JOMC 172 • Understanding & Using MRI
SOURCE: Mediamark Reporter™ System, © 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997-1995 Mediamark
Research Inc.
NOTE: Mediamark Reporter™ System is available on CD-ROM in The Park Library.
_____________________
This report, a part of the series that started in the Fall of 1979, is the product of
Mediamark Research Incorporated's single source continuing survey that provides the
advertising industry with detailed demographic and marketing segments of media
audiences. Reports are issued each Spring and Fall.
The data for the Spring 2000 Reports are based on a total of 26,817 interviews,
conducted in two waves, 13,235 in Wave 41 conducted between March 1999 and
September 1999 and 13,582 in Wave 42 conducted between September 1999 and April
2000. A detailed description of the design and execution of the survey and the
preparation and contents of the report series is contained in the Technical Guide to this
study.
PRODUCT DATA SERVICES
The Product Data Series consists of twenty volumes (P-volumes) devoted to the
cross tabulations of product/service data by demographic characteristics and media
audiences. The data on products and services are based on the entries in a self-executing
questionnaire left with each of the 26,817 respondents,15,036 of which were completed.
The Technical Guide contains a detailed description of this operation.
For standard products/services, respondents were asked to record whether they
had used the particular product in the last six months, and the brands, types, varieties,
etc., used. In addition, where appropriate, the respondents were asked to record the
quantities used by brand during the last seven days or last thirty days. In other categories
the questions asked are shown on the corresponding summary tables.
A summary table precedes the detailed tabulations for each product/service. This
summary table contains a tabulation of each question asked about the product/service.
The bases are: adults for household durable and unisex personal products, males for male
oriented products and females for female oriented products. For homemaker products
two summary tables are shown, one for female homemaker and one for total homemaker.
This latter table, recognizes the increasing role of males as important components of the
homemaker function (see par. 2 Homemaker on page iv).
i
ILLUSTRATIVE SUMMARY TABLE
GASOLINE ADDITIVES
BASE: ADULTS (187,756,000)
VOLUME/
'000
Total Bought Last 12 Mos
Brands:
Gunk
STP Gas Treatment
22868
(2)
ALL
%
UNWGT
12.2
SHARE
SHARE
OF
USERS
OF
VOLUME
(4)
2.2
32.2
(5)
1.4
32.9
USERS
INDEX
2298 (1)
636
9212
.3
4.9
55
888
7797
(3) 2711
1166
4.2
1.4
.6
832
252
123
7797
9091
5980
4.2
4.8
3.2
832
879
587
(6)
64
102
Cans/Last 12 Months
L 1
M 3
H 9 or More
L Total
M Total
H Total
34.1
39.8
26.2
10.5
28.2
61.2
(7)
(1) Total Adult Users of the product in thousands, as a percent these users are of the
base and the unweighted respondent count. Tables can show other bases, i.e., Men,
Women, Female Homemakers.
(2) The users of the product by brand used in thousands, as a percent of the base
population and the unweighted respondent count.
(3) The users of the product distributed by volume use, in thousands, as a percent of
the base population and the unweighted respondent count.
(4) Brand Share of Users as a percent of the sum of all brands mentioned, i.e., 32.2%
of all brands specified used STP GAS TREATMENT.
(5) Brand Share of volume as a percent of the total reported volume of usage, i.e.,
32.9% of the total units used in the last 30 days were STP GAS TREATMENT.
(6)
The ratio of the volume used to brand share: Col. (5)/Col. (4)
(7) Definition of the Light, Medium, and Heavy Users, e.g., Light Users - defined as
those using less than 2 cans in the last twelve months, account for 34.1% of the reported
users and 10.5% of the reported volume.
ii
ILLUSTRATIVE DETAIL TABLE
AIR FILTERS
Base: Adults
All Adults
Men
Women
TOTAL
U.S.
'000
187756
89686
98070
'000
69098
39932
29166
DOWN
ACROSS
100.0
57.8
42.2
36.8
44.5
29.7
INDEX
100
121
81
Each of the detailed tables in the volume shows the cross tabulation of demographic
segments and media audiences by specified product/service usage categories; in this
example the recent purchase of AIR FILTERS.
Each of the detailed tables in the volume shows the cross tabulation of
demographic segments and media audiences by specified product/service usage
categories; in this example the recent purchase of AIR FILTERS.
(1)
The first row "ALL ADULTS" shows the occurrence of purchases in the total
population. Thus, of the 187,756(000) adults in the U.S., 69,098(000) or 36.8% of the
population acquired air filters in the last twelve months.
(2)
The first column "TOTAL U.S." shows the total U.S. adult population and the
population for each of the reported demographic segments.
(3)
Each set of detailed entries shows the estimate for the specified product category
and the specified population in four different ways denoted A, B, C or D on the table.
A.
('000) The survey estimate in thousands (i.e., 39,932(000) men).
B.
(DOWN) This number (39,932) as a percent of the total column shows
that men represent 57.8% of all buyers of air filters (composition of the
buyers).
C.
(ACROSS) The same number (39,932) represents 44.5% of all men (the
coverage).
D.
(INDEX) A measure of the performance of the particular demographic or
market segment as compared to the total population. In this example
44.5% of Men are buyers as compared to 36.8% of all adults. This
relationship, 44.5 vs. 36.8 (or 44.5 / 36.8 = 121) constitutes the index. It is
interpreted as: "Men are 21% higher than the general population in the
purchase of air filters".
iii
Where appropriate, the users of a product are classified into light, medium and
heavy users, based on the reported volume of usage. In general, the users are divided into
groups as equal in size as the data will allow. The proportion of users and volume
accounted for are shown in the various tables. In addition, these groups are identified on
the data tape for direct access. These are followed by detailed product/service tables
which are cross tabulations of the major categories of products/services by four stubs, a
demographic array, a multimedia array and the standard magazine stubs. The more
detailed categories are shown cross tabulated by demographic items. Illustrative table
and captioned explanations are shown on page iii.
DEFINITIONS
1.
Decision Makers
In many products and services the person who makes the decision to buy or who
chooses the brand, has marketing significance. This is determined by asking if the
respondent was involved in the particular buying decision. All positive responses are
classified as decision makers for the particular product. The demographic and media
profiles of decision makers can be obtained by tabulating these groups of respondents. In
categories where decision maker data are shown (i.e., automobiles), it is noted by (DM)
after each brand.
2.
Homemakers
In the MRI Product/Service Questionnaire, the person who does most of the
household shopping i.e., the homemaker, is asked to answer the questions about food,
cleaning supplies and other consumer goods purchased for the home. The respondents
who are in fact homemakers are so identified and classified in the data base. It has been a
common practice in consumer research findings to report on Female Homemakers. MRI
has followed this practice. However, of the approximately 123,446,000 Homemakers
reported in the Spring 2000 study, about 33,158,000 or 27% were adult males.
Moreover, the number and percent have been increasing over the past years, as the size of
households decrease, and as the number of one person households increase. Male
homemakers are playing an increasingly important role in the marketing plan for
household products. It should be noted that there are marked differences in demography
of male vs. female homemakers, as illustrated in the following table.
iv
Homemaker
Total Number ('000)
Total
Male
123,446
33,158
Female
90,287
Size of Household
1 Person
2+ Persons
21.6%
78.4%
33.3%
66.7%
17.3%
82.7%
61.8%
38.2%
78.1%
22.1%
55.8%
44.2%
51.5%
9.3%
19.5%
16.6%
24.8%
62.2%
5.7%
28.9%
24.7%
14.3%
47.6%
10.6%
16.0%
13.6%
28.6%
18 - 34
35 - 49
50 +
29.9%
32.5%
37.7%
34.1%
30.8%
35.1%
28.3%
33.1%
38.6%
Median Age
43.8
42.2
44.4
31.2%
12.7%
16.4%
18.7%
21.0%
31.5%
13.0%
16.3%
19.3%
19.9%
31.1%
12.6%
16.4%
18.6%
21.4%
Number of Children
None
1 or more
Employed
Full Time
Part Time
Sole Wage Earner
Primary Wage Earner
Secondary Wage Earner
Age
HH Income
Under $25,000
$25,000 - $34,999
$35,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 +
Median HH Income
3.
$40,263
$39,924
$40,390
Quintiles/Terciles
For each of these media groups, Radio, Television, Newspapers, and Magazines,
the population has been divided into five equal size groups i.e., quintiles, based on the
total exposure to the specific medium; the number of half hours viewed or listened to for
Radio and Television, and the total number read for Magazines and Newspapers.
For Yellow Pages the population of Yellow Page users has been divided into three
equal size groups i.e., terciles, based on the number of times the Yellow Pages are
v
referred to within a given time period. These quintiles and terciles are developed
separately for men and women. Quintiles and terciles are useful generic classifications as
they differentiate distinct levels of media consumption. The table below illustrates the
share of volume for each media quintile and tercile.
MEN
Share of
Volume
----------
WOMEN
Share of
Volume
----------
57.9%
24.9%
12.7%
4.5%
0.0%
54.8%
24.9%
13.8%
6.0%
0.6%
I
II
III
IV
V
46.2%
28.5%
19.9%
5.4%
0.0%
45.6%
31.3%
18.4%
4.7%
0.0%
I
II
III
IV
V
46.0%
24.8%
16.9%
9.9%
2.5%
47.9%
25.3%
15.9%
8.9%
2.0%
I
II
III
IV
V
61.2%
21.2%
11.4%
5.8%
0.4%
62.2%
21.3%
10.9%
5.5%
0.1%
I
II
III
IV
V
37.2%
33.1%
18.4%
8.5%
2.9%
50.3%
27.0%
13.2%
7.1%
2.4%
65.4%
21.1%
13.5%
63.9%
22.5%
13.6%
Magazines
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
I
II
III
IV
V
Newspapers
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
TV Total
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Radio
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Outdoor
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Quintile
Yellow Pages
Tercile I
Tercile II
Tercile III
vi
RADIO AUDIENCES
Day-Part Cumes: Represent the number of people listening to the radio at any time
during the specified time period, on a weekday.
Radio Formats: Represent the number of people listening to a station with a specified
format any time during an average weekday or weekend.
Radio Networks: Represent the number of people listening any time during an average
weekday or weekend, to any station that is part of the specified network.
TV AUDIENCES
Average Half Hour Audience. The number of people viewing TV during an average half
hour in the specified weekday or weekend time slot. This is obtained by weighting each
respondent by the proportion of half hours viewed to the total half hours in the specified
time slot.
Cable and Pay TV represent the number of people living in households that have Cable
TV or Pay TV, respectively.
Cable Networks. The number of people who reported watching the specified network
within the last seven days.
NEWSPAPER DISTRIBUTED MAGAZINES AND COMICS
The estimates for newspaper distributed magazines and comics are based on the
readers of the appropriate carriers. These are:
Access Internet Magazine
Parade
Sunday Mag/Net
Chicago Tribune Magazine
Los Angeles Times Magazine
Metro Puck Comic Network
New York Times Magazine
USA Weekend
The current carrier lists were used to construct the estimates for the magazines
and comics specified above. In order to meet the tabulation schedule, April 7th was
established as the deadline for MRI to receive these lists. Any changes that were brought
to our attention after this date were not included.
vii
SPRING 2000 MAGAZINE GROUPS
The composition of the magazine groups at the time of reporting is as shown
below. The audiences reported for these groups are the gross audiences in all instances.
CONDE NAST PACKAGE
HACHETTE MAGAZINE NETWORK
Allure
Architectural Digest
Bon Appetit
Bride's
Conde Nast Traveler
Glamour
Gourmet
GQ (Gentlemen's Quarterly)
House & Garden
Mademoiselle
Self
Vanity Fair
Vogue
American Photo
Audio
Boating
Car and Driver
Cycle World
Elle
Elle Decor
Flying
Home
Metropolitan Home
Mirabella
Popular Photography
Premiere
Road & Track
Woman's Day
FIELD & STREAM/OUTDOOR LIFE
Field & Stream
Outdoor Life
HACHETTE PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP
American Photo
Popular Photography
HACHETTE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP
Car and Driver
Road & Track
HACHETTE MEN'S PACKAGE
American Photo
Audio
Boating
Car Driver
Cycle World
Flying
Popular Photography
Road & Track
RODALE ACTIVE NETWORK
Backpacker
Bicycling
Men's Health
Organic Gardening
Prevention
Runner's World
Scuba Diving
viii
HEARST MAGAZINE GROUP
Cosmopolitan
Country Living
Esquire
Good Housekeeping
Harper's Bazaar
House Beautiful
Popular Mechanics
Redbook
Smart Money
Town & Country
Victoria
MCMULLEN ARGUS GROUP
Popular Hot Rodding
Street Rodder
Super Chevy
Truckin'
SKI/SKIING
Ski
Skiing
TIMES MIRROR A-LIST
Golf Magazine
Motor Boating & Sailing
Ski
Skiing
Yachting
NORTH AMERICAN OUTDOOR GROUP
North American Fisherman
North American Hunter
E-MAP USA
Car Craft
Circle Track
Dirt Rider
4 Wheel & Off Road
Four Wheeler
Guns & Ammo
Handguns
Hot Rod
Hunting
Motor Trend
Motorcyclist
Photographic
Skin Diver
Sport
Sport Truck
Stock Car Racing
ix
VIBE + SPIN
Spin
Vibe
RELIABILITY OF RESULTS
The estimates obtained in this, as in all sample surveys, are subject to sampling
errors or sampling tolerances. These are the measures of the expected differences
between the survey estimates based on the sample and what would have been obtained
had the entire universe been surveyed. These tolerances are used as a measure of the
reliability of the results. They are dependent for the most part on the following factors:
1. Size of Sample. Larger samples and larger estimates have smaller relative tolerances
and alternatively, smaller samples and smaller estimates have large relative tolerances.
2. Variation or lack of variation in the distribution of the measured item. Phenomena
that are equally distributed tend to have smaller tolerances than those characterized by
distribution peaks and troughs.
A table showing the sample tolerances for media audiences for adults, men and
women is included. These are the two sigma tolerances and should be read as follows:
"In 95% of these types of samples the value obtained by the sample will differ by no
more than plus or minus the specified tolerance from the value obtained in a full survey."
Tolerances for other demographic groups can be approximated by using the following
procedure:
1. Compute the ratio of the tolerance to its corresponding audience for the particular
audience and population (adults, men, women).
2. Depending upon the relative size of the demographic group multiply this ratio by
the appropriate factor in the table below.
3. Multiply the resultant by the appropriate audience estimate. This is the two sigma
tolerance for that audience.
4. This procedure can be used for demographics, except those based on geography.
Geographic measurements have tolerances that are considerably larger than those
derived by the above procedure.
RELATIVE SIZE OF
DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP
FACTOR
75%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
5%
1.15
1.41
1.58
1.83
2.24
3.16
4.47
In as much as the tolerances tend to become quite large for small populations,
users should consider using a more generalized audience number with corresponding
greater reliability.
If a projected number (column A) relates to fewer than 50 unweighted
respondents, this is indicated by an asterisk (*).
x