the general population. However, 16-24 year old who read magazines are more likely to have
been influenced to action by them (93%) than users of the websites (87%). Therefore, although
websites have an undoubted presence, and penetration is growing, we cannot surmise that they
will outperform magazines in terms of stimulating activity among their users in the near future.

20
6. INTERNET USAGE AND MAGAZINES
In Q5a, respondents were asked to say how much they agreed or disagreed with several
statements relating to looking at websites generally. The results are summarised in the following
chart:
Attitudes to Internet Websites

Agree Disagree
Can find almost any info

85% 14%
I need on the web
81% It is irritating when adverts

15%
pop up unexpectedly
Using the web is a lonely,

45% 53%
unsociable activity
I feel a certain amount of

34% 64%
stress when I use the web
The web takes up too 73%

26%
much time
I have a relationship with

23% 74%
the web, like a friend
14% I often click on the 84%

advertisements banner
to see the full advert
Base: Respondents accessing websites in last 12 months (875)
Websites are seen as a powerful information source, with the vast majority agreeing that they
could find almost any information on the web; there can be no real surprise in this high figure.
Users were quite negative in respect to advertising on the web. Only one in seven users agreed
that they often clicked on the advertisements banners to see the full advert. There were
noticeable differences amongst the social grades for this statement, with only 9% of ABs
agreeing compared to 25% of DEs. Dissatisfaction with pop up ads was also expressed, with
four fifths feeling irritated when ads popped up unexpectedly.
A little under half of websites users felt that using the web was a rather lonely, unsocial activity.
Amongst 12-15 year olds, this figure dropped to 25%. Around a third of users felt a certain
amount of stress when using the web, rising slightly amongst women (39%) compared to men
(31%). A quarter of users agreed that the web tends to take up too much of their time falling
slightly amongst ABs (21%). Just under a quarter of users agreed that they’d struck up a
relationship with the web.

21
Respondents were asked to compare their magazine reading and website usage for five
statements (Q5b). In order make more direct comparisons, the data in the following chart have
been based on respondents who claimed to have looked at a website in the last 12 months and
usually read at least one magazine in an issue period.
Comparisons of Magazines & Websites
64%
More relaxed 12%
52%
Enjoy more
24%
49%
Easier to use
21%
21%
Trust the information more
19%
5%
Feel more guilty using
12%
Websites Magazines
Base: Respondents accessing websites in last 12 months and reading magazines (793)
The scope for differences in content and design between magazines and websites is huge, but in
general it can be seen that magazines were found to be significantly more relaxing, enjoyable
and easier to use than websites. The first two statements on relaxation and enjoyment could be
seen to emphasise the ‘magazine moment’ that has been illustrated in previous PPA studies.
Looking at the statement on trust, there were no real differences between the two media with
close to half of respondents claiming it applied equally. Slightly more people felt guilty when
using websites than did when using magazines, but most users did not feel that guilt applied to
either media.

22
We will see in a later section that magazine consumption was slightly higher amongst women
than men. Comparing magazines and websites by gender suggests that women tend to be more
oriented towards magazines and less towards websites than men. This is indicated by the
following three statements:
Comparison of magazines and websites

Men Women
Base 433 360
% %
More relaxed reading magazines than using websites 56 74
Enjoy reading magazines more than using websites 45 60
Find magazines easier to use than websites 46 53
Base: Respondents accessing websites in last 12 months and reading magazines

23
7. ACTIVITIES WHILE USING MEDIA
In Q7, a series of questions were asked to establish activities that were carried out while using a
particular media. Respondents were asked ‘When you are (USING MEDIA), how often do you
(DO ACTIVITY)?’ and given a choice of four responses, ‘Nearly all the time / Always’, ‘A lot of
the time’, ‘Some of the time’ and ‘Very little / Never’.
Certain combinations of media use and activities were not asked where it was felt these situation
would not occur, for example reading a magazine while reading a newspaper.
The following two charts show the activities done a lot of the time or more while using each of
four media.
Activities done a lot of the time or more while

using media (1)
3%
Use the internet to 5%
look at a website 3%
Listen to a radio 4%
15%
station with
11%
advertising 6%
22%
Talk to someone 21%
(room or phone) 18%
16%
Watch a television 22%

channel 20%
4%
WEBSITES SUPPLEMENTS MAGAZINES TV
Base: Respondents using media

24
Activities done a lot of the time or more while

using media (2)
72%
Gross 63%
52%
33%
18%
Do household chores
6%
Read a newspaper
supplement 2%
9%
Read a newspaper
2%
11%
Read a magazine
3%
WEBSITES SUPPLEMENTS MAGAZINES TV
Base: Respondents using media
The gross figure in the previous chart is a summation of all claims. As can be seen from the
gross figures, TV produced the highest number of claims followed by magazines, newspaper
supplements and finally websites. From this interpretation of the data, websites are the media
where users did the least amount of other activities on a regular basis.
To help aid with the analysis of this question, a mean score has been calculated in the main
tabulations by allocating a score to each frequency claim. This mean score can be used to see
the relative differences between media and activities.

25
In Q2d, respondents claiming to watch television were asked how often they carried out certain
activities when they watched television and an advertisement came on. The findings from this
question are summarised in the following chart:
Activities done a lot of the time or more when

television ads shown
Fast Forward if VCR 69%
Talk to someone 31%
Watch ad 29%
Distracted from ad by
28%
something else
26%
Switch channels
21%
Leave room
Base: Respondents watching television (2002)
These data point towards a sizeable proportion of viewers being distracted from watching the
advertisement in one way or another, with only one in seven claiming to watch the ad nearly all
the time.

26
8. WEIGHT OF MEDIA CONSUMPTION
Respondents were asked about their usage of magazines, newspapers, newspapers

supplements, television, commercial radio and the Internet (Q1-4). In this section we summarise
the findings for each media.
Television is the most widely used medium, with virtually all of the total sample claiming to watch
television. Magazines and newspapers were the next most used medium followed by
commercial radio. Although website access currently has the least penetration, this is the media
with the greatest growth potential.
Media Used
View television 97%
Read magazines 83%
Read newspapers 83%
Listen to
61%
commercial radio
Access websites 45%
Base:All 12+ (2030)
To help summarise these data, respondents were classified into weights of consumption for each
of these groups, definitions of which can be found in the technical appendix (Section 9.6).

27
Magazines and Newspapers

Respondents were asked ‘In an average ____ (ISSUE PERIOD), how many _____ (GENRE) do
you usually read or look at?’ (Q1).
The individual magazine and newspaper genes were combined respectively to produce data for
magazines and newspapers in total.
Weight of Magazine Consumption
8%
Heavy
15%
Medium - heavy
Medium 14%
26%
Light - medium
21%
Light
None 17%
Base:All 12+ (2030)
Weight of Newspaper Consumption
11%
Heavy
12%
Medium - heavy
10%
Medium
28%
Light - medium
23%
Light
None 17%
Base:All 12+ (2030)

28
In the main tabulations it can be seen that magazine consumption was slightly higher amongst
women than men. It can also be seen that magazine consumption declined as age increased.
For example, 16% of 16-24 year olds compared to 3% of 65+ year olds were classified as heavy
magazine readers. The most notable variation by media was by website users who were found
to have higher magazine consumption than for other media.
Variations by newspaper consumption was not as pronounced as for magazines.
Due to restrictions in sample sizes, the individual magazine and newspaper genres were only
classified into heavy and light categories. Data for the individual genres are shown below:
Profile of magazine genres by weight of reading

Total Heavy Light Don’t read
Magazines – Weeklies
Women’s Weekly Magazines 100% 11% 14% 76%
Weekly TV Magazines 100% 6% 33% 61%
Weekly Car and Motorbike Magazines 100% 1% 6% 93%
Magazines – Monthlies
Magazines for Customers 100% 8% 23% 69%
Women’s Monthly Magazines 100% 7% 14% 78%
Homes and Decoration Magazines 100% 6% 13% 81%
Teenage / Young Women’s Magazines 100% 5% 5% 91%
Computing Magazines 100% 5% 12% 83%
General Monthly Magazines 100% 5% 12% 83%
Men’s and Style Magazines 100% 3% 8% 89%
Monthly Car and Motorbike Magazines 100% 3% 9% 88%
Sports Magazines 100% 3% 9% 88%
Monthly TV Magazines 100% 1% 17% 82%
Other Specialist Magazines 100% 4% 16% 80%
Any other magazines 100% 4% 8% 88%
Newspapers
National Daily Newspapers 100% 28% 45% 27%
National Sunday Newspapers 100% 21% 46% 32%
Base: All Respondents
Title specific data is not available on this survey but these summaries are useful as an analysis
variable. The titles included in each group are shown in the technical appendix (Section 12).
For the record, women’s weekly magazines, magazines for customers and women’s monthly
magazines were found to produce the highest number of heavy magazine readers.

29
A question on the reading of newspaper supplements was also asked, ‘On average, when you
read a newspaper, how many of the supplements do you usually read or look at?’ (Q1d). Just
over a quarter of respondents (28%) claimed to read or look at all supplements, 19% claiming to
read or look at most, 17% some, 12% a few and 25% claiming never to read or look at any
supplements.
Television
Respondents were asked ‘During an average week, on how many days do you personally watch
television?’ (Q2a) and ‘On an average day when you watch television, how long would you say
you spend viewing?’ (Q2b).
The responses to these questions were combined to produce the following weight of television
consumption data:
Weight of Television Consumption
19%
Heavy
Medium - heavy 11%
Medium 18%
Light - medium 25%
25%
Light
None 1%
Base:All 12+ (2030)
There were differences to be seen in the heavy category between men and women where
women recorded heavier scores than men. Greater differences can be seen between the lower
social grades compared to the higher social grades with DEs recording heavier scores than
ABC1s. Amongst the other media, website users tended to be lighter television viewers than for
the population overall with 9% of website users classified as heavy and 35% as light TV viewers.
In order to identify respondents living in ‘multi-channel’ households, Q2c asked ‘Does your
household receive channels in addition to BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, S4C and Channel 5?’.
A little over half of respondents (52%) claimed they did.

30
Commercial Radio
In a similar way to television, respondents were asked ‘During an average week, on how many
days do you personally listen to radio stations with advertising? (Q3a) and ‘On an average day
when you listen to radio stations with advertising, how long would you say you spend listening?
(Q3b).
These results were combined to produce the following data:
Weight of Commercial Radio Consumption
12%
Heavy
17%
Medium - heavy
Medium 9%
12%
Light - medium
11%
Light
None 39%
Base:All 12+ (2030)
There were some variations by gender with the clearest observation being that more men than
women claimed to listen to commercial radio. It is also worth noting there were differences to be
found by age where the younger age groups were found to listen more to commercial radio than
the older age groups. Weight of listening was also found to be heavier amongst C2DEs
compared to ABC1s. A greater proportion of website users listened to commercial radio than the
population overall (69% compared to 61%).
Websites
Close to half of all respondents claimed to have accessed the Internet in the past 12 months
(48%) with looking at websites (45%) and e-mail (43%) being the main uses.
Website access provided the greatest variation by demographics of all media. Comparing the
basic demographics, website access in the past 12 months was found to be higher amongst men
than women (55%:42%), ABs (71%) and C1s (58%) compared to C2s (35%) and DEs (28%). In
terms of age, not surprisingly, access was greatest amongst the younger age groups with three
quarters of 12-15 and 16-24 year olds having access.

31
It’s also worth noting that Internet access was found to be higher amongst heavier magazine
readers, lighter television viewers and lighter commercial radio listeners.
After confirming that they had accessed a website in the last 12 months, respondents were
asked, ‘And how often these days do you access the World Wide Web to look at websites?’
(Q4b). Classifying these responses into a weight of website access produced the following
results:
Weight of Website Consumption
14%
Heavy
Medium - heavy 14%
Medium 8%
Light - medium 4%
Light 3%
None 55%
Base:All 12+ (2030)
As indicated earlier, website usage was found to be heavier amongst men compared to women
and ABC1s compared to C2DEs. Looking at the age groups, the heaviest usage was found to
be amongst 16-24s with the lowest amongst 55+.

32
9. PRODUCTS PURCHASED
In Q10, respondents were asked, ‘Which, if any, of the following products have you personally
bought in the last 6 months?’.
Items are ranked in descending order in the following charts.
Products Personally Bought in Last

6 Months
Clothing 84%
Toiletries 80%
Books,CDs,Tapes,Videos,DVDs 79%
Footwear 70%
Pharmaceutical products 53%
Beauty products 37%
Flights, hotel, packages 37%
Kitchen and dom. app. 36%
Other home furnishings 32%
Furniture and carpets 28%
Watches and Jewellery 27%
Base: All Respondents (2,030)
Products Personally Bought in Last

6 Months
Mobile phones 25%
TV,Video,DVD,CD player, Hi-Fi 24%
Sports Equipment 22%
Computer / Games consule software 22%
Car Accessories 17%
Financial Products 15%
A Car 12%
Home computers 10%
Property 5%
A Motorbike 1%
Base: All Respondents (2,030)

33
This question produced a wide spread of data ranging from 84% of respondents claiming to have
bought ‘clothing’ in the last six months to 1% for ‘a motorbike’. There are some differences to be
seen by sex although greater differences are revealed by age and social grade in the main
tabulations.

34
10. TABULATIONS

35
11. TECHNICAL APPENDIX
9.1 Universe
The universe was those aged 12+ living in mainland Great Britain.
9.2 Sampling
Random location sampling was used, generating a sample size of 2,030.
A file of all postcode sectors in mainland Great Britain was created and this acted as the
sampling frame for the selection of points.
Postcode sectors were sorted into alphabetical order and the cumulative population estimates
based on adults 15+ were listed.
A sampling interval was calculated by dividing the adult population in all postcode sectors by the
number of sampling points required. A total of 115 postcode sectors (sampling points) were
drawn.
A random start point between 1 and the sampling interval was chosen and this number
determined the first sampling point. Subsequent sampling points (postcode sectors) were then
chosen by adding the sampling interval to the previous point.
Within each selected postcode sector, two start addresses were randomly chosen. Interviewers
were instructed to achieve 18 interviews per point, evenly spread between the two start
addresses.
9.3 Fieldwork
The selection of individuals was made by a ‘random route’ procedure.
From the starting address, the interviewer had rules as to which route he/she followed (e.g. first
left, first right, first left, etc) and what area was covered. There were procedures to cover the
majority of circumstances an interviewer would face (e.g. rural/urban areas, non-residential
areas, flats, institutions, etc).
Quota controls were set to be nationally representative per point by working status within sex:
Males (Working / Non-working) and Females (Working full time / Working part time / Non-
working). Age quotas were also set to control the number of 12-15 and 16-24 year olds.

36
Interviews were conducted in-home. Part of the data collection was face-to-face interviewing on
pen and paper; the other part was self-completion completed in the presence of the interviewer.
The average interview length was around 20 minutes. Fieldwork took place between 12th
November and 3 rd December 2001.
9.4 Data Processing

Editing, coding, data input and analysis were conducted by NFO WorldGroup.
9.5 Weighting/Grossing
Rim-weighting was applied by the following demographics:
Sex within Age

(Male, Female) x (12-15, 16-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+)
Sex within Social Grade of CIE

(Male, Female) x (A, B, C1, C2, D, E)
Sex within Working Status

(Male, Female) x (Full time, Part time, Not working)
Sex within ISBA Area

(Male, Female) x (London, Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Southern, East of England, Wales
and West, Scotland/Border, North East, South West)
The data were then grossed to 49,399,000.
Weighting and grossing targets were taken from NRS (for 15+ adults) and RAJAR (for 12-14
adults) respectively.

37
The unweighted sample composition compared to the final weighted composition is shown in the
following table.
Unweighted Weighted
Total 100.0% 100.0%
Sex
Male 47.4% 48.8%
Female 52.6% 51.2%
Age
12-15 6.3% 6.6%
16-17 2.3% 2.9%
18-24 9.5% 9.9%
25-34 16.1% 17.2%
35-44 20.1% 17.6%
45-54 13.1% 15.4%
55-64 13.2% 12.1%
65+ 19.4% 18.4%
Working Status
Full Time 36.2% 41.2%
Part Time 13.1% 9.9%
Not working 50.7% 48.9%
The range of weights were as follows:
Weight range Respondents Profile/%

0.300-0.500 20 1.0
0.501-0.750 343 16.9
0.751-1.000 729 35.9
1.001-1.250 592 29.2
1.251-1.500 236 11.6
1.501-1.750 89 4.4
1.751-2.000 20 1.0
2.001-2.150 1 *
* Denotes a figure of less than 0.5%
This tables shows that the range of weights were satisfactorily narrow and centred around a
value close to one.

38
9.6 Weight of Media Consumption

To aid analysis, media were categorised into weights of consumption. Definitions are detailed in
this section.
9.6.1 Magazine and Newspaper Genres

Weight of reading for the individual magazine and newspaper genres were defined from the
number of publications read in an average issue period (Q1a/b/c).
Because of restrictions in sample sizes only two categories were defined. The following table
shows these categories and the definitions:
Weight of Reading Publications read or looked at in

an average day/week/month
Heavy Two, Three, 4-5, 6-10, 11 or more
Light Fewer than 1, One
9.6.2 Magazine and Newspaper Summaries

Overall weight of reading summaries for magazines and newspapers were defined from the
number of publications read in an average issue period (Q1a/b/c).
The following table shows the categories and the definitions:
Weight of Reading Publications read or looked at in

an average day/week/month
Magazines Newspapers
Heavy 11 or more 6-10, 11 or more
Medium-Heavy 6-10 4-5
Medium 4-5 Three
Light-Medium Two, Three Two
Light Fewer than 1, One Fewer than 1, One

39
9.6.3 Commercial Radio

Weight of commercial radio listening was defined from the product of number of days spent
listening during an average week (Q3a) and time spent listening on an average day (Q3b).
e.g. 2 days per week x 10-19 minutes per day = 29 minutes per week – light
Weight of Listening Minutes per week

Heavy 1,300+
Medium-Heavy 600-1,299
Medium 260-599
Light-Medium 105-259
Light 1-104
9.6.4 Television
Weight of television viewing was defined from the product of number of days spent watching
during an average week (Q2a) and time spent listening on an average day (Q2b).
e.g. 2 days per week x 2-3 hours per day = 5 hours per week – light
Weight of Viewing Hours per week

Heavy 35.00+
Medium-Heavy 25.00-34.99
Medium 20.00-24.99
Light-Medium 11.00-19.99
Light 0.01-10.99
9.6.5 Websites
Weight of website usage was defined from the frequency of accessing websites (Q4b). The
following table shows the categories and the definitions:
Weight of Usage Frequency of Access

Heavy Every day
Medium-Heavy Every 2-3 days
Medium Once a week
Light-Medium Once a month
Light Less often

40
12. QUESTIONNAIRE
Two versions of the questionnaire were used enabling rotations of certain questions. Only the
forward version has been included in this report.
Details of the individual titles included in each genre in Q1 are listed below.
National Daily Newspapers

The Sun Daily Star
The Mirror The Guardian
Daily Mail Financial Times
The Daily Telegraph The Independent
Daily Express The Scotsman
Daily Record Metro
The Times Evening Standard - London
National Sunday Newspapers

News of the World The Sunday Telegraph
The Mail on Sunday Sunday Mail
Sunday Mirror The Sunday Post
Sunday People The Observer
The Sunday Times The Independent on Sunday
Sunday Express Scotland on Sunday
Women’s Weekly Magazines

Take a Break Best
Hello! That’s Life
Woman’s Own The People’s Friend
OK! My Weekly
Bella Now
Woman Heat
Chat Your Life
Woman’s Weekly
Weekly Car and Motorbike Magazines

Auto Express Autosport
Autocar Motor Cycle News

41
Weekly TV Magazines
What’s on TV TV Quick
Radio Times TV Choice
TV Times TV & Satellite Week
Women’s Monthly Magazines

Cosmopolitan Harpers & Queen
Marie Claire Vanity Fair
Vogue Tatler
Elle Glamour
She Good Housekeeping
New Woman Prima
Red Woman & Home
Company BBC Good Food
Top Santé Health & Beauty Family Circle
Woman’s Journal Essentials
Men’s and Style Magazines

FHM Bizarre
Loaded Front
Maxim Esquire
Men’s Health The Face
GQ
Monthly Car and Motorbike Magazines

Max Power Car
BBC Top Gear Cars and Car Conversions
What Car? Superbike
Fast Car Magazine Performance Bikes
F1 Racing Bike
Classic and Sportscar Classic Bike
Revs Ride
Sports Magazines
FourFourTwo Trout and Salmon
Golf Monthly Trout Fisherman
Golf World Runner’s World
Today’s Golfer incorporating Fore! Today’s Runner
Sea Angler Rugby World

42
Monthly TV Magazines
Sky Customer Magazine
Cable Guide
Magazines for Customers

Safeway – The Magazine The Somerfield Magazine
Asda Magazine High Life (British Airways)
Sainsbury Magazine
Teenage / Young Women’s Magazines

Sugar TV Hits
Top of the Pops Magazine 19
Bliss B
J-17 Celebrity Looks
Homes and Decoration Magazines

Ideal Home BBC Good Homes Magazine
Homes & Gardens Home and Country
House & Gardens 25 Beautiful Homes
Country Living Period Living & Traditional Homes
Country Home & Interiors Inspirations
House Beautiful Your Home
BBC Homes & Antiques Elle Decoration
Homes & Ideas Perfect Home
The Real Homes Magazine World of Interiors
Computing Magazines
Computeractive The Net
Computer Shopper .Net
PC Pro PC Gamer
Personal Computer World PC Zone
PC Plus Official Playstation Magazine
PC Format Nintendo Official Magazine
Computer Buyer Official Dreamcast Magazine
Mac User

43
General Monthly Magazines

Reader’s Digest Total Film
Candis Saga Magazine
Mixmag Yours
Q Choice
Mojo BBC Gardeners’ World
Classic FM Magazine Garden Answers
BBC Music Magazine The Garden
Classic CD Garden Inspirations
Empire Your Garden
Other Specialist Magazines

National Geographic Practical Parenting
BBC Wildlife Pregnancy and Birth
Focus Prima Baby
Practical Photography Health & Fitness
Practical Woodworking Slimming
Mother and Baby Slimmer

Media Involvement Study 2002

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MEDIA INVOLVEMENT STUDY 2002

Telephone: 020 7891 1200

4. PREFERRED MEDIA FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS 8

5. ACTIONS TAKEN AFTER EXPOSURE TO MEDIA 13

6. INTERNET USAGE AN D MAGAZINES 20

7. ACTIVITIES WHILE USING MEDIA 23

8. WEIGHT OF MEDIA CONSUMPTION 26

11. TECHNICAL APPENDIX 35

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Further details of the methodology can be found in the technical appendix.

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Preferred media for topics of interest

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Actions taken after exposure to media

Internet usage and magazines

Activities while using media

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Media to Which …… Applies (1)

Usually tailored to my Contains information

Base: All 15+ (1903)

L:\Dylan \Consumer Research Working Party\final \Report.doc 10/04/2002

Media to Which …… Applies (2)

Often find the advertising Medium is made worse

Base: All 15+ (1903)

Media to Which …… Applies (3)

The advertising is too intrusive

Base: All 15+ (1903)

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On the remaining statements on advertising, magazines performed consistently well, producing

Media to Which …… Applies (4)

Advertising in this medium This medium has advertising

Base: All 15+ (1903)

Media to Which …… Applies (5)

I’m more likely to pay attention to I sometimes purchase a

Base: All 15+ (1903)

L:\Dylan \Consumer Research Working Party\final \Report.doc 10/04/2002

Media to Which …… Applies (6)

Media to Which …… Applies (7)

I find the advertising can be inspiring

Base: All 15+ (1903)

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4. PREFERRED MEDIA FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS

Proportion Interested in Topic (1)

Music, cinema, theatre 72%

Travel & Holidays 61%

Home Improvement, DIY* 48%

Fashion, clothes 45%

Health & fitness 43%

Base: All 12+ (2030) / * Not asked of 12-14 year olds

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Proportion Interested in Topic (2)

Celebrity news & gossip 33%

Beauty & personal appearance 32%

Items for sale 30%

Science & Technology 30%

Cars & motorbikes 26%

Jobs, appointments* 26%

Personal finance, investment* 23%

Baby/childcare, parenting* 19%

Business, company news* 17%

Base: All 12+ (2030) / * Not asked of 12-14 year olds

L:\Dylan \Consumer Research Working Party\final \Report.doc 10/04/2002

Preferred media for information and ideas on topics interested in

Base Magazines Newspapers Newspaper Television Commercial Internet