Touchpoints sequel proves a popular draw

UK-- Topline results of the second Touchpoints survey, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising's (IPA) study of the multimedia lives of consumers, were unveiled today at a packed industry event in London.

But unlike the other big sequel this summer, Touchpoints 2 met with a mostly positive reception from the assembled crowd of media and advertising industry bigwigs.

Mark Cross, communications planning director for the government's communications agency COI, said the survey provided the foundation for “best practice planning in a complex age” – allowing advertisers to investigate how people consume media across channels and at different times of the day.

The caution that greeted the first survey was all but absent for the launch of the second. People were mindful in March 2006 that Touchpoints would only be “as good as the implementation”. But two and a bit years on, with 46 companies signed up, examples of how the survey data had been successfully put to use were available to dissect.

Referring back to the start of the initiative in 2003, Jim Marshall, chairman of media agency Starcom UK and chairman of the IPA's Media Futures Group, said: “I don't think we had any idea how crucial and important this project would become.”

News International's Ian Clark, managing director of Thelondonpaper, described how information from Touchpoints had been used to reverse the decline in retail advertising spend in the News of the World.

The Sunday paper was losing out as advertisers targeted their budgets at Thursday, Friday and Saturday titles to catch readers before their Saturday afternoon shopping trips. But with Touchpoints data in hand, Clark said the paper was able to convince retailers to bring the title back into their media plans as many News of the World buyers would read the paper in the morning and then hit the high street.

Advertisers and media owners are able to break down media use by day-part thanks to the PDA diaries which the 5,400 Touchpoints respondents were given to record their whereabouts, who they were with, what they were doing and their mood at half-hour intervals over the course of a week. Respondents were also asked to complete a questionnaire on their general media use, their attitudes to a wide range of issues, their activities and shopping habits.

As with the first Touchpoints, data from Touchpoints 2 will be fused with the UK's various media currencies – including Barb (TV), NRS (print) and Rajar (radio) – to create an integrated planning database. This is due to happen by September, said the IPA's media research director Lynne Robinson.

The IPA is also continuing to look for ways to integrate Touchpoints' media usage data with consumer purchase data from TNS's Worldpanel service. TNS carries out the Touchpoints survey for the IPA, and Robinson said she was keen for the agency “to come back to us with a proposal” for how it might be done.

Touchpoints 2 data will be released on 9 July, complete with integrated TGI product, brand and lifestyle data for those who subscribe to both services.

Author: Brian Tarran

Related links:

Touchpoints set to make US debut through Media Behaviour Institute

Wootton sounds note of caution over Touchpoints

IPA gives go-ahead to Touchpoints 2