Readership Research: Assessing the value of TimberLines Megan Anderson University of St. Thomas May 2006

Background BASF is a leading forestry herbicide manufacturer The active ingredient in BASF forestry herbicides will be off patent by the end of 2006 Generic competition will enter the market Challenge: Differentiate BASF from generic competition The forest and timber products industry is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States and encompasses a variety of key audiences, including private landowners, timber companies, loggers, foresters and academic personnel.

Communication Solution: TimberLines Company-sponsored trade publication Primary BASF forestry communication tactic Publication objective – communicate value by being a leading source of information for the industry 23,500 subscribers

Do TimberLines readers find the publication valuable? Research Topic Do TimberLines readers find the publication valuable? This readership research will: Assess the value of TimberLines to readers Identify ways to increase this value Establish a methodology for readership research on other trade publications

Methodology E-mail survey 3,101 subscribers with valid e-mail addresses 17 questions 463 respondents

Who reads TimberLines? 62 percent are private forest landowners 43 percent are foresters or forestry consultants 55 percent manage fewer than 500 acres

Defining Valuable Is there a positive reader response? Overall opinion of TimberLines Comparison to other forestry publications Are readers involved with the publication? Do readers look to the publication as an industry resource? Does TimberLines influence actions and opinions? How can we increase value? Article and topic relevancy Accuracy and clarity

How do you rate TimberLines? The publication generates a very positive overall response, with 86 percent of respondents rating TimberLines as above average or excellent.

How do you rate TimberLines compared to other forestry publications? Compared to other forestry publications, 66 percent of respondents rate TimberLines as above average or excellent. Which also indicates a very positive reader response.

How likely are you to use the following as a forestry information resource? As I mentioned, I also assessed value based on how involved readers are with the publication. For example, do they look to the publication as a resource for information? My research showed that 84 percent of respondents would be somewhat or very likely to use TimberLines as a resource, which is the highest rating of all the resources included on the survey. This result is surprising because we would have assumed that readers would be more inclined to go to their local extension personnel or consultants for information. However, the literature review revealed that overall agricultural producers prefer to receive industry information through media. And this research supports that assertion.

How likely are you to do the following? I also surveyed readers on key actions related to the publication. As you can see, 85 percent of respondents would recommend the publication to others, and a vast majority also apply what they read in the publication to their timber management and look to TimberLines for the latest industry information.

Has reading TimberLines ever prompted you to do the following?

How useful are each of the following TimberLines articles?

What drives the reader rating of TimberLines as a “valuable industry resource”? Significant, positive correlations to: Accuracy TimberLines provides accurate information. Relevancy I can apply what I read in TimberLines to my forest management work. Clarity The level of detail of the information in TimberLines is appropriate. Other types of correlations reviewed – look to for latest trends, weak correlation

What topics do you want more coverage of? Invasive plant management 65 percent Herbicide application techniques 57 percent Site preparation Herbaceous weed control 56 percent

Research Outcomes Yes, the publication is valuable to readers Based on this research, the value of TimberLines can be increased by: Utilizing more research and industry experts as article sources Increasing interaction with the BASF Web site Improving relevance by expanding coverage of key topics Continuing to present information that is accurate and clear

Questions?