What is TouchPoints?

The result of a major consultation amongst media agencies, TouchPoints is an initiative that looks to capture the interaction between consumers and media, creating a single source planning tool. It has been undertaken by the IPA with the support of media partners - one of which is SMG - and will provide users an invaluable source of planning insight and also a resource for mixed media evaluation.

TouchPoints Insights

• Insight into 15 - 34 years
• Cinema is the best medium for word of mouth
• Cinema and the internet, promoting combined campaigns

A Strategic Planning Tool

TouchPoints allows for impartial consideration of all media channels at the start of the planning process, and provides insights into how communication channels are used both on their own and together by time of day, and day of week.

It has been developed from a survey of 5000 people, recording both their exposure to media and an evaluation of mindset across these moments to provide an indicator of mode of consumption, trust and influence.

It has also gathered information across a broad set of attitudinal, behavioral and product data, acting as an up to date snapshot of consumers and how they divide their time across activities. It provides insights on how media influences and provides "touch-points" into their lifestyles.

This will help the channel planning process by providing single source insights into media exposure by target audience and how different media combinations are inter-related for a particular audience - these can be analysed together through the TouchPoints planning system.

A Mixed Media Evaluation Tool

The survey provides a hub for the integration of the industry media research currencies i.e. BARB, RAJAR, CAVIAR etc which has produced a tool that evaluates mixed media schedules, both for planning and post campaign purposes. Through the fusion of the currencies, TouchPoints is the first single source tool to act as a gateway across data sources.

Methodology

TouchPoints has been developed from a sample of 5000 adults recruited from the TNS Access Panel which has been weighted to provide a demographically and regionally representative picture of the UK.

The Hub Survey

All respondents completed a detailed contact questionnaire which recorded a range of attitudes, pastimes, media habits and product usage/purchase information.

They were also required to complete a time based electronic PDA questionnaire, recording activity every ½ hour over a 7-day period that captured time of media exposure alongside information such as where they were, who they were with, their mood/mindset and what they were doing at that time.

These two data sources were combined to provide an in-depth hub survey, the output of which can be a used as a stand alone survey providing insights into their lives and media consumption, essential for strategic planning and channel selection.

Integrated Database

The hub survey was then fused to media currencies by RSMB Television Research Ltd. This data integration has been based on the relevant media links and has preserved the definition of commercial contacts contained within the industry data i.e. with TV it is contact with commercials, radio is contact with the quarter hour, posters is contact with panels and so on.

The integration has created a single source media contact survey that has the capability for combing mixed media schedules to produce, for the first time, a consolidated coverage and frequency.

TouchPoints also allows for proprietary data to be integrated to the hub survey, so if there is specific research that you hold, it is potentially possible for this to be integrated into the database.

NB: TouchPoints treats all commercial contacts to be equal but enables the user to apply weights themselves.