ACNielsen Wins Newspapers Readership Contract

ACNielsen Media International has been awarded a contract by The Australian Suburban Newspapers Association to conduct readership surveys over the next two years.

Announcing the contract winner, Gene Swinstead, Managing Director of News Limited Community Newspapers said, "We have sought to refresh and refocus the way the readership survey is conducted. Community newspapers deserve something better as we progress to increase significantly our share in the national advertising market."

ASNA is made up of News Limited Community Newspapers, Fairfax Community Newspapers, Torch Publishing, Courier Newspapers and Independent newspaper groups. This is the first time the publishers have put the service to formal tender.

According to Helen Overmyer, Managing Director of ACNielsen Media International, Australia, "This is a significant win for ACNielsen. It is the first time ACNielsen offers official print readership measurement in Australia and it expands our media portfolio covering TV, radio, print and the Internet. It is the first time these industry players have put any readership survey to tender. By awarding the suburban newspapers contract to ACNielsen, it means for the first time in the history of readership surveys in Australia, the figures will be subject to an audit by an industry appointed auditor, an initiative by ASNA and endorsed by ACNielsen throughout the process."

According to Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA) figures, the value of total community print advertising last year amounted to $661 million, equating to about 10% of all major media expenditure in 2000.

"The new service was designed with inputs from both publishers and media buyers. Moreover, a joint industry committee, comprising representatives from the publishers, advertising agencies and ACNielsen, will oversee the surveys on an on-going basis to ensure that they meet the needs of publishers and advertisers to reach their target audience in the most efficient manner," added Overmyer."The new service will bring to the community newspapers consumer profiling in addition to readership figures. Publishers will better understand the lifestyle profiles of their readers, advertisers can target consumer segments clustered in well defined regions, and advertising agencies will be in a better position to determine which titles are the most efficient in reaching these target markets."

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.