MUMBAI: The National Readership Studies Council (NRSC) released a second tranche of NRS 2005, containing three additional dimensions – psychographic segmentation data; readership of supplements and non-conventional media in rural India.
Psychographic segmentation: The data for psychographic segmentation based on attitudes towards purchase triggers showed that up-market men and women in their 20s today are not very different from each other. It also revealed that those reading English publications and those not are vastly different in attitudes – this applies also to those viewing English TV channels and those not doing so.
Apart from this, the North-South divide is also quite strong – consumers in the North Zone are very different from consumers in the Southern states. Very little differentiates the readers of the two leading English dailies in the capital city of Delhi.
The general area of attitudes towards purchase triggers, comprising topics such as search for information; enjoyment of the shopping experience; brand loyalty; search for value-for-money and experimentation-conservatism was chosen for in-depth probing. Data on these areas can throw more light on the information otherwise being collected in the NRS questionnaire viz., current media exposure; current FMCG product usage as well as ownership of consumer durables.
A battery of 23 statements was developed and piloted in Mumbai city. The final statements were administered to all NRS respondents aged 18 years and above, both in urban as well as in rural areas. The responses were collected in the form of claimed positions on a five-point scale ranging from “Strongly Agree” through to “Strongly Disagree”.
This data will be provided in the Sesame software in the form of number of individuals at each of the five points on the scale for each statement. Users can then apply various segmentation filters (such as those belonging to different demographic groups or those reading a specific publication or those using a particular brand etc) as for any of the other variables in NRS.
As examples of this use, the comparisons of a few groups are given below:
Upscale (SEC A1-A2-B1) men and women in their twenties today have very similar attitudes towards shopping. Only three statements out of a battery of 23 statements set them apart from one another, as shown below.
More young women strongly agree that they are unhappy with all the obscenity on TV compared to men (45 per cent vs 39 per cent strongly agreeing with the statement).
More young women strongly agree that they love shopping compared to men – who are not far behind, though (49 per cent Vs 44 per cent strongly agreeing)
Surprisingly, more upscale young men claim to adopt the latest trends and fashions compared to upscale young women (35 per cent Vs 31 per cent strongly agreeing).
More English channel viewers are likely to pay more for quality (42 per cent Vs 37 per cent strongly agreeing); try another shop if their brand is not available (38 per cent Vs 33 per cent); prefer experts’ recommendations (29 per cent Vs 25 per cent); also the recommendations of friends and relatives (22 per cent Vs 17 per cent).
English channels viewers love to keep ahead (33 per cent Vs 27 per cent); adopt the latest trends and fashions (27 per cent Vs 21 per cent); like variety and excitement in their lives (38 per cent Vs 33 per cent); love shopping (41 per cent Vs 36 per cent) and think supermarkets are the best place to shop (36 per cent Vs 32 per cent).
” Those SEC A1 consumers not viewing English TV channels regularly are more likely to keep track of every rupee spent (46 per cent Vs 42 per cent strongly agreeing); and express unhappiness over excessive obscenity on TV 38 per cent Vs 33 per cent).
Reach of Supplements: The NRS 2005 data revealed that the reach of supplements varies between 25 per cent to 40 per cent of the main issue readership.
The differences are sharp along city lines – readers in Hyderabad show the highest inclination to read supplements while those in Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad show the lowest inclination.
Topics of highest interest are Education and Careers. City- specific supplements garner lower readership comparatively.
Top 20 Supplements Ranked by Per cent of Main Issue’s Average Issue Readership
Supplement Title
Main Publication
City
Per cent of Main Issue AIR
Chitra Prabha Kannada Prabha
Bangalore
59%
Bombay Times TOI
Mumbai
54%
Elanyar Malar Dinamani
Chennai
54%
Velli Mani Dinamani
Chennai
52%
Velli Malar Daily Thanthi
Chennai
50%
Nyayar Malar Daily Thanthi
Chennai
47%
Kreede Prajavani
Bangalore
43%
Krida Prabha Kannada Prabha
Bangalore
43%
Rabibarshoriyo ABP
Kolkata
41%
Chaturang Loksatta
Mumbai
38%
Education Times TOI
Bangalore
38%
Cine Vijay Vijay Karnataka
Bangalore
38%
Education The Hindu
Bangalore
38%
Education Times TOI
Mumbai
37%
Metro Plus The Hindu
Bangalore
37%
Chatusparni Bartaman
Kolkata
36%
Lokrang Loksatta
Mumbai
36%
Ascent TOI
Bangalore
36%
Ascent TOI
Mumbai
35%
Patrika ABP
Kolkata
31%
The readership of supplements of dailies was measured in the Top eight metros – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. The readership questions were administered even to individuals who were not readers of the main issue. Apart from this, both average issue readership and claimed readership were estimated.
The findings also showed that:
The highest levels were recorded in Hyderabad (mostly above 60 per cent of the main issue’s readership for most supplements irrespective of the title of the main issue)
The lowest levels were recorded in Delhi; Ahmedabad and Pune (generally below 20 per cent of the main issue’s readership across different topics and publications)
Topics of highest interest were – education and careers in the case of English dailies and films and sports in the case of vernacular dailies
Sunday magazines and city-specific supplements scored lower than education and careers with the exception of Bombay Times in Mumbai.
Non-conventional media – rural India: Recognising the need for supplementing data on exposure to mass media in rural India, three data capture areas were identified:
Frequency of interaction with opinion-leaders in the village
Frequency of visits to various contact points
Ease of access to retail outlets for items such as newspapers and magazines; personal care products; OTC products; ready-made garments and hardware items.
Questions in the non-conventional media section were administered to all respondents above 12 years of age in rural areas (the NRS covered 5,500 villages across 536 districts spread out over 87 socio-cultural regions (SCRs) of India).
Some key findings were:
Contact Points: The contrast between all India and the Top 10 SCR’s of the country is quite sharp.
Interaction with opinion leaders and officials: The difference between the all India average and that of the Top 10 SCR’s comes through even in the frequency of interaction with opinion leaders. This indicates that regional differences in this kind of behaviour exists and can aid in prioritise marketing efforts.
Ease of access to retail outlets: All rural respondents were asked if, when they wanted to purchase newspapers and magazines, personal care products, grains and provisions etc., they could get them in their own villages or had to go to nearby villages or to a nearby town. As can be seen in the table below, even in the Top 10 SCR’s, the reach of the retail universe is a constraint to availability of many day-to-day needs. The table also shows how much more