Home on the Green Readership Survey Prepared for: Home on the Green October 2014 Prepared by: Fergus W. Gamble, C.M.R.P. Vantage Research Group Inc. 1

Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3-7 Background & Objectives4 Methodology5 Summary of Findings6 Conclusions & Recommendations7 DETAILED FINDINGS8-28 HOTG Overall Rating 9 Proportion of HOTG Read11 Frequency of Reference to HOTG12 Readership of Features & Sections13 Interest in More Regular Articles14 Use of BGCC Information Sources17 Use HOTG to Find Products & Services18 Home on the Green On Line19 The Respondents’ Story20 APPENDICES23-35 A.Questionnaire24 B.Verbatim Comments27 2

Executive Summary 3

Background & Objectives Home on the Green (HOTG) is a quarterly magazine published for the residents of the Ballantrae Golf and Country Club (BGCC). The magazine is produced by a not for profit organization of residents. It is staffed by volunteers from the community. The magazine is distributed free of charge to all residences. The executive of the magazine wanted to conduct a survey of BGCC residents and HOTG readers to better appreciate their opinions of the publication and gain insights for improving it for their readers and the community at large. The specific objectives of the study were to: – Obtain a measurement of current readers’ enjoyment and readership level – Review the current selection of articles published and assess readership of each – Obtain feedback on a selection of potential, new content items – Assess the use of advertising by BGCC residents to identify businesses of interest to them – Understand how HOTG compares with other BGCC communication sources – Measure interest in making HOTG available on-line 4

Methodology The study was carried out by the use of a self-completed questionnaire that was made available to all residents of BGCC in two methods. The questionnaire was inserted in a recent copy of HOTG which is delivered to every home in the club. In addition, an invitation was ed to all BGCC residents who are available via the BGCC website. The response to the questionnaire was extremely strong with over 300 responses which would represent approximately 30% of all homes in BGCC and an estimated 15%+ of all individual residents. In total 31% of responses were received in written format and the remaining 69% were collected via the website. The study was conducted through much of September and October 2014 with a cut off date for responses of October 12,

Summary of Findings The overall rating of HOTG is extremely positive with almost 90% ranking it as “Excellent” or “Very Good”. On a weighted average basis respondents read HOTG 1.75 times per issue. Of the content items examined for their level of readership all eleven of them averaged reading each at a level between “Always” and “Mostly”, the two highest levels on the scale. The ten suggestions for potential new content for the magazine produced a range of responses with three particularly strong items: – Restaurant Reviews – Health & Wellness Articles – Travel Ideas and Experiences Use of HOTG advertising as sources and places to support local businesses is also strong with the averages in the “use mostly” range. The HOTG magazine is the most used source of information among respondents followed by the BGCC Website, the Rec Centre’s Guide and Electronic Billboard. Additionally over 100 respondents contributed verbatim comments which are appended to this report for reference and further insight. 6

Conclusions & Recommendations The response to the HOTG survey presents an extremely strong picture of the magazine in virtually every result and measurement. It would be entirely accurate to say these results are unique in our experience. These results would appear to make the potential for improving the magazine something of a challenge for the publisher and editorial staff. However at the same time there are results that indicate some of the suggested new items have potential. Perhaps more importantly there is an undercurrent in the appended verbatim comments indicating that there is an appetite for a greater diversity of material and interest in the magazine venturing into new and different areas. A modest “freshening” of the content and a greater diversity of material from issue to issue may be welcomed. It is suspected that a major makeover would not be necessary and indeed could be detrimental. Given the incredibly strong levels of use of the magazine for both entertainment and information, it would seem possible to actually expand the magazine either in terms of length/pages and/or frequency of publication. Given the strong support of advertisers demonstrated in the results, it would seem possible that funding of such an expansion could well be both obtainable and attainable. 7

Detailed Results 8

The overall rating of HOTG is exceptionally strong with an average across all five condo corporations in the range of “Very Good” to “Excellent”. The total of negative ratings is below 1% overall with 0% “very poor” scores. There is some minor variability from condo to condo but only between the “Good” to “Excellent” ratings. 9 HOTG Overall Rating (1) Overall Rating

When focussing on responses based on respondent gender and the number of years respondents have been resident in BGCC, the story remains one of huge strength of response favouring HOTG. Averaging responses from all subgroups, they remain in the range between “Excellent” and “Very Good”. 10 HOTG Overall Rating (2) Overall Rating

The proportion of HOTG read is as impressive as its rating with over 90% of respondents indicating that they read it “Cover to cover” or “Most of it”. No further comment is required! 11 Proportion of HOTG Read

Almost all HOTG readers refer back to the magazine multiple times with nearly a third reporting three or more references. On average they return to it 1.75 times per issue. Anecdotally, verbatim responses from readers often mention that the copies of the magazine are kept, sometimes back to their first copy. 12 Reference to HOTG Reference

The level of readership of HOTG is nothing short of overwhelmingly high! For almost every individual feature or section over 90% of respondents indicate reading it at least “sometimes” and typically better than 50% saying they “always” read these items. This level of positive response may appear to limit the potential for changes and improvement but there does appear to be room for change and even some desire for it - to be seen later. 13 Readership of Features & Sections Readership NeverRarelySometimesMostlyAlways

The three lead areas suggested for appearing more regularly in HOTG among BGCC’ers are: – Restaurant Reviews – Health & Wellness – Travel Ideas & Experiences All of these three average out to being equal to a “Very Interested” response. A step behind these leading options was the more regular appearance of Resident Profiles. 14 Interest in More Regular Articles (1) More Regular Articles Average 4.1Average 4.0 Average 3.6

Between the “Very” and “Somewhat” interested level on an average basis were the three areas of: – Seasonal Recipes – Movies & Theatre Reviews – Hobbies – Book Club Highlights & Reviews 15 Interest in More Regular Articles (2) More Regular Articles Average 3.5 Average 3.4Average 3.3

The remaining two potential ideas for extended exposure in HOTG appear not to be very well received. It is unusual to see a negative level of response as occurred with the suggestion of articles on pets. 16 Interest in More Regular Articles (3) More Regular Articles Average 3.1 Average 2.4

HOTG magazine has the strongest level of usage as an information source of any of the BGCC communication options. The BGCC website is the next most used and is the on-line source of information for residents at this point. The Rec Centre guide and its more recent introduction of an electronic billboard are used at lower levels of frequency. However all of these options are used by the majority of respondents. 17 Use of BGCC Information Sources Sources Used Averages Always 1 Mostly 4 Sometimes 3 Rarely 2 Never

HOTG readers make significant use of the magazine’s advertisers. Approximately three-quarters of the readers indicate that they use HOTG to find products and services either “Always” or “Mostly”. Most of the rest of the respondents also check that they use HOTG for this purpose at least “Sometimes” to find products and services that are: – “Available in our area” – “You can use or need” – “Support local advertisers” 18 Use HOTG to Find Products & Services Sources Used Averages Always 1 Mostly 4 Sometimes 3 Rarely 2 Never 1 4.0

Interest in receiving HOTG via the website is moderate at best, (averaging below “somewhat”) although overall half of the respondents express a slightly positive view of the idea. It is noteworthy that although over two- thirds of the respondents answered the survey on line they are not as positively disposed to reading the magazine on this basis. 19 Home on the Green On-line Overall Interest Average

Slightly over two-thirds of respondents answered the survey using the BGCC website. Of the remaining third who responded via the paper copy, several actually printed the copy from the website. All five condos were well represented in the survey. Consideration was given to weighting the condos so that the responses represented equal positions in the total. However as the overall responses in all cases were similar this step did not appear necessary. 20 The Respondents’ Story (1) On line 69% How Survey was Completed Response by Condo One Two Three Four Five

While female respondents out numbered males, there is likely to be a somewhat larger population of women in BGCC given the age of residents. It is also likely that this response does indicate a somewhat larger proportion of female readers. Not surprisingly the respondents from BGCC are overwhelming a retired population. 21 The Respondents’ Story (2) Respondent Gender Work Status Male Female Retired Full Time Part Time

The respondents’ average number of years living in BGCC was very close to 8. Of course this varies somewhat within each of the Condos but presents the readers as relatively long term residents. 22 The Respondents’ Story (3) Years Living in BGCC