Newspaper Society Combines Print and Online Stats

The Newspaper Society (NS) - which represents and promotes the interests of Britain's regional and local media - has launched what it claims to be the UK's first integrated print and online audience currency.

Plans to introduce the new 'Locally Connected' solution were initiated by the NS, the Joint Industry Committee for Regional Press Research (JICREG) and ABCE back in 2006.

The system extends the regional press readership database to include newspapers' online audiences, and allows agencies and advertisers to combine a newspaper and its web site reach down to postcode level.

'The development of a robust and reliable system of multimedia audience measurement has been one of the biggest challenges facing all media today,' stated NS President David Fordham. 'Locally Connected now gives advertisers a unique cross-media planning system, allowing them to effectively target local communities across the UK in print as well as online.'

International media planning software firm Telmar was commissioned by the NS in 2007 to develop the methodology for integrating Internet audience data with print readership data.

Internet audience data are underpinned by audited web traffic data, survey data (combined sample size of 100,000+ adults) and statistical analysis and modelling.

Howard Scott, Chairman of JICREG, added that Locally Connected is a major development for local media audience measurement.

The NS is now embarking on a qualitative digital insight project which will look at how, why, when and for how long people engage with their local newspaper web site, and how this differs from other Internet usage. Results from the wanted ads Digital will be available in early 2010.

Web site: www.newspapersoc.org.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.