Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................... 1
1.0
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. Business Problem ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.2. Results ......................................................................................................................................... 3
1.3. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 3
2.0
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Research Objectives .................................................................................................................... 5
2.2. Scope of the study ....................................................................................................................... 5
2.3. Response ..................................................................................................................................... 6
3.0
Method/Research Design .............................................................................................................. 7
3.1. Sampling Technique ................................................................................................................... 7
3.1.1.
Sample size ......................................................................................................................... 7
3.1.2.
Sample Characteristics ........................................................................................................ 7
3.2. Data Collection Method .............................................................................................................. 7
3.3. Measurement ............................................................................................................................... 7
3.4. Quantitative Analysis Procedures ............................................................................................... 8
3.4.1.
Analytical Procedures ......................................................................................................... 8
3.4.2.
Statistical Package .............................................................................................................. 8
3.4.3.
Coding Procedures .............................................................................................................. 8
4.0
Results .......................................................................................................................................... 10
4.1. Measure of Price Sensitivity ..................................................................................................... 10
4.1.1.
Subscription fees cut by half from current rates: .............................................................. 10
4.1.2.
Free Subscription: ............................................................................................................. 11
4.1.3.
Charging Subscription fees for online news sites: ............................................................ 12
4.2. Measure of Product Relevance to readers ................................................................................. 12
4.2.1.
Topics read most ............................................................................................................... 12
4.2.2.
More local news or event listings ..................................................................................... 12
4.2.3.
Coupons and Good deals: ................................................................................................. 13
4.2.4.
Importance of Multimedia Features: ................................................................................. 14
4.2.5.
Use of blogs and Search Engines ...................................................................................... 14
4.3. Measure of Convenience........................................................................................................... 15
4.3.1.
Newspapers convenient to read anytime........................................................................... 15
5.0
Lessons Learned and Limitations ............................................................................................. 17
5.1. Lessons Learned: ...................................................................................................................... 17
5.2. Research Limitations: ............................................................................................................... 17
6.0
Recommendations and Next Steps ............................................................................................ 19
6.1. Price cuts or price eliminations ................................................................................................. 19
6.2. Improve content and increase promotion of selected news areas ............................................. 19
6.3. Improve easier usage of the newspaper .................................................................................... 19
6.4. Strengthen relationships or increase business alliances with search engines ........................... 20
6.5. Other tested options .................................................................................................................. 20
7.0
Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 21
7.1. Exhibit 1: Survey Questions & Coding .................................................................................... 21
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.2. Exhibit 2: Example of multiple response analysis: ................................................................... 27
7.3. Exhibit 3: Convenience questions and summary (5 questions) ................................................ 28
7.4. Exhibit 4: Relevance questions and summary (8 questions) .................................................... 33
7.5. Exhibit 5: Price Sensitivity questions and summary (3 questions) ........................................... 38
7.6. Exhibit 6: Demographics questions and summary (5 questions) .............................................. 42
7.7. Exhibit 7: Psychographics questions and summary (6 questions) ............................................ 46
7.8. Exhibit 8: Summary of Exploratory Research Findings ........................................................... 49
7.8.1.
Findings of Exploratory Research .................................................................................... 49
7.9. Exhibit 9: Qualitative Research Interview Guide ..................................................................... 51
7.9.1.
Preparation of Quantitative Research Tool ....................................................................... 51
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
2
The NY Times
1.0
NYU Stern School of Business
Executive Summary
1.1. Business Problem
The New York Times seeks to raise revenues gained through its existing reader base. Potentially
these revenues can be increased from advertising, where 80% of their current revenues originate, or
from subscription fees, accounting for the remaining 20% of current revenues. Both print and online
readers should be leveraged.
1.2. Results
Our research identified three general areas of decision drivers for increasing readership: price,
relevance, and convenience. We found that in today’s era of free print, broadcast, and online news,
readers are extremely price sensitive. Our readers, regardless of demographics and choice of news
delivery method, would be more likely to subscribe if the news was less expensive.
In improving product relevance, we found that current events, business and entertainment news were
considered important for our reader base. In the area of online news sources, we found that the use
of search engines to find news is very popular. Less popular is the use of multimedia, while the
offering of blogs is irrelevant to our market. A focus on local news and events is considered
important by women, but much less so by men. The use of news sources to find coupons and
product news is more generally distributed across demographics, although used by a minority of
readers.
Older readers seem to appreciate the convenience and relaxation of browsing a newspaper anywhere,
indicating a continuing role for this medium. We also found a broad interest in subscribing to print
newspapers if they were more convenient to hold and use.
1.3. Recommendations
The best way to raise readership appears to be price-driven. Increasing revenues from copy sale
appears to be counter-productive, and should be abandoned as a strategy. Indeed, we recommend
offering newspapers and news websites for free to encourage Top-of-Mind Awareness and gain the
eyeballs required to maximize advertising revenues. Enhancing the popular news areas of current
events, business and entertainment may help raise overall product interest, while additional emphasis
into local news and events, particularly of interest to woman, is expected to result in higher product
interest from that segment. The format of print newspapers should be changed to improve
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
3
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
convenience of use; presumably the easier use of online news sites, while untested in this research,
may also improve loyalty and subscription numbers.
In the area of online news, improvements in relationships with search engines should be made to
increase the presence of the New York Times. This area should be further explored to determine
methods of advertising effectively online even as readers access articles from a Google launch page
rather than through a New York Times launch page. Multimedia was appreciated but not to an
extent that we feel requires additional attention. Blogs and other envelope-pushing ideas seem
unappreciated or immature at this time.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
4
The NY Times
2.0
NYU Stern School of Business
Introduction
An important aspect of revenue-generating activity on the part of newspaper companies is marketing
themselves to marketers. That is, to convince potential advertisers that their newspaper is a productive
place to spend marketing dollars. According to Euromonitor, the traditional newspaper industry earns
80% of its revenues from advertising, so every effort should be made to improve the image of this brand
as a revenue generator for advertisers. A secondary question we asked is whether there is opportunity to
increase direct subscription revenues from copy or web access, a hypothesis quickly rejected during our
research.
2.1. Research Objectives
The primary research objective was to find ways to increase the New York Times subscription
readership, either online or paper based. With increased dedication to the New York Times from
readers, the number of “eyeballs”, or active readers, can be promoted to advertisers to raise revenues
from that channel. Potentially, increased subscription readership would also increase revenues from
direct sales, although the price sensitivity of our product is one hypothesis to test. Results of our
qualitative research helped us divide the primary research objective into three sub categories on
which to focus our quantitative research:

Price sensitivity

Product relevance to readers

Product convenience to readers.
2.2. Scope of the study
The scope of the study was limited to our existing customer base, i.e. those who read the New York
Times but who do not necessarily subscribe to it. There could be many ways to increase new
readership, for example through broad marketing efforts, radical change of content, and marketing to
niche segments. These and other methods of boosting new readership were outside the scope of our
study. The research was designed to understand the how current readers could be transformed into
subscribers, increasing their value both to ourselves and to our advertisers. Results of qualitative
research further narrowed this scope to how price, relevancy, and convenience can be improved to
attract subscribers.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
5
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
2.3. Response
The responses suggested that today’s consumer is very demanding. They are price conscious, and at
the same time want products that are relevant to their needs and convenient to their life style. They
are not willing to pay subscription fees, however if the price for news is reduced or eliminated, they
are willing to commit to our product through subscription.
Newspapers offer the convenience to read the news anytime, especially valued by older readers;
younger adults prefer to read news online. Search engines like Google and Yahoo are most widely
used to search for news online. The comfort of holding a conveniently-sized newspaper was very
important to respondents’ willingness to subscribe.
Female respondents are somewhat more willing to subscribe if relevant factors like more local news
is added, though this tested as generally irrelevant for men. Current events, entertainment and
business are the most widely read news topics within our respondents. Coupons are not favored in
general to be the reason for choosing a news source, however product deals and awareness are
examined while reading news. Respondents were lukewarm towards the importance of multimedia,
and do not consider blogs to be any factor in their willingness to subscribe online.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
6
The NY Times
3.0
NYU Stern School of Business
Method/Research Design
3.1. Sampling Technique
Our target population was those who read the New York Times but who do not necessarily subscribe
to it. Because of time and cost constraints we chose a convenience non-probabilistic sample of NYU
students, family and friends in New York and surrounding states.
3.1.1.
Sample size
The sample size for the qualitative portion of this study was 6. The sample size for the
quantitative portion of this study was 95. Of those 95 respondents, five responses were
invalid as the respondents abandoned the survey without completing it. Those invalid
responses were not considered and a total of 90 responses were analyzed.
3.1.2.
Sample Characteristics
(Exhibit 7.6: demographics)
 Our quantitative sample set was 90, comprised of 49 females and 41 males. 96% of these
respondents represented the 18-40 age group, 3% represented the 61 and over age group,
and only 1% represented the 41-50 age group.
 The quantitative sample was highly educated as 51% carried a bachelor degree, 48% a
masters degree, and 1% a doctoral degree. About 54% live in NYC, 18% in the suburbs of
NYC, 21% in another city, and 1% rural.
3.2. Data Collection Method
The quantitative survey data was collected through the surveymonkey.com website. A response
request email was sent to almost 282 people, of whom 34% (95 individuals) responded.
3.3. Measurement
During our qualitative research, we determined three decision drivers affecting decisions on whether
to subscribe to news. These drivers, price sensitivity, relevance and convenience, were
quantitatively examined with 27 survey questions to learn patterns that can be applied to achieve our
research objective. Specifically, we asked 5 demographics questions, 6 psychographics questions, 3
price sensitivity questions, 8 product relevance questions, and 5 product convenience questions. Of
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
7
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
these 27 questions, 2 were constructed as scale response, while 25 were constructed as nominal
response. Further details on data measurement can be found in section 3.4.3, coding procedures.
The main questions were:

How would our respondents react if the price of either print or on-line subscription is
reduced or eliminated?

How can we gain Top-of-Mind Awareness with our consumer by improving the relevance of
our product to their needs: flexible scheduling, online blogs, multimedia, and content?

Would our consumers subscribe if the product is made more convenient, for example in the
size of the paper or with the usage of wireless news. This includes examining how our
respondents define convenience and how they relate convenience to news sources.
3.4. Quantitative Analysis Procedures
3.4.1.
Analytical Procedures
We used descriptive statistics, primarily tabulation, to determine by proportion what our
respondents value. We used a cross tabulation of variables to gain further analytical
insights. We have included graphs to illustrate our findings. On a few occasions we used
inferential techniques such as Chi-Square after cross tabulation to determine differences
between sample statistics and population parameters.
3.4.2.
Statistical Package
We used SPSS V14.0 by SPSS Inc. for quantitative analysis.
3.4.3.
Coding Procedures
The questionnaire consisted of twenty seven variables. Out of those twenty seven, five
were multiple response questions and the remaining were categorical questions. Two
categorical questions were measured on a continuum (income and age demographics),
while the rest were measured nominally. Multiple Response variables were coded as
dichotomies where the value of ‘1’ is used to count each response. For responses where
users did not choose any values a default ‘0’ is used. There are total of five multiple response
questions in the survey. The remaining twenty two categorical questions are coded by a single
category. Exhibit 7.1 illustrates our coding procedure and documents coding for all questions.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
8
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
For questions where users provided information for the category ‘Other’, an aggregate category was
formed as individual responses varied significantly and were small compared to labeled responses.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
9
The NY Times
4.0
NYU Stern School of Business
Results
4.1. Measure of Price Sensitivity
Consumers had a strong positive reaction to newspaper subscription if the price is reduced. We
chose three related cost variables that measured consumers’ behavior towards subscriptions.
4.1.1.
Subscription fees cut by half from current rates:
The first variable was to find out how consumers react if the price of a paper-based
newspaper is reduced by half from its current rate. 54% (Exhibit 7.5) of the sample
population stated they will subscribe to a newspaper if the cost is reduced by half. Since
our sample population was mixed between males and females, we investigated any
connection between gender and price sensitivity. According to our cross variable analysis
of gender and price reduction by half we found that 53% of sampled females chose to
subscribe with reduced prices compared to 56% of males. This suggests no linkage
between gender and price sensitivity, proven using a chi square test.
Ge nde r * Reduce by Half Crossta bul ation
Count
Gender
Male
Female
Total
Reduc e by Half
Yes
No
23
18
26
23
49
41
Total
41
49
90
A hypothesis test extrapolating this result to the greater population uses gender preference
independent to the half price variable as our null hypothesis. Our alternative hypothesis
was opposite to this null hypothesis, i.e. gender difference is dependant on the half-price
variable. Choosing a chi square test to measure the difference of relationship between two
nominal variables, the calculated value of Pearson Chi-Square for a degree of freedom 1
comes out to be 0.083. This is far below the table value of chi-square at 99% with 1 degree
of freedom (6.63), indicating there is no connection between gender and the half-price
variable. This idea is further examined and illustrated in Exhibit 7.5 Q12.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
10
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
4.1.2.
Free Subscription:
The next level of price sensitivity was to test the consumers’ reaction index to free
subscriptions. As shown in Exhibit 7.5 and in the following graph, the consumer preference
towards free subscription is very clear. To gain further insight, we ran similar cross
tabulation and hypothesis tests between gender and For Free variables and obtained similar
results.
As shown in the chart and statistical examination below there are more females (90%) than
males (83%) who will likely subscribe to a newspaper if it is offered for free.
Ge nde r * For Free Crosstabulation
Count
For Free
Yes
Gender
Female
Male
Total
No
44
34
78
5
7
12
Total
49
41
90
Gender vs. Free Subscription Preference
For Free
Yes
No
50
40
Count
30
20
10
0
Male
Female
Gender
A Chi- Square test, however, found this difference not to be significant, indicating gender
as independent of the preference for free subscriptions. The calculated value of 0.911 is
less than the table value of 6.63 with degree of freedom 1 and p=0.01 (Exhibit 7.5).
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
11
The NY Times
4.1.3.
NYU Stern School of Business
Charging Subscription fees for online news sites:
The third test to measure the cost impact on subscription was through online subscription
charges. The majority of our qualitative focus group favored online news compare to
paper-based news. Since much common online news is free through many websites, we
investigated how our respondents behave towards online subscriptions if their favorite
news sites start charging fees. The graphs and statistics for this test, shown in Exhibit 7.4,
show similar price sensitivity to those seen in the print cases, i.e. our sample is highly
sensitive to cost. A chi-square test was used to rule out any connection between gender and
price sensitivity for the online model as well.
Gender * Online Charge Subs Crosstabulation
Count
Gender
Male
Female
Total
Online Charge Subs
Do not use
Yes
No
online news
12
26
3
11
35
3
23
61
6
Total
41
49
90
4.2. Measure of Product Relevance to readers
4.2.1.
Topics read most
As shown in Exhibit 7.4, current events, business, and entertainment are the topics read
most by consumers. Section 5 describes some limitations on this result, but product focus
on these areas, including exclusive features, can create a product preferred by our readers.
4.2.2.
More local news or event listings
As shown in Exhibit 7.4, 68% of survey respondents are not interested in subscribing either
online or to paper-based news sources just because they provide more local news or events
information, while 32% may be more likely to subscribe for this reason. We examined the
demographics - specifically income level and gender - of those 32% respondents likely to
subscribe for more local news and event information in order to discover a niche segment.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
12
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Le vel of Incom e * Subs For More Local New s Crosstabulation
Count
Level of
Inc ome
Under $20, 000
$20,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 +
No Response
Total
Subs For More Loc al
News
Yes
No
10
17
3
8
6
12
2
17
8
7
29
61
Total
27
11
18
19
15
90
The above table suggests that respondents who make under $20,000 and between $50,000
and $100,000 are more influenced to subscribe because of local news coverage. Further
analysis, though, suggests the division is gender based more so than income based.
This analysis (Exhibit 7.5: Level of income and Gender relationship) and the following
table illustrate that females in general are more likely to subscribe for local news than are
men.
Level of Income * Subs For More Local News * Gender Crosstabulation
Count
Gender
Male
Female
Level of
Income
Total
Level of
Income
Under $20,000
$20,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 +
No Res ponse
Under $20,000
$20,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 +
No Res ponse
Total
4.2.3.
Subs For More Local
News
Yes
No
2
6
1
3
2
8
0
13
2
4
7
34
8
11
2
5
4
4
2
4
6
3
22
27
Total
8
4
10
13
6
41
19
7
8
6
9
49
Coupons and Good deals:
It was very important to discover how consumers feel about coupons and good deals in
online news publications. Highlighting these offerings may be an important attractant for
readers, and the results of this examination may be used to attract more advertisers and to
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
13
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
polish advertisement strategies. Our results show that 72% of our sample does not look for
coupons in online news publications, while only 23% showed interest for coupons.
Searching for deals and product information online shows more promising results for our
advertisers, as 43% of our sample does look for these while reading online news. 53% of
respondents never use online news as a source for finding good deals or product
information. The remaining four percent of respondents do no use the online medium for
news. Mining these results for market niches that can potentially be targeted shows that
males earning over $50,000 do look for good deals while reading online news (Exhibit 7.3,
Q18) as do females in the under $20,000 and in the $50,000-$100,00 income brackets. Our
overall conclusion, though, is that there exists no particular market segment that might be
interested in good deals from online news. The income range of positive respondents
almost covers the entire sample income bracket, i.e. from under $20,000 to $100,000, with
highly fragmented opinions. There is no obvious clustering pattern to support any hidden
market segment.
These results on the on-line use of coupons and deal-searching reflect findings from our
qualitative focus group on the use of print-based newspapers for these reasons. Our
qualitative research also indicated a minority of readers, belonging to no particular segment,
use the newspaper for coupons and deal-searching.
4.2.4.
Importance of Multimedia Features:
As shown in Exhibit 7.4, the importance of multimedia features is distributed on three
levels. 42% think it is not at all important while 42% and 9% respectively think it is
somewhat and very important. If we collapse the somewhat and the very important
categories we find that only 51% thinks multimedia plays a role while reading online news.
4.2.5.
Use of blogs and Search Engines
In the presence of functional search engines such as Google and Yahoo, we examined how
many people read online news found through these types of search engines. Our research
shows almost 80% of the population searches for news through either Google (49%) or
Yahoo (30%) (Exhibit 7.4). Our examination of blogs as a feature through which users
could share their views about certain news turned out to be unvalued, and 92% of our
sample does not consider blogs a reason to subscribe to an online news portal.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
14
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
4.3. Measure of Convenience
4.3.1.
Newspapers convenient to read anytime
Although our qualitative work indicated that the majority of our respondents prefer to read
online news, it was interesting to discover that 55% of our sample still believes newspapers
provide the convenience to be read anytime and anywhere, whether traveling, in a public
place, or otherwise with a few free minutes. However, 44% of our sample believes for one
reason or another that convenience is not a reason they would prefer to read newspapers.
We observed that one segment of our respondents value both the convenience and the
relaxation that newspapers can provide, found by cross tabbing relaxing and factor of
convenience variables. As shown below, there are 33 people who view newspapers as
NewsPaper Convenient * Read to Relax Crosstabulation
Read to Relax
Yes
NewsPaper
Convenient
No
Total
Yes
33
17
50
No
12
28
40
45
45
90
Total
both convenient and relaxing, 28 people who think it is neither, and 29 people who think it
is either convenient or relaxing. This tells us that newspapers have a market segment that
still may prefer to read the paper version rather than the online version, which cannot now
offer these benefits. Our further analysis of relax and convenience variables revealed that
the older age group (29-40) feels more relaxation and convenience from newspapers
compared to the younger age group (18-28), possibly segmenting the market for paperbased newspaper versus online news.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
15
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Age Group * NewsPaper Convenient * Read to Relax Crosstabulation
Count
NewsPaper Convenient
Read to Relax
Yes
Yes
Age
Group
18-28
12
6
Total
18
29-40
18
6
24
41-50
1
0
1
60 and over
2
0
2
33
12
45
18-28
10
15
25
29-40
6
13
19
Total
No
Age
Group
60 and over
Total
No
1
0
1
17
28
45
Another important convenience variable was how the population feels about the size of
newspapers. As shown in Exhibit 7.3, 74% of the sample showed interest in subscribing to
a newspaper if its size is convenient to hold while they are on train or in a café. We further
analyzed this variable with age group to see how the population is related to the size
convenience factor.
Age Group * Convenient to Hold Crosstabulation
Count
Convenient to Hold
Yes
Age
Group
18-28
33
10
Total
43
29-40
41-50
32
11
43
1
0
1
1
2
3
67
23
90
60 and over
Total
No
The above chart shows that the sample from the 18-28 and 29-40 age groups showed
interest in subscribing if the size of the paper is convenient to hold. An important thing to
note is that the age group of 29-40 felt more-strongly that newspapers are convenient to
read anytime and are a means of relaxation, but a broad demographic feels the size of the
newspaper/ease of use would improve its appeal.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
16
The NY Times
5.0
NYU Stern School of Business
Lessons Learned and Limitations
5.1. Lessons Learned:
What we learned in this report, aside from the results, is the importance of understanding the
industry. It was only after we understood the economics of the business that we could identify
drivers that would change consumer behavior that would also achieve the objective of increasing
revenues. The identification of advertising as such a major part of newspaper revenue was not
immediately apparent until researched.
Secondly, the importance of qualitative research was made apparent in our focus group. We entered
that stage with many hypotheses and expected decision drivers, most of which were rejected almost
unanimously by the focus group. Had we run quantitative surveying without qualitative work, time
and money would have been wasted chasing bad ideas.
5.2. Research Limitations:
One limitation of our study is the means by which our survey was implemented. We utilized the
surveymonkey.com online tool, but one problem with Internet surveys is that there is no guarantee
people doing the survey actually represent the intended respondent/audience. The population
accessible using the Internet is also not representative of the newspaper reading world, as some
people have no computer access or computer literacy.
Another limitation of our study is the sample size utilized for the research survey and its accuracy
for predicting future behavior for our target market. At the current time, print circulation for the
New York Times is approximately 1.2 million while the online subscriber base is 270,0001. This
results in a total figure of 1.5 million users, so clearly we did not consult every reader. More
respondents would have improved the accuracy of our results.
The largest limitation of our work, though, is the use of a single small convenience sample for both
qualitative and quantitative portions of this project. Due to time, expense, and cooperation factors,
our qualitative focus group consisted of a single demographic; young, educated adults. Furthermore,
these same issues precluded us from conducting a second focus group to corroborate the findings
discovered from the first. While our quantitative sampling was broader, it was still heavily skewed
towards young educated adults. In addition, we did not screen our quantitative sample to their
familiarity with the New York Times or mainstream newspapers in general.
1
NY Times
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
17
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Aspects of our sampling limitation have a broad influence of our results. For example, we found
three areas of news to be of interest – these may have been very different with a different
demographic. Other aspects, for example price sensitivity or coupon usage, may also be very
different in the broad market. With this research we can make suggestions on broad areas of product
improvement, but specific price points, news topic interest, and other factors of newspaper usage
should be investigated with laboratory experiments, focus groups, and further quantitative study
before action is taken.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
18
The NY Times
6.0
NYU Stern School of Business
Recommendations and Next Steps
Based on the results of our research we have four major recommendations for increasing the number of
subscribers of the New York Times:
6.1. Price cuts or price eliminations
The results of this investigation have demonstrated that it is likely that the overall population will be
more inclined to subscribe or otherwise commit to a newspaper if prices are reduced or eliminated.
The main generator of revenues in this industry is advertising2, and this research shows it would be
advisable to sacrifice the price per copy in order to increase customer base and, therefore, increase
the value to the advertisers. Advertisers would be more willing to pay a higher price for
advertisement space in the publication.
6.2. Improve content and increase promotion of selected news areas
Current events, Business news and Entertainment news have been identified as the most preferred
sections for the readers of newspapers. We therefore recommend the improvement of these sections
in terms of quality of content and/or number of stories per issue, especially on the online site, to
build a strong reputation that would ultimately attract more readers interested in these issues.
Another consequence of this initiative will be the reinforcement of the loyalty of the current readers
who will appreciate the improvement in their favorite sections. A caveat to this recommendation is
explained in Section 5.2.
6.3. Improve easier usage of the newspaper
The portability characteristic of a newspaper is important for its readers as it defines where they can
read a publication and how much time they can devote to this activity. For example, during the
qualitative research some respondents declared that they like to read newspapers in the subway, and
a newspaper that is easier to carry and read would be more attractive to them. The quantitative data
supports the idea that convenience is an important factor of preference, with 74% of the respondents
showing a strong preference for more portable newspapers. Therefore, we recommend exploration of
new size formats to increase the possibility of attracting more readers.
2
80% according to Euromonitor International
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
19
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
6.4. Strengthen relationships or increase business alliances with search engines
A strong majority of our sample declared that they use online search engines as a source to find news.
Therefore we believe that the New York Times has to reinforce its business alliances with the search
engines most used by readers, Yahoo! and Google, in order to increase its top of mind awareness.
For example, the Times could establish an agreement to make the headlines of the newspaper the
first ones in the search results of those search engines, increasing the probability of clicks to the
website and the awareness of the Times as an online source of news.
In addition, the company can research for new channels to improve the advertising exposure in the
search engines. Google AdWords and the Sponsor Results in Yahoo! are right now the traditional
ways to place advertisement in these sites and generate traffic. With the evolution of technology it’s
possible that in the future more personalized and precise advertisement can be offered as a result of a
search. Moreover, the format of these advertisements can be modified to be more appealing to the
possible customers. Until now the format of this type of advertisement is done only in text bases, not
including images or animations.
6.5. Other tested options
Additional options tested and rejected by our respondents include the bundling of news delivery with
magazines, directed coupons, and other products or services. Further investment in multimedia or
blogs also tested as unnecessary.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
20
The NY Times
7.0
NYU Stern School of Business
Appendices
7.1. Exhibit 1: Survey Questions & Coding
ABOUT YOUR SOURCES OF INFORMATION
1. During a typical week, when do you read the news?
Records
Daily
Weekdays
Weekends
Some weekdays
Never
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
2. What time do you prefer to read the news?
Records
Spread out throughout my day
Early in the morning only
After work
Late at night
Other (please specify)
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
3. Which of the following two news topics do you read most? (Multiple Response Analysis)
Records
Local news
Current events
Politics
Business
Sports
Entertainment
Technology
Health
Other (please specify)
Coding
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
21
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
4. To which of the following news sources you currently subscribe? (free or paid subscription) (Multiple
Response Analysis)
Records
Online news publisher
Weekday print-based
newspapers
Weekend print-based
newspapers
Weekly print-based
newspapers
None
Other (please specify)
Coding
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
5. If you currently receive delivery of print-based newspapers, do you pay a subscription fee?
Records
Yes
No
I do no receive delivery
Coding
1
2
3
6. If you are registered for online news, do you pay a subscription fee?
Records
Yes
No
I am not registered
Coding
1
2
3
7. Are you concerned about privacy and sharing personal information tied to subscription?
Records Coding
Yes
1
No
2
QUESTIONS ABOUT PAPER-BASED NEWSPAPERS
8. Why would you/do you subscribe to a newspaper? (Multiple Response Analysis)
Records
To read everyday news
To read stories exclusive to my newspaper
To find new products or services
To find good deals for products or services
To find coupons
To support a cause or a viewpoint of a
newspaper
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Coding
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
22
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
9. One reason I get newspapers is because they are convenient to read at any time.
Records
True
False
Coding
1
2
10. I read newspapers to relax.
Records Coding
True
1
False
2
11. Would you be more likely to purchase a newspaper that was more convenient to hold while reading, for
example, on a train or in a café.
Records Coding
Yes
1
No
2
12. If the subscription fees of your favorite printed newspaper were reduced by half from their current rate,
would you subscribe?
Records Coding
Yes
1
No
2
13. If you received your favorite printed newspaper for free, would you sign up for delivery?
Records Coding
Yes
1
No
2
ONLINE BASED NEWS
14. Do you routinely go online to read news:
Records
Yes
No
Coding
1
2
15. Where do you routinely use computers? (Multiple Response Analysis)
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
23
The NY Times
Records
At home 1=Yes, 0=No
At work
On the go (wireless)
I do not use a computer
At school
NYU Stern School of Business
Coding
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
16. Would you be more likely to register to an online news site because it provides more local news
or event listings?
Records Coding
Yes
1
No
2
17. Do you use coupons from your favorite online news sites?
Records
Always
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
I do not use online news
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
18. Do you look for new products or good deals for products in advertisements within your favorite online
news sites?
Records
Always
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
I do not use online news
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
19. How important are multimedia features (videos, sounds, etc) when reading online news?
Records
Very important
Somewhat important
Not at all important
I do not use online news
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Coding
1
2
3
4
24
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
20. Would you be more likely to register to an online news site because it provides blogs to let you share your
own views?
Records
Yes
No
Coding
1
2
21. If your favorite online news site charged a subscription fee, would you subscribe?
Records
Yes
No
I do not use online news
Coding
1
2
3
22. Do you search online for current news topics using the following Internet portals: (Multiple Response
Analysis)
Records
Yahoo
Google
AOL
Ask.com
I don’t search for news this way
Other (please specify)
Coding
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
1=Yes, 0=No
TELL US ABOUT YOU
23. Are you:
Records
Male
Female
Coding
1
2
24. Please select your age group:
Records
Under 18
18-28
29-40
41-50
51-60
60 and over
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
25
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
25. Select the highest level of education you have completed:
Records
High School
Bachelors
Masters
Doctorate
Other (please specify)
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
26. Do you live in:
Records
New York City
A suburb of New York City
Another city
Another suburb
A rural area
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
27. Please indicate your current income level:
Records
Under $20,000
$20,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 +
No response
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
26
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.2. Exhibit 2: Example of multiple response analysis:
Question 8: Why would you/do you subscribe to a newspaper?
1) To read everyday news
2) To read stories exclusive to my newspaper
3) To find new products or services
4) To find good deals for products or services
5) To find coupons
6) To support a cause or a viewpoint of a newspaper
Possible Answers:
Record# Q8
1)
(1,2,3)
2)
(2,3,5)
3)
(2)
Record#
1
2
3
Q8_Everyday
1
0
0
Q8_ExcNew
1
1
1
Q8_NewProd
1
1
0
Q8_Deals
0
0
0
Q8_Coup
0
1
0
Q8_Cause
0
0
0
Example of a categorical question:
Question# 27: Please indicate your current income level
1) Under $20,000
2) $20,000 - $50,000
3) $50,000 - $100,000
4) $100,000 +
5) No response
Record#
1
2
3
Q_27 Response
2
1
4
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
27
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.3. Exhibit 3: Convenience questions and summary (5 questions)
Convenience Q1: During a typical week when do you read the news?
Statistics
Reading News Freq
N
Valid
Missing
90
0
Reading News Freq
Valid
Daily
Weekdays
Weekends
Some weekdays
Total
Frequency
52
6
4
28
90
Percent
57.8
6.7
4.4
31.1
100.0
Valid Percent
57.8
6.7
4.4
31.1
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
57.8
64.4
68.9
100.0
Reading News Freq
Daily
Weekdays
Weekends
Some weekdays
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
28
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Convenience Q2: What time do you prefer to read news?
Reading Time
Valid
Spread throughout the day
Early morning only
Frequency
58
Percent
64.4
Valid Percent
64.4
Cumulative Percent
64.4
94.4
27
30.0
30.0
After work
2
2.2
2.2
96.7
Late night
3
3.3
3.3
100.0
90
100.0
100.0
Total
Reading Time
Spread throughout
the day
Early morning only
After work
Late night
Convenience Q9: One reason I get newspapers is because they are convenient to read
at any time.
Newspaper Convenient to read anytime
Frequency
Valid
Yes
50
No
40
Total
90
Percent
Valid Percent
55.6
Cumulative
Percent
55.6
55.6
44.4
44.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
29
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
NewsPaper Convenient
Yes
No
Convenience Q10: I read newspapers to relax.
Read to Relax
Valid
Frequency
45
Percent
50.0
Valid Percent
50.0
Cumulative
Percent
50.0
No
45
50.0
50.0
100.0
Total
90
100.0
100.0
Yes
Read to Relax
Yes
No
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
30
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Relationship exploration of income level with relaxation and convenience factors:
Level of Income * Newspaper Convenient * Read to Relax Cross-tabulation
Count
Read to Relax
NewsPaper Convenient
Yes
Yes
Level of
Income
Under $20,000
12
3
15
$20,000 - $50,000
3
2
5
$50,000 - $100,000
4
4
8
$100,000 +
9
3
12
No Response
5
0
5
33
12
45
3
9
12
$20,000 - $50,000
5
1
6
$50,000 - $100,000
7
3
10
$100,000 +
0
7
7
No Response
2
8
10
17
28
45
Total
No
Level of
Income
Total
No
Under $20,000
Total
Convenience Q11: Would you be more likely to purchase a newspaper that was more
convenient to hold while reading, for example, on a train or in a café.
Convenient to Hold
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Yes
67
74.4
74.4
74.4
No
23
25.6
25.6
100.0
Total
90
100.0
100.0
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
31
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Convenient to
Hold
Ye
sN
o
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
32
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.4. Exhibit 4: Relevance questions and summary (8 questions)
Relevance Q3: Two news topics do you read most?
Case Summary
Cases
Valid
N
Missing
Percent
N
newstopics(a)
90
100.0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
Total
Percent
0
N
Percent
.0%
90
Responses
N
Percent
26
10.5%
57
23.1%
26
10.5%
55
22.3%
16
6.5%
37
15.0%
15
6.1%
8
3.2%
7
2.8%
247
100.0%
Percent of
Cases
28.9%
63.3%
28.9%
61.1%
17.8%
41.1%
16.7%
8.9%
7.8%
274.4%
100.0%
$newstopi cs Frequencies
News a
Topics
Locals News
Current Events
Political News
Business
Sports
Entertainment
Technology
Health
Arts
Total
a. Dic hot omy group tabulated at value 1.
Relevance Q16: Would you be more likely to register to an online news site because
it provides more local news or event listings?
Subs For More Local News
Frequency
Valid
No
61
Yes
29
Total
90
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Percent
67.8
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
67.8
67.8
32.2
32.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
33
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Subs For More Local News
Percent
60
40
20
0
No
Yes
Subs For More Local News
Relevance Q17: Do you use coupons from your favorite online news sites?
Use Coupons Online
Valid
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Do not use online news
Total
Frequency
65
15
6
4
90
Percent
72.2
16.7
6.7
4.4
100.0
Valid Percent
72.2
16.7
6.7
4.4
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
72.2
88.9
95.6
100.0
Use Coupons Online
80
Percent
60
40
20
0
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Do not use online news
Use Coupons Online
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
34
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Relevance Q18: Do you look for new products or good deals for products in
advertisements within your favorite online news sites?
Look for Deals Online
Valid
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Do not use online news
Always
Total
Frequency
48
29
9
3
1
90
Percent
53.3
32.2
10.0
3.3
1.1
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
53.3
85.6
95.6
98.9
100.0
Valid Percent
53.3
32.2
10.0
3.3
1.1
100.0
Look for Deals Online
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Do not use online
news
Always
Look for Deals Online
Relationship exploration of income level with product information searching and gender factors:
Level of Income * Look for Deals Online * Gender Crosstabulation
Count
Look for Deals Online
Gender
Male
Female
Always
Level of
Income
Total
Level of
Income
Under $20,000
$20,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 +
No Res ponse
Under $20,000
$20,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 +
No Res ponse
Total
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
0
0
0
1
0
1
Sometimes
0
1
3
0
0
4
1
1
1
2
0
5
Rarely
4
0
3
6
2
15
7
1
3
1
2
14
Never
4
3
4
5
3
19
11
5
4
3
6
29
Do not use
online news
0
0
0
1
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
1
Total
8
4
10
13
6
41
19
7
8
6
9
49
35
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Relevance Q19: How important are multimedia features (videos, sounds, etc) when
reading online news?
Importance of Multimedia
Valid
Not at all important
Somewhat important
Very important
Do not use online news
Total
Frequency
42
38
8
2
90
Percent
46.7
42.2
8.9
2.2
100.0
Valid Percent
46.7
42.2
8.9
2.2
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
46.7
88.9
97.8
100.0
Importance of Multimedia
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Not at all important
Somewhat important
Very important
Do not use online news
Importance of Multimedia
Relevance Q20: Would you be more likely to register to an online news site because it
provides blogs to let you share your own views?
Subs Online due to Blogs
Valid
No
Yes
Total
Frequency
83
7
90
Percent
92.2
7.8
100.0
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Valid Percent
92.2
7.8
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
92.2
100.0
36
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Subs Online due to Blogs
100
Percent
80
60
40
20
0
No
Yes
Subs Online due to Blogs
Relevance Q22: Do you search online for current news topics using the following
Internet portals:
Case Summary
Cases
Missing
N
Percent
0
.0%
Valid
N
$news Searcha
90
Percent
100.0%
Total
N
90
Percent
100.0%
a. Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
$newsSea rch Fre que ncie s
News a
Search
Total
News Search t hr Yahoo
News Search t hr Google
News Search t hr AOL
News Search t hr Ask.c om
Do not Search News
Ot her ways to Search
Responses
N
Percent
40
30.3%
65
49.2%
2
1.5%
2
1.5%
17
12.9%
6
4.5%
132
100.0%
Percent of
Cases
44.4%
72.2%
2.2%
2.2%
18.9%
6.7%
146.7%
a. Dichot omy group tabulated at value 1.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
37
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.5. Exhibit 5: Price Sensitivity questions and summary (3 questions)
Price Q12: If the subscription fees of your favorite printed newspaper were reduced by
half from their current rate, would you subscribe?
Reduce by Half
Valid
Yes
No
Total
Frequency
49
41
90
Percent
54.4
45.6
100.0
Valid Percent
54.4
45.6
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
54.4
100.0
Reduce by Half
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
No
Reduce by Half
A hypothesis test extrapolating this result to the greater population uses gender preference
independent to the half price variable as our null hypothesis. Our alternative hypothesis
was opposite to this null hypothesis, i.e. gender difference is dependant on the half-price
variable. Choosing a chi square test to measure the difference of relationship between two
nominal variables, the calculated value of Pearson Chi-Square for a degree of freedom 1
comes out to be 0.083. This is far below the table value of Chi-Square at 99% with 1
degree of freedom (6.63), indicating there is no connection between gender and the halfprice variable. The null hypothesis (gender independent of half-price variable) was
accepted since a calculated value of 0.083 is less than 6.63. “A null hypothesis is rejected if
calculated value is greater than the table value” (p463, Introduction to Marketing
Research, 8th edition by Aaker, Kumar and Day).
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
38
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
This hypotheses gave us 99% confidence to suggest that the overall population will likely
increase in subscriptions if the price is reduced by half from its current rate with no relation
between gender and this offer.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
.083b
.006
.083
Pearson Chi-Square
Continuity Correction a
Likelihood Ratio
Fis her's Exact Test
Linear-by-Linear
As sociation
N of Valid Cases
df
1
1
1
.082
As ymp. Sig.
(2-sided)
.773
.940
.773
1
Exact Sig.
(2-sided)
Exact Sig.
(1-sided)
.833
.470
.775
90
a. Computed only for a 2x2 table
b. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 18.
68.
Price Q13: If you received your favorite printed newspaper for free, would you sign up
for delivery?
For Free
Valid
Yes
No
Total
Frequency
78
12
90
Percent
86.7
13.3
100.0
Valid Percent
86.7
13.3
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
86.7
100.0
Chi-Square Tests
Pearson Chi-Square
Continuity Correction a
Likelihood Ratio
Fis her's Exact Test
Linear-by-Linear
As sociation
N of Valid Cases
Value
.911b
.414
.908
.901
df
1
1
1
1
As ymp. Sig.
(2-sided)
.340
.520
.341
Exact Sig.
(2-sided)
Exact Sig.
(1-sided)
.369
.259
.342
90
a. Computed only for a 2x2 table
b. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The m inim um expected count is 5.
47.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
39
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
For Free
100
Percent
80
60
40
20
0
Yes
No
For Free
Price Q21: If your favorite online news site charged a subscription fee, would you
subscribe?
Online Charge Subs
Valid
No
Yes
Do not use online news
Total
Frequency
61
23
6
90
Percent
67.8
25.6
6.7
100.0
Valid P erc ent
67.8
25.6
6.7
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
67.8
93.3
100.0
Online Charge Subs
Percent
60
40
20
0
No
Yes
Do not use online news
Online Charge Subs
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
40
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Chi-Square Te sts
Pearson Chi-Square
Lik elihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear
As soc iation
N of Valid Cases
Value
.665a
.664
2
2
As ymp. Sig.
(2-sided)
.717
.717
1
.622
df
.244
90
a. 2 c ells (33.3%) have ex pec ted c ount les s than 5. The
minimum expected count is 2.73.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
41
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.6. Exhibit 6: Demographics questions and summary (5 questions)
Demographics Q23: Gender
Gender
Valid
Female
Male
Total
Frequency
49
41
90
Percent
54.4
45.6
100.0
Valid Percent
54.4
45.6
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
54.4
100.0
Gender
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Female
Male
Gender
Demographics Q24: Age Group:
Age Group
Valid
18-28
29-40
60 and over
41-50
Total
Frequency
43
43
3
1
90
Percent
47.8
47.8
3.3
1.1
100.0
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Valid Percent
47.8
47.8
3.3
1.1
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
47.8
95.6
98.9
100.0
42
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Age Group
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
18-28
29-40
60 and over
41-50
Age Group
Demographics Q25: Level of Education Completed:
Educa tion level
Valid
Bachelors
Masters
Doctorate
Total
Frequency
46
43
1
90
Percent
51.1
47.8
1.1
100.0
Valid Perc ent
51.1
47.8
1.1
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
51.1
98.9
100.0
Education level
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Bachelors
Masters
Doctorate
Education level
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
43
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Demographics Q26: Residence:
Resident
Valid
NYC
Another city
Suburb of NYC
Another suburb
rural area
Total
Frequency
49
19
16
5
1
90
Percent
54.4
21.1
17.8
5.6
1.1
100.0
Valid Percent
54.4
21.1
17.8
5.6
1.1
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
54.4
75.6
93.3
98.9
100.0
Resident
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
NYC
Another city
Suburb of NYC
Another suburb
rural area
Resident
Demographics: Q27: Income Level:
Level of Income
Valid
Under $20,000
$100,000 +
$50,000 - $100,000
No Res ponse
$20,000 - $50,000
Total
Frequency
27
19
18
15
11
90
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Percent
30.0
21.1
20.0
16.7
12.2
100.0
Valid Percent
30.0
21.1
20.0
16.7
12.2
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
30.0
51.1
71.1
87.8
100.0
44
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Level of Income
30
25
Percent
20
15
10
5
0
Under $20,000
$100,000 +
$50,000 $100,000
No Response
$20,000 - $50,000
Level of Income
Relationship exploration of income level with gender and age group factors:
Age Group * Level of Income * Gender Crosstabulation
Count
Gender
Male
Female
Age
Group
Total
Age
Group
Total
18-28
29-40
41-50
60 and over
18-28
29-40
Under
$20,000
4
4
0
0
8
13
6
19
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
$20,000 $50,000
2
2
0
0
4
6
1
7
Level of Income
$50,000 $100,000
$100,000 +
3
4
7
6
0
1
0
2
10
13
3
1
5
5
8
6
No Res ponse
0
5
0
1
6
7
2
9
Total
13
24
1
3
41
30
19
49
45
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.7. Exhibit 7: Psychographics questions and summary (6 questions)
Psychographics Q4: To which of the following news sources you currently subscribe?
(free or paid subscription)
$newssource Frequencies
News a
Source
Responses
N
Percent
55
41.4%
26
19.5%
17
12.8%
8
6.0%
20
15.0%
7
5.3%
133
100.0%
Online News
W eekday P rint
W eekend P rint
W eekly Print
None
Ot her
Total
Percent of
Cases
61.1%
28.9%
18.9%
8.9%
22.2%
7.8%
147.8%
a. Dic hot omy group tabulated at value 1.
Psychographics Q5: If you currently receive delivery of print-based newspapers, do you
pay a subscription fee?
Do You Pa y Print Subs
Valid
Frequency
Do not receive delivery
49
Yes
32
No
9
Total
90
Percent
54.4
35.6
10.0
100.0
Valid Percent
54.4
35.6
10.0
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
54.4
90.0
100.0
Psychographics Q6: If you are registered for online news, do you pay a subscription fee?
Do You Pa y Online Subs
Valid
No
Not registered
Yes
Total
Frequency
51
25
14
90
Percent
56.7
27.8
15.6
100.0
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Valid Percent
56.7
27.8
15.6
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
56.7
84.4
100.0
46
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Do You Pay Online Subs
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
No
Not registered
Yes
Do You Pay Online Subs
Psychographics Q8: Why would you/do you subscribe to a newspaper?
$subsRea son Fre que ncie s
Reason for a
Subsc ribing
W hy
W hy
W hy
W hy
W hy
W hy
Subs
Subs
Subs
Subs
Subs
Subs
Everyday news
Exc lus Stories
New Prod
Good Deals
Coupons
Supp Cause
Total
Responses
N
Percent
79
57.7%
27
19.7%
9
6.6%
9
6.6%
8
5.8%
5
3.6%
137
100.0%
Percent of
Cases
87.8%
30.0%
10.0%
10.0%
8.9%
5.6%
152.2%
a. Dichot omy group t abulated at value 1.
Psychographics Q14: Do you routinely go online to read news:
Routinely Read Online
Valid
Yes
No
Total
Frequency
79
11
90
Percent
87.8
12.2
100.0
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
Valid Percent
87.8
12.2
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
87.8
100.0
47
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
Routinely Read Online
100
Percent
80
60
40
20
0
Yes
No
Routinely Read Online
Psychographics Q15: Where do you routinely use computers?
$placecompuse Frequencies
Place
Comp a
is Used
Total
Us e Comp
Us e Comp
Us e Comp
Us e Comp
at Home
at Work
Wireless
at School
Responses
N
Percent
79
46.7%
65
38.5%
19
11.2%
6
3.6%
169
100.0%
Percent of
Cases
87.8%
72.2%
21.1%
6.7%
187.8%
a. Di chotomy group tabulated at value 1.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
48
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.8. Exhibit 8: Summary of Exploratory Research Findings
7.8.1.
Findings of Exploratory Research
The findings of our focus group research were surprising and interesting since our
respondents generally did not want to subscribe to hard-copies of a newspaper under any of
our proposed packages. Out of the six panelists, only one currently subscribes at all (to the
Sunday New York Times), and no respondents were inclined to subscribe further.
“I subscribe to the Sunday Times because I find it relaxing to spend my Sunday morning reading it”
- Will
Our group generally reads news online, offering us a hypothesis to test how to increase the
number of customers reading newspapers daily either online or in print. It is important to
recognize that both online and print based news have associated subscription models, and
these models may or may not require subscription fees.
“I get all my information online – I can’t read the paper during work” - Eva
Further exploratory findings indicate that our group was generally reluctant to pay fees for
news, either subscription or otherwise, since they can find so much information for free
online.
“There are so many sources out there, if one starts to hassle me I just go to another” - Virgilio
They also generally enjoy the searchable aspects of online news – if a story is interesting,
they can immediately search for related stories to expand their knowledge of the subject.
“I read all my news online. If an article is interesting, I can immediately search for more stories
about the topic” - Liz
One group member enjoys the leisure of casually reading the paper, but he was in the
minority in this group. Two group members enjoy scanning the advertisements and
coupons, but this benefit is not enough for them to subscribe.
“I like looking for good deals” - Kurt
Another revealed hypothesis was the importance of content in the decision to choose a
news source.
“I want to know what’s going on in my area” - Liz
The major theme among all focus group respondents was that it is almost impractical for
them to read and carry large newspapers; they prefer to read customized and personalized
news that is available online.
“If I want to find something, I go online. I don’t think a newspaper has the stuff I want.” - Kevin
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
49
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
They wanted to hear different opinions and were reluctant to accept information from any
single, potentially biased, newspaper. The Internet provides such options as Google news,
offering aggregate news from different sources.
“I prefer to read news from many sources to get many viewpoints. I can read about the same event
from the viewpoint of the New York Times, the Jerusalem Post, and Aljazeera, then make up my
own mind” – Kevin
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
50
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
7.9. Exhibit 9: Qualitative Research Interview Guide
Introductory Questions: Sources of news information, competition to newspapers
1)
How do gather the news daily?
2)
Which methods do you think are more efficient?
3)
In the case of the newspapers, which ones do you read? Why? How often?
Why don’t you read it more often?
Have you tried other local newspapers?
4)
How often do you buy newspapers?
5)
Where do you buy your newspapers?
About their perception of the New York Times
6)
Do you read the NY Times?
7)
Do you use the value added portions of the paper (non-news).
8)
Why/ why not? How often?
To the respondents who are subscribers:
9)
What made you decided to subscribe to that newspaper?
10)
Did you consider subscribing to others newspapers?
11)
What were the principal features that attracted to this subscription?
12)
Do you get special offers for being a subscriber? Discounts?
13)
Why do you think there are still people who want to purchase a newspaper in the
newsstand?
14)
What do you think about subscriptions to internet versions of newspapers?
To the respondents who are not subscribers:
15)
Why do you prefer not to be a subscriber?
16)
Have you ever been or have considered becoming a subscriber?
17)
Would you purchase more/subscribe if cheaper?
18)
Would you purchase more/subscribe if more non news-value? Offer examples –
coupons, etc.
19)
Would you purchase more/subscribe if it was bundled with other goods and
services? – Offer examples – magazines, etc.
20)
Would you purchase more/subscribe if you could customize delivery?
21)
Other ideas?
7.9.1.
Preparation of Quantitative Research Tool
Our quantitative research will focus on increasing New York Times subscriptions,
including online and print editions. The topic of subscription fees is important, since
maximum overall revenue may be gained by minimizing subscription costs. The usage of
Internet-based news retrieval is also important, as our exploratory research indicates this
represents a major channel of advertising revenue. Overall the next research steps must
examine measurable methods of increasing reader eyeballs. The number of subscriptions
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
51
The NY Times
NYU Stern School of Business
and any associated news usage data should be sufficient to convince advertisers that the
popularity and coverage of the New York Times is worth their advertising dollars.
Four Investigators - Marketing Research
52