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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

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

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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. Has reading TimberLines ever prompted you to do the following?

13. How useful are each of the following TimberLines articles?

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Questions?