Nesbitt is heartened by enthusiastic response from Impact publishers. The institute also plans to survey readers and nonreaders in the 103 Impact markets about newspaper use, customer service and brand equity. The postcard contains the Northwestern logo so that it is tied to an academic institution rather than a newspaper initiative. From the returned postcards, researchers want to target an appropriate pool of respondents in each market. They will receive a mailed, 12-page questionnaire, equally distributed.
Respondents have the additional option of replying via the Internet.
The idea is to look at newspapers similar in many ways or different in some ways. In July, institute staffers will share results with Impact-paper representatives during meetings in Evanston. While staffers go about their work, a second component of the Readership Initiative is under way. A template that can be used by publishers to reposition dailies in their markets will be designed and field-tested by the Z Group of Atlanta, headed by marketer Sergio Zyman. The goal is to move the needle to drive readership.