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STUDY EXPLORES MEDIA USE AMONG GROWING ETHNIC GROUPS

Traditional Measurement Shortchanges Advertisers

Solutions Research Release

As Canada’s population becomes more diverse, traditional media measurement tools are becoming inadequate in their ability to provide an accurate read of audiences, according to a new study by Solutions Research Group, a Toronto-based market research firm.

 

The study, the first of its kind in Canada, examines six major population groups in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, including Canadians of Chinese, South Asian, West Asian, Hispanic and Italian backgrounds, as well as Black Canadians. Among the findings:

 

  • Internet is a vital media option and a communications tool for all ethnic groups surveyed – and they are more likely to have broadband in the home.

 

    • 88% use the Internet, slightly above the market benchmark (market benchmark being the general population of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver). Average time spent with Internet per day is 1.8 hours per person among the major ethnic groups surveyed, slightly ahead of the market benchmark of 1.7 hours.
    • Chinese Canadians are particularly active users of Internet averaging 2.4 hours a day – about the same amount of time they spend with television – and significantly higher than time spent with radio. 80% of Chinese Canadians use Internet at home (vs. 68% market average).

 

  • Major ethnic groups in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are somewhat lighter users of traditional radio, TV and newspapers.

 

    • 5-day readership of daily newspapers – in any language – is 16% lower among major ethnic groups surveyed than it is among the market benchmark.
    • Radio tuning among major ethnic groups is 9% below the market benchmark, while TV is 4% below average.
    • While they tend to spend less time watching TV, ethnic Canadians are more likely than the market benchmark to have digital cable or satellite TV (41% vs. 39%). Black and Chinese Canadians lead on this measure (47% and 44%, respectively).

 

  • Ethnic media plays a much larger role in the lives of fast-growing groups than traditional media measurement would indicate.

 

    • The largest and fastest-growing ethnic groups, Chinese and South-Asian Canadian segments, are particularly heavy consumers of mostly in-language ethnic media.
    • 75% of Chinese Canadians and 75% of South Asian Canadians 15+ have used at least one ethnic radio or TV station or ethnic newspaper in the last seven days. Among Hispanic Canadians, 55% have done so in the last week.
    • Only 50% of Chinese Canadians and 57% of South Asian Canadians are reached by English-language newspapers. English radio reaches 44% of South Asian Canadians, and 53% of Chinese Canadians. English TV performs a little better in terms of reach, reaching 74% of South Asian Canadians and 65% of Chinese Canadians.

 

  • More than half (52%) of the ethnic groups surveyed agree with the statement: “I rarely see advertising messages intended for me,” suggesting a significant lost opportunity.

 

“Rapid population change in major markets is a serious challenge to traditional media measurement – and this issue is not going away. Current measurement tools such as BBM, Nielsen or NADBank either ignore or severely underrepresent millions of people in major markets, resulting in a waste of advertiser dollars,” said Kaan Yigit, Study Director for Diversity in Canada.

 

The information for this release comes from the Media Use section of Diversity in Canada, an independent syndicated research study. To maintain an unbiased perspective, Solutions Research Group funds its own syndicated research studies.

 

Diversity in Canada delivers a one-of-a-kind perspective on Canada’s fastest-growing population groups in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. A total of 3,000 respondents (age 15+) were interviewed in 9 languages: English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish and Italian.

 

This is the second of a series of data releases from Diversity in Canada. Upcoming releases will cover subjects such as social attitudes, sports, communications and technology.

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