Nielsen Media Readership v Roy Morgan - What are the differences

  There are a number of fundamental differences between the Nielsen Media Readership service and the Roy Morgan Single Source service.  The main differences are summarised in the following;

Data Collection Methodology

Nielsen Media - Face to face data collection and a leave behind self-completion for people 10+

Roy Morgan - Telephone recruitment and mail out and return self-completion along with a 7 day media usage diary for people 14+

The Nielsen Media Advantage

The face-to-face methodology allows for all New Zealander's 10+ to have an equal opportunity to be selected to be interviewed.  This means that the Nielsen Media Readership study is fully representative of New Zealand.

A telephone Methodology allows for only those New Zealander's with a home telephone to be selected.  According to our research approximately 11% of New Zealanders do not have a telephone at home and a further 8-9% have unlisted numbers.  This means at best using this methodology only 80% of New Zealanders 10+ are represented.  Who is missing? Young people who have just left home and flatting are the most likely not to have a landline at home and the more affluent are the most likely not to have their number listed.  These are two very important target groups.

Because the two services reflect different populations (Nielsen - all NZ 10+ and Roy Morgan 80% of NZ 14+) the numbers generated from these surveys will differ and some will differ greatly.  

The Roy Morgan methodology of leaving a 7 day media diary with respondents as well as a 100 page self completion booklet adds to the burden of the respondent.

The methodology Roy Morgan uses in New Zealand is completely different to the methodology it employs in Australia.

Publication Recognition

Nielsen Media - Masthead recognition using showcards 

Roy Morgan - List in Self Completion, all in the same font

The Nielsen Media Advantage

Nielsen uses masthead showcards to aid the respondent in recalling what publications they have read.  These showcards are grouped into publication frequency such as weekly etc.  The cards are shuffled to allow all mastheads to have an equal opportunity of being the first shown.

Roy Morgan has a long list of publication titles broken down by category and publication frequency.

Independent Audit

Nielsen Media - Independently audited twice a year 

Roy Morgan - Not audited

The Nielsen Media Advantage

Nielsen is independently audited (selected and funded by the Print industry) across a number of areas including; respondent selection, interviewer performance, response rates, data coding and final output.  Nielsen have to meet 21 industry KPI's.  This ensures that the quality of the industry currency is consistently of a high quality.

IMS - a personal view 

March 2007 was a momentous month for Nielsen Media Research with the launch of our IMS software, the platform for the National Readership Survey and Panorama.  There were two weeks of comprehensive training with full implementation scheduled from April onwards.  Kate Terry, Associate Director Client Service, describes her personal experience of meeting the new software for the first time.

I've only been here since October last year so IMS was a totally new experience for me.  In 2007, we are in a great position to make IMS our software of choice.  Our Systems team has done a brilliant job building tools that make it simple for us to create and customise IMS databases for you all.  This time next year Microscope will be switched off for the last time and IMS will be our standard bearer.

After about five minutes of the first training session I was won over.  The interface for the National Readership Survey (Fig 1.) is a quantum leap forward from Microscope with much greater usability.  It is quick and easy to find your way around - a huge advantage, and creating bases, rows and columns can all be achieved at the touch of a button.

Figure 1. The IMS Interface        

Take a look also at the  "Search" tab (Fig 2.) where putting in a keyword will bring up all the instances in the database where the selected term is mentioned (in the question or as an answer), then there is the "Favourites" tab where I will be storing my 'regulars' so that I can access them anytime.

Figure 2. The search Tool     

When you have generated your cross-tab (Fig 3.) the tools on offer enable you to bring the data to life quicky and comprehensively.

Figure 3. The basic Cross-Tab 

There are lots of choices here.  You can use the "Storyfinder" to check out interesting angles and highlight key differences; the "Viewpoints" option enables you to develop bubble maps showing share across different variables; the "Graph" option lets you create reasonable looking graphs for that important, but unexpected, meeting quickly and in a few easy steps...and there is much, much more...

I am genuinely excited about what IMS offers.  The team and I look forware to meeting many of you during it's implementation.  this first article is simply a taster, future issues of Medialink will highlight key applications of IMS.  In the mean time, give me a call if you'd like to know more, 09 970 4261 or kate.terry@nielsen.com

PRRADS Updates (since Oct 06 Medialink edition)

New Listings 

• ACP Digital
• Adfence
• APNData.co.nz
• Arrowtown Community News
• Auckland Business Catalogue
• Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance Journal
• Case
• Chaff Student Diary
• Cromwell Bulletin
• Directory of Residential Camps
• Discover Great Ideas
• experience
• Exporter Magazine
• Focus News Zealand
• Gift Buyer
• Health TV Ltd
• Impact PR
• Info-Link Hardware+
• Inspire
• Interactive Advertising Bureau - IAB
• Little Treasures Preganancy & Birth
• Met Pet
• MOB
• Motomedia Ltd
• New Zealand Construction News

• New Zealand INsite
• NZ Cargo Magazine
• NZ Rush Hour
• NZ Transport & Logistics Business Week
• NZ Venues Ltd
• NZMJ Digest
• Off Spin NZ
• Pet Care Digest
• Sky Sport The Magazine
• SmartMove Media
• SmartSaver National
• Studio 75
• The Building Press
• The Invercargill Eye
• The Kaiapoi Advocate
• The National Business Review
• The Norwester (Wellington)
• The Radio Agency
• timberDESIGN Australasia
• Tool Magazine
• Travelinc
• TV Guide EXTRA
• ubd.co.nz
• V8 Supercars Official Event Programme
• View New Zealand
• wises.co.nz

New Events Category in PRRADS...You can now get contact, advertising and sponsorship information on major events.  Don't forget to check for a full mediakit on the Media Pack tab on the PRRADS website. 

  Money Matters Money Matters Money Matters

...in 2006 Nielsen Media Research Panorama data shows 64.8% of Kiwi's aged 15+ found it easy to deal with Money matters but 27.1% of Kiwi's found it hard to make ends meet.  Only half of New Zealanders (54%) have savings or investments - will Kiwi Saver indeed turn New Zealand into a saving nation?