Business Elite are voracious consumers of all media

Readership of international titles has increased according to a new survey by Ipsos MediaCT.160 The 2008 BE: Europe survey found that 40% of European business leaders are reading international news titles, an increase of 9% on 2006.

The survey, formerly EBRS, is the only global survey capturing the media and consumption habits of the most senior business decision makers across Europe.

All forms of international print titles showed an increase or remained stable:

• Dailies are read by 17% in 2008, up from 16% in 2006
• Weeklies are up two points to 20% of respondents
• Fortnightlies have remained stable on 5%
• Monthlies have increased four points to 24%

New for 2008, the survey has found that Europe's business elite are also keen users of new media:

• Seven in ten use the internet to get news updates
• Five out of ten received a daily email news update
• Nearly a third downloaded a podcast file from the internet for playback on their computer or MP3 player
• Nearly one in four regularly read blogs, with nearly 19,000 senior business executives contributing to a blog
• Ipsos MediaCT's new BE:Europe survey identifies the business leaders shaping Europe's economy.160 It finds that:
• They are worth on average, excluding equity in private property or personal mortgage, e931,000, and their average earnings are in excess of e170,000 per year.
• They are doing more international business, with increases across every region.
• They are taking more business trips than in the past.

The survey, running since 1973, has been extended in 2008 to cover a broader range of areas of interest to marketers. As well as researching new and emerging media, the study has looked at attitudes to work / home life; most reliable source of business news; mode of transport to work; and length of commute.

Titles showing increases in 2008 include: The Financial Times, up to 14.3% from 13.1% of all business elite respondents; The Economist up nearly two points to 12.3%; and National Geographic, read by 9.3% of respondents up from 6.9% two years ago.

International channels are popular among the business elite, hitting a 35.8% weekly reach. International news channels have a 30% weekly reach among Europe's business leaders.

Ipsos MediaCT's Business Elite Surveys will now be released annually from 2009, based on continuous fieldwork. Until now, the Asian and European fieldwork was undertaken at a specific period of time of year. Introducing continuous fieldwork in these regions will iron out seasonal fluctuations in media and product consumption and contribute towards maintaining the survey's reputation of quality and accuracy.

Simon Staplehurst, Director, Ipsos MediaCT, said:

160"The Business Elite Survey is the only study that currently focuses on the very top echelons of business in a robust and consistent way worldwide. By focussing on the true business elite it creates the benchmarks that best represent business purchase decision makers, as well as160 consumers of high end products like first and business class air travel, platinum credit cards, luxury watches and important corporate purchases".

Mette Petersen, Associate Director, Ipsos MediaCT, said:

"What we are seeing is a desire for richer sources of knowledge and business information drawn from print, television and online. The results this year paint a very revealing picture of the European business elite and offer some interesting insights to media planners, marketers and media buyers alike. The addition of questions digging into online media behaviour, most trusted sources and attitudes to work and home life helps us build an ever more detailed profile of this hard to reach but critical group".

Download the topline readership tables

Technical Note

The 17 countries in which individuals were surveyed were: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. The Central European survey adds in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.160