Abstract:

This paper shows the findings of the first psychographics conducted in Italy on a national sample representative of the adult population ageing from 18 to 65 years and the practical application to a family weekly magazine which has a wide circulation. The results obtained were surprising both for the study of the Italian population and for the support provided to the publisher of the magazine in order to explain the position of his product with respect to the Italian' cultures and values generally. The survey took into consideration not only respondents' behaviours, but also the values from which they draw their inspiration and the cultures from which they originate. The use of this information had a dual aim: on the one hand it helped the editorial staff to examine closely the public-reader's expectations and to adjust the contents of the magazine, on the other it allowed the company to discredit, with media-planners and advertisers, the image of a magazine considered to be strictly catholic and addressed to a bigoted public not much open to consumption and social-life. On the contrary, a varied picture of the readers ensued, a cross-section of Italy made up, to a great extent, of Catholics involved socially and open to renewal. In this paper are illustrated the readers' behaviours, values and life styles compared with the whole population and with other mass-media audiences.