The whole truth

At the Media Research Day on September 24, 2014, the WEMF announced that it would supplement the existing print-only currency with the use of electronic devices. However, it is not the case that nothing has happened so far. For three years now, the WEMF, in collaboration with NET-Metrix, has been publishing the Total Audience study. It is still considered a pilot study and shows the combined reach of a printed media brand and the corresponding website. It thus provides information about the total user base of media brands. However, the current Total Audience study has two disadvantages. First, there is no differentiation by channel within electronic media usage. It is therefore not possible to distinguish whether users come from websites, mobile offerings or e-paper. And secondly, not even 10 percent of the titles included in MACH Basic participate in the Total Audience study.

Thanks to the WEMF announcement, print media that lost readers in the last MACH surveys have justified hopes of at least partially compensating for the losses incurred by recording digital usage (e-paper). The fact that many readers are probably falling through the cracks due to print-only recording is shown by the example of the NZZ and the NZZ am Sonntag. The publisher recently presented its certified print and e-paper circulation figures. Not only the print circulation can be certified, but also the digital subscriptions. However, these are only the so-called replicas. A replica is a digital one-to-one copy of the printed newspaper. The layout and content correspond to the print product. This means that all advertisements are also included. The total circulation therefore corresponds to the effective advertising value of the medium. A look at the circulation structure shows that the NZZ now has more than 18,000 e-paper copies. That is around 16 percent of the total circulation or 19 percent of the print circulation. Since MACH only records readers of the print edition to date, readers of the EPaper offering are missing. If no system change is made, the title runs the risk of losing more readers due to research, because more and more are turning to the digital offering. Compared to the previous year, the distributed replica circulation of NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag together has doubled to 34 002. The 34 000 digital subscriptions generate readers who are not covered by the current MACH Basic. However, it can be assumed that fewer readers are generated from e-paper circulations than from printed copies. Printed copies of subscription newspapers generate two to three readers per copy.

WEMF test study aims for the whole truth

The innovations presented on the part of WEMF during the Media Research Day meet the requirements of digital use - as far as possible today. Harald Amschler, head of research at WEMF, speaks of "good enough" and means that the research concepts can of course always be improved. But ultimately it's a matter of having the bird in the hand for the time being! The industry is pleased.

The test study shows users by media brand. Within the media brand, a distinction can be made between the following user groups: Print product, PC, smartphone, tablet and e-paper. Both gross and net reach can be derived from this. Publication of the test study is scheduled for November 2014. If the test study produces plausible results, its elements will be incorporated into the MACH Basic and Total Audience studies.

Otto Meier