Bass master magazine

Question 1:
What is the market size? This will be a one-sentence answer, unless you are comparing two different types of consumer markets and trying to decide which one is best.
HINTS: Review the Spring sample report for “Bass/Fishing boat (16+ ft +) Household Owns” from the Application Forum Documents folder. The base is total adults. Based on the study, the projected population is 245,907,000 adults aged 18 and older. Of these adults, 3,028,000 own Bass/Fishing boats 16 feet or longer. This number can be used as a proxy for the current market size.
To find the market size for the activity or brand you selected, look at the TOTAL line, and the ‘000 column. Remember, the number you see is expressed in thousands, so add three zeros to whatever number is shown.
Question 2:
What are the key demographics that describe the target market?
HINTS: Pay attention to both the ‘000 column and the Index Numbers. In the sample report, 1,697,000 men own bass/fishing boats 16 feet or longer. Men are 16% more likely to own bass boats this size than the general population. So it follows that females are 15% less likely to own 16+ foot bass boats (percentage differences are due to rounding).
How did I get these percentages? Subtract 100 – the norm for people in the U.S., from the index number of 116 for men (116-100 = +16% more likely). Conversely, 85-100 = -15% less likely for women.
It is important to understand the difference between % Detail and % Target:
• % Detail: 56.03% of bass boat owners 16 foot or longer are men 18 or older.
• % Target: Only 1.43 % of ALL men aged 18 or older own a 16 ft+ bass boat.
NOTE: IF you were using the sample report, other demographic characteristics to include in your profile would be education, age, income, and race.
HINT: Look for contiguous categories that have high ‘000 and index numbers over 100. For example, in evaluating age, I would look at the numbers, and conclude that owners of 16 ft+ bass boats are primarily 45-64 years old. Together, these two groups account for nearly 46% of all owners. Income is also very interesting. All index numbers over $50,000 are more than 100. Even though it is tempting to focus on the $50,000-$74,999 groups because of its high index number, 32.45% of our boat owners come from the $75,000 – $149,999 group. It would be a mistake not to target them. In this case, I would define income of bass boat owners (16 ft or larger) as $50,000 or more.
In the sample report, it is worth noting that ethnic groups are significantly less likely to own a bass/fishing boat, as none of the index numbers approached 50, much less 100. Bass/fishing boat owners tend to skew to white or white only.
Questions 3 & 4:
What behavioral characteristics describe the target market?

What assumptions can you make about the target market’s lifestyle (activities, interests, and opinions) based on their media consumption habits? Did anything surprise you?
It will be easier if you answer these two questions together.
HINTS: Behaviors are slightly different from lifestyles and relate to actions that people take. Check cable vs. satellite subscriptions for example. Is Spanish spoken in the home? THEN get creative. You will have to make assumptions about other behaviors based on some of the website and app usage. Do they use Groupon? Do they use coupons (e.g., based on coupon websites)? How about Ticketmaster, Priceline, Orbitz, Hotels.com or Travelocity? Look for other potential behaviors (e.g., how they act).
Answering the lifestyle question will also require a little more creativity and interpretation on your part. For example, in the sample report, the Index number of 198 seems to indicate people who enjoy listening to country music (See Cable Services: CMT) are more likely than the general population to own bass/fishing boats 16 feet. The same is true for those who watch the Outdoor Channel (index = 309) and Sportsman Channel (index = 315). This means that those who own bass boats not only enjoy fishing, but also enjoy the outdoors, hiking, and hunting more than the general population. The latter conclusion is further validated by the high magazine subscription index numbers for 4 Wheel & Off-Road Magazine, American Hunter, American Rifleman, Bassmaster, and many other magazines appealing to specific outdoor activities.
DATA NOTE: A cross in column B indicates that the data is based on an unweighted sample of less than 50 for that particular characteristic. The actual sample size of those fitting the characteristic in each row is listed under the UNW column. Small sample sizes are a concern because there is a large chance of random sampling error, meaning that the data may not be valid for the entire population. For purposes of this academic exercise, you can still use this information for your forum, and for Part 1 of the project, but try to find some additional sources of information that validate some of the information you found about your target market, media habits, or lifestyles as extrapolated from the University Reporter database.

Question 5:
Considering both the number of people reached (‘000), and the efficiency of reaching target market members as demonstrated by high index numbers, develop a list of media that you might use in your marketing communications strategy (assuming you had a large budget). Your list should show the name of the magazine, cable show, or website, the number of people reached (‘000), and the index number. Justify your selections.
The purpose of this question is to show you how the database can actually be of some help to you in developing your marketing communications plan in Part 2 of the project.

The goal of integrated marketing communications is to surround consumers with messages where they work, play, and live. As you review the magazines, cable TV shows, and websites and apps, look for media that do not duplicate, but which reach different subgroups within the market who may be attracted to different interests or activities. Media consumption is HIGHLY fragmented, so it is important to use multiple media to reach consumers.
For example, Bassmaster magazine has an index of 423 and reaches 219,000 people who own boats 16 feet or larger. People who subscribe to this magazine tend to be heavily involved in tournament fishing, or work as professional fishing guides. As the name of the magazine suggests, they fish for Bass and thus own at least one Bass boat. These are exactly the type of people who would be out fishing in the dead of winter and who would appreciate heated bass boat seats when running from location to location.
For magazines, you can find more information about subscribers by using the GfK Pocketpiece tool.
1. Logout of University Reporter, or use the back arrow until you reach the window that shows icons for PocketPiece and University Reporter.
2. This time select PocketPiece
3. A list of magazine titles will appear. Note that you need to select the appropriate study from the drop down menu at the top left. It defaults to the TwelvePlus Study which includes data from people 12 or older. The Alternate choice is to select the Fall 2019 report which is based only on people 18 years of age or older. If you are not targeting children or teens directly, I would recommend using the Fall 2019 report.
4. For each magazine title, you will see the average audience size in thousands, and data about the median age and income divided by gender. You’ll also see information about the circulation (in thousands), the number of readers per copy, and the size of the print and digital audiences in thousands. This data may be helpful in selecting and justifying which magazines you list in question #5.
5. So the average audience for Bassmaster magazine, according to the Fall 2019 report, is 3,016,000. By choosing the Fall 2019 report, I am making the assumption that kids 12-17 cannot afford a $40,000 – $60,000 bass boat on their own, which is a pretty reasonable assumption to make. The median age of readers is 49.5, slightly older for men and then younger for women. (The median is the data point where 50% of the observations (or data points) fall above, or below. It is not an average. The median household income is $60,632, which is well above the $50,000 base income level that was selected as the demographic for the target market. So that checks out. And the print + digital audience of 3,142,000 is slightly higher than the average audience. These statistics support the idea that Bassmaster would be a good media vehicle to reach our target market.