Abstract:

This paper is divided into four parts. The first part provides a brief overview of the free publication market which in the UK represents an estimated 30% of print advertising expenditure, dominated by controlled circulation business titles and local newspapers. The second part provides a case study of a series of pieces of research conducted on behalf of Financial Adviser. This shows how research helped circulation targeting and editorial design improve Financial Adviser's position in its marketplace. The third part makes some general observations about the need for research from the publisher's point of view, how advertisers can judge free publications together with evidence on readers' opinions of two titles. In the last section brief conclusions are drawn about the role of research for free publications, and what might constitute a successful free title.