We all produce written content. And we all want our writing to be noticed, engaged with and acted upon. However, your audiences are time-poor and have lower attention spans than ever. This means your content is permanently walking a tightrope of being unnoticed and therefore being ineffective. But all isn't lost. In this webinar, find out how the disciplines of copywriting and behavioral science can provide you with a toolkit to make your content noticeable, engaging, reputation boosting and drive action.
In line with the BBC's policy of 'Extending Choice 1' , BBC Local Radio stations have increased their reliance on broadcast journalism to distinguish them from the commercial competition. Over the past two or three years there has been a gradual reduction in their music content and an increase in speech; some stations have taken the process further and have become almost entirely speech stations. This policy has been successful in maintaining the reach and share of BBC Local Radio as a whole; however, its success at the individual station level has been more variable. Given that BBC Local Radio sees its raison d'etre as the provision of a speech-based service, qualitative research can provide further insights into how this policy can be linked to the needs of the potential audience. The paper illustrates how a combination of the analysis of continuous data from the RAJAR survey, with the results of quantitative surveys and qualitative (group discussion) research can be used to diagnose what makes for a successful BBC Local Radio station, operating under public-service guidelines. RAJAR data have shown that the considerable changes in the format of BBC Local Radio over the last few years, combined with an increase in local commercial competition, have not resulted in significant changes to its overall audience reach, share or profile: BBC Local Radio continues to obtain the majority of its listening from the over-55 age group. While the performance of individual stations varies over a wide range, it is not simply dependent on the intensity of competition from local commercial stations. 444In attitude surveys, BBC Local Radio is seen as friendly, informative and keeping people in touch with what is happening in their area, besides being professional and providing a quality service. Qualitative research with listeners and potential listeners to BBC Local Radio has underlined the importance of friendly, local presenters, and a strong sense of identification of the station with the local community. While local news and information are the hallmarks of the service, listeners also want to hear coverage of a range of local topics which reflect their pride and involvement in the local area.
The paper examines the relationship between CBC radio programs' audience size (as measured by BBM estimates of share) and audience qualitative appreciation (as measured by qualitative indices or QI's in the CBC's annual Qualitative Radio Study). The analysis shows that there clearly is a relationship between a program's share and listeners' level of enjoyment; programs with larger audiences tend to be more enjoyed by those who listen in, those programs with smaller audiences generally have lower QFs. There are of course exceptions to the general rule and these are what are of particular concern and form the basis of future research. The paper is divided into four sections: an introduction outlining the nature of concern for meaningful measurement of audience reaction to public service programming, including some background on CBC Radio's traditional approach to measuring program enjoyment; a methodology section explaining the annual survey of listeners on which program enjoyment measures are based the Qualitative Radio Study (QRS), and the nature of the current analysis; results of the analysis of the relationship between audience share and program enjoyment; and, a conclusion with some thoughts about measurements of audience reaction to radio programs. There is also an appendix with details of correlation analysis used in the study.
This paper describes the Radio Opinion Monitor (ROM) which is used by the BBC to monitor audience reaction to network radio in the UK. The BBC has measured audience reaction to its services for many years and ROM is a new vehicle which has been designed to accommodate changes in information requirements and the broadcast environment. ROM is a panel survey which delivers roughly 1 listener to each of the BBC's five network services over the course of a month. The principal panel control is the combination of services which respondents listen to which, in this context, is a more useful way of classifying individuals than simple demographics. Panel members complete a diary once every four weeks in which they give a mark out of ten to each programme which they happen to hear. These scores are used to calculate a Reaction Index (RI) for each programme and this information is used alongside audience measurement data in assessing the performance of individual programmes and as a tool for programme planning and scheduling. The paper describes the way in which panel controls were developed and initial problems due to panel effects. Examples of the use of the data are also given.
New communications technologies are promising an array of new interactive services that will be available in the near future to consumers. In assessing the market for interactive television, our research focused on these objectives: 1. What is the general level of interest in interactive TV? (a) What proportion of the U.S. adult population is currently interested in interactive TV? (b) What are the demographics of those who express interest in interactive TV? (c) How much are consumers willing to pay for access to interactive TV services? 2. What specific services are of most interest to U.S. consumers? (a) What are the demographics of those most interested in nine specific types of interactive TV services? (b) What is the key service that is likely to stimulate consumer demand? 3. How can interactive TV be packaged for most effective marketing to consumers?
This paper deals with the measurement of program appreciation in the Netherlands. In the first part of this essay, attention is given to the value and applications of appreciation scores and the method of collecting them is discussed. Appreciation scores have been systematically gathered per program since 1965. Since 1987 this has been done using a People Meter with the addition of prompts via the meter requesting appreciation scores from panel members, a system first used in the Netherlands.
Channel Four is a U.K. national television channel, set up in 1982 and today accounts for around 10% of all viewing. It is financed from the sale of commercial airtime but it is not a private enterprise. It is, effectively, a public service organisation that as well as being a general broadcaster is given certain requirements within U.K. broadcasting. Those requirements are : a) to ensure that Channel Four programmes contain a suitable proportion of material calculated to appeal to tastes and interests not generally catered for by Channel 3 (ITV) b) that innovation and experiment in the form and content of those programmes are encouraged and:- c) generally that Channel Four is given a distinctive character of its own. Four has thus to plough its way between the interests of public service broadcasting and the interest of commercial survival. It is within this context that one can see the importance of audience reaction data to us.
The purpose of this paper is to show how a reader panel is being used by the editorial teams of Family Circle and Living as part of a circulation building strategy. We begin by reviewing the background of declining circulations, new management, and new editors. We discuss why a reader-panel was needed and how it was set up. At a technical level, the panel is operating well, with good response levels. The second half of the paper discusses how the month-by-month data is used by the editors of the two magazines, by giving a series of varied examples. The panel acts as a "headlamp" and a "rear-view mirror".
Most television programmes can be classified into two main programme types, Information and Entertainment. Information programmes tend to get smaller audiences but higher appreciation scores than do Entertainment programmes. Between these two main programme types, the correlation of audience appreciation with audience size is therefore negative. But for different programmes of the same type the correlation is positive, though low. Higher appreciation scores tend to go to the programmes with the larger audiences. A theoretical interpretation is that the more demanding a pro- gramme is, the more interesting and/or enjoyable it has to be before people will watch it.
For editorial policy it is important to estimate readers' appreciation of the contents. The panel method is one way of sounding the readers and getting a contribution to the editorial policy. In this paper we will present experiences and examples from various media.