• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 8, 2008

Just as the national audience measurement marketplace appears to be growing less competitive, the supply of local media research appears to be expanding. Mediamark Research Inc., long the magazine industry's standard for readership estimates, is rolling out local market versions of its studies on the media, lifestyle and product purchasing behavior of U.S. consumers. That puts MRI in direct competition with local market audience research suppliers such as Scarborough Research, a joint venture of Nielsen Co., and Arbitron, and The Media Audit (TMA), and comes as Scarborough also has announced plans to expand the number of markets it provides local media audience estimates for.

The moves are significant from both a media planning and buying standpoint, because, much the way MRI is the currency of national magazine advertising buys, Scarborough and TMA have long been the dominant sources of local newspaper and local radio advertising buys.

But unlike Scarborough and TMA, which currently provide data for only about 80 U.S. media markets, MRI is now offering the equivalent of its national consumer database in all 205 markets, or what the industry refers to as "designated market areas" (DMA).

MRI collects its information via two massive, semi-annual surveys of American consumers totaling 52,000 personal interviews each year. The data has long been Madison Avenue's de facto source for magazine advertising buys, though the magazine industry has recently indicated that it plans to push for a new standard. Advertisers and agencies also use MRI's data to plan, buy and evaluate advertising across a wide berth of national media.

The new DMA-level MRI research will provide the same information at the local level, including so-called "single-source" information about how consumer media habits relate to product purchasing and various lifestyle and attitudes. The MRI studies are capable of reporting information on nearly 6,000 product and service brands across 550 categories.

The rollout comes as Scarborough has announced its own plans to expand beyond the 81 "top" and "mid-tier" markets it currently measures. TMA's Web site currently lists coverage of 83 U.S. media markets.

MRI's local market rollout also comes as the national media audience measurement market undergoes significant shifts. On Monday, Nielsen Co., announced plans to acquire IAG Research for $225 million, a move that follows the settlement of a federal antitrust suite with another potential competitor, erinMedia (see related story in today's MediaDailyNews).

MRI's local market expansion also comes as the magazine industry has indicated plans to develop a new industry currency based on "readership." Details of the plan, which were the result of a comprehensive study by management consultant McKinsey & Co., have not been disclosed, but the Magazine Publishers of America indicated that its members are seeking a way of generating more frequent, issue-specific readership data. That would imply an alternative to what MRI currently provides, and suggest that the MPA would likely issue a request for proposed alternatives to MRI's current system. Logical players to participate in that request would be old-time MRI rival, Simmons Market Research Bureau, Scarborough, TMA, and a range of more focused magazine audience researchers such as Monroe Mendelsohn Research, which was recently acquired by global research giant Ipsos.

According to executives familiar with the MPA's plans, the trade group has also held periodic discussions with Nielsen Co. exploring the potential of new magazine audience measurement research, but no specific proposals are believed to be on the table.