• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 13, 2010

With a new generation of e-reader devices transforming the media landscape, and more consumers opting for digital editions of magazines, publishers and advertisers are scrambling to understand the how, why, when and who of e-reader use. Responding to this demand, Affinity is working on a new e-readership survey which will be incorporated into its American magazine survey print audience measurement service.  

The new Affinity survey component, due to launch in the spring of 2011, will quantify the audience delivery of a magazine's digital properties, covering all kinds of digital readership, including on Web sites, smartphones, e-readers, social networks, PC tablet computers and Apple's iPad.

Affinity said this data (available through its MagPlan print planning system) will enable subscribers to the AMS service to calculate the total non-duplicated delivery of a magazine's brand.

Starcom USA is the first agency to partner with Affinity on the new service, according to the research firm. Brenda White, Starcom USA's senior vice president and publishing activation director, states: "Affinity's AMS e-Readership Survey provides another layer of accountability that will enable Starcom to plan and buy cross-platform campaigns... and develop a multifaceted understanding of peoples' experiences with digital magazine campaigns."

While research on e-readership is in its genesis, some initial findings from Affinity rival GfK MRI suggest the rise of e-reader devices, in particular, is good news for magazine publishers.

In June GfK, MRI released results from its Survey of the American Consumer showing consumers who own e-readers have a very attractive demographic profile. They are 111% more likely than the average U.S. adult to have a household income of $100,000 or more and 159% more likely to have a post-graduate degree. They are also 28% more likely to be between the ages of 35 and 44.

According to a presentation to the Magazine Publishers of America technology conference by Martin Kon, head of global media and entertainment for Oliver Wyman, e-reader owners are receptive to the idea of paying for subscriptions to digital editions of magazines.

Wyman predicts that 40 million color tablets will be in use by 2014 -- a huge increase from GfK MRI's present figure of 2.8 million.