Australian magazines rank high in reader engagement; 95% of readers use magazines for information, 87% report finding a product in a magazine that they want to purchase, and almost 75% said they were 'inspired' by something they read in a magazine: study

Aimee Bellah

June 25, 2014 (NPA Bulletin, The) – The release this week of data from Enhanced Media Metrics Australia's (emma) engagement survey has shown how various audiences interact with publications.

Initial results from the engagement study, available to all emma subscribers, show how specific titles scale against measurements in five different categories, or axes of engagement: source of copy, loyalty to publication, motivation to purchase, connection to brand and the action of the consumer post-read.

Among national publications The Australian Financial Review scored the highest EQ measurement for the categories discover, inform, enrich, inspire, consider, seek and share, while The Australian outperformed the AFR in the categories escape, excite, entertain, reward and act.

Data for Australian magazines showed that on average 95 per cent of readers claimed to use magazines to discover new information about things that interest them. Eighty seven per cent of readers said that they saw products in magazines that they had a desire to purchase and almost three quarters of readers felt inspired by something they read in a magazine.

For the Monday-Friday major newspapers TheCourier-Mail received the highest EQ score for its ability to discover and inform, the Herald Sun for escape and entertain, The Advertiser for excite, reward and seek, The Age for enrich and share, and The Sydney Morning Herald for inspire, act and consider.

Fairfax Media's Australian Publishing Media managing director Allen Williams said the deep engagement newspapers provided to readers was "a powerful attribute of our medium and now for the first time we have the best research available to quantify that unique relationship".

"The engagement metric allows us to move the conversation beyond just readership and circulation into more meaningful territory with advertisers.

"It has confirmed that different newspapers connect in different ways and the behaviour and therefore engagement of our audience during the week is different to the weekend and requires a tailored approach to engage at the highest possible level."

A full account of the emma engagement metric and its development over the last several years can be read here.

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