Comics UK

Harry, they do massive market research, for a start. People of all ages have been writing to DCT (and of course IPC etc) for decades - in fact, the world of e-mail probably makes it far easier.

Gilly, yes and no. BB's fairly in your face as a satire of big name footballers, I think the kids watch enough TV to get it every time (especially w/e 3/8/13 re transferring to the neighbours!)

Hmmmm maybe your right Andy.

I did wonder though especially with jokes like "no one made it in the game with a name like Gary or Alan".

WizzKid97 wrote:Point me in the right direction then please. I have no idea as of how to go about researching this topic.

I'm sure you've heard of Google and your local library? In addition, there are dozens of posts on this forum about the inside workings of the comics business, a little searching will give you information.

WizzKid97 wrote:Like I said, just explain to me how the editor is able to hear back from all of the readers then. I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about and you seem to know.

Only 'seem' to know? Dear me, I should have been blunter. There are many ways an editor finds out what his readers like. A regular Beano reader knows that there are surveys published from time to time in the comic, but what someone who works in publishing might know, and what someone who has only read The Beano for five years might not, is that publishers hold surveys in schools, have focus groups and conduct almost endless market research, gathering readership information in many ways. Prior to the internet, these were very satisfactory.

NP wrote:

WizzKid97 wrote:Point me in the right direction then please. I have no idea as of how to go about researching this topic.

I'm sure you've heard of Google and your local library? In addition, there are dozens of posts on this forum about the inside workings of the comics business, a little searching will give you information.

Don't be sarcastic with me. Of course I've heard of both of those, but it's very hard to find what you're specifically looking for on the internet. Besides, there's hardly a lot of links which would explain specifically how The Beano gets feedback from its readership.

NP wrote:

WizzKid97 wrote:Like I said, just explain to me how the editor is able to hear back from all of the readers then. I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about and you seem to know.

Only 'seem' to know? Dear me, I should have been blunter.

You should have taken that as a compliment. I'm not going to say you definitely know because you haven't explained it to me yet. Thus I can only guess from what I already know, so yes, I think I chose the right word there.

NP wrote:There are many ways an editor finds out what his readers like. A regular Beano reader knows that there are surveys published from time to time in the comic, but what someone who works in publishing might know, and what someone who has only read The Beano for five years might not, is that publishers hold surveys in schools, have focus groups and conduct almost endless market research, gathering readership information in many ways. Prior to the internet, these were very satisfactory.

I know they hold surveys in schools, but not in all schools. Only in selected schools, thus they're not reaching out to their full fanbase. Same with focus groups and market research, it's just finding out what selected individuals like. Surely they don't have these focus groups with every Beano reader between the ages of 8 and 11? Online surveys work far better as anyone can fill them out, that way The Beano can hear from every single reader rather than only those who have either contacted the editor or from things like focus groups and things.

WizzKid97 wrote:

NP wrote:

WizzKid97 wrote:Point me in the right direction then please. I have no idea as of how to go about researching this topic.

I'm sure you've heard of Google and your local library? In addition, there are dozens of posts on this forum about the inside workings of the comics business, a little searching will give you information.

Don't be sarcastic with me. Of course I've heard of both of those, but it's very hard to find what you're specifically looking for on the internet. Besides, there's hardly a lot of links which would explain specifically how The Beano gets feedback from its readership.

NP wrote:

WizzKid97 wrote:Like I said, just explain to me how the editor is able to hear back from all of the readers then. I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about and you seem to know.

Only 'seem' to know? Dear me, I should have been blunter.

You should have taken that as a compliment. I'm not going to say you definitely know because you haven't explained it to me yet. Thus I can only guess from what I already know, so yes, I think I chose the right word there.

NP wrote:There are many ways an editor finds out what his readers like. A regular Beano reader knows that there are surveys published from time to time in the comic, but what someone who works in publishing might know, and what someone who has only read The Beano for five years might not, is that publishers hold surveys in schools, have focus groups and conduct almost endless market research, gathering readership information in many ways. Prior to the internet, these were very satisfactory.

I know they hold surveys in schools, but not in all schools. Only in selected schools, thus they're not reaching out to their full fanbase. Same with focus groups and market research, it's just finding out what selected individuals like. Surely they don't have these focus groups with every Beano reader between the ages of 8 and 11? Online surveys work far better as anyone can fill them out, that way The Beano can hear from every single reader rather than only those who have either contacted the editor or from things like focus groups and things.

Wow.

NP wrote:Wow.

Thanks for that. Thanks for wasting my time with your sarcasm. Means a lot.

Harry, focus groups and surveys cannot possibly cover every school in the country. Each group can only cover a representative sample of social classes and school locations, but this is enough, especially when comparing data between focus groups where it is comparable (eg most schools across a particular group likes a proposed change, another group likes it when it is implemented) to extrapolate across the population.

The larger the sample size the better, but political opinion polls which cover hundreds across all social classes in a particular constituency are usually considered to be representative of the electorate in that area. See also RAJAR for radio station listening figures.

They will hold focus groups in different schools across the country at different times, but of course one of the criteria is that the Head Teacher has to agree to being involved. In addition, the most obvious statement is that there are thousands of Key Stage 2 schools in the UK. To cover all willing schools every time would be ruinously expensive and thus a ridiculous notion.

Online surveys have a problem of not necessarily being fully representative, as lower social classes might not have the same easy access to the internet, and it is therefore likely to be skewed against the lower class.

AndyB wrote:Harry, focus groups and surveys cannot possibly cover every school in the country. Each group can only cover a representative sample of social classes and school locations, but this is enough, especially when comparing data between focus groups where it is comparable (eg most schools across a particular group likes a proposed change, another group likes it when it is implemented) to extrapolate across the population.

The larger the sample size the better, but political opinion polls which cover hundreds across all social classes in a particular constituency are usually considered to be representative of the electorate in that area. See also RAJAR for radio station listening figures.

They will hold focus groups in different schools across the country at different times, but of course one of the criteria is that the Head Teacher has to agree to being involved. In addition, the most obvious statement is that there are thousands of Key Stage 2 schools in the UK. To cover all willing schools every time would be ruinously expensive and thus a ridiculous notion.

Online surveys have a problem of not necessarily being fully representative, as lower social classes might not have the same easy access to the internet, and it is therefore likely to be skewed against the lower class.

Thank you for actually bothering to explain the reasons behind it all unlike Nigel who thought it'd be funnier to be sarcastic and rude.

Obviously they can't cover every school as that would be ridiculous - it was just a point I tried to make to show that surveys work better. Couldn't they simply just put the surveys in the comic as a pull-out for one of those tall cover things? Then you can just post it to The Beano? I've seen surveys before which do that, including one in a 2010 issue of The Dandy Xtreme which I actually filled out and posted to The Dandy Editor.

Sure they probably won't get feedback from every reader, but they'd certainly get a lot of feedback and it would mean the older readers (who still matter) to also fill in the survey. That way they can adjust the comic to fit the majority's feedback (or leave it the same if that proves popular).

They do put surveys in the comics, to an extent that they used not to beyond "name your top three stories", but focus groups and school surveys have the considerable benefit that by implication they reach people who aren't reading the Beano and other DCT titles and can be persuaded to try them.

Focussing on current readers who have always had well-signposted ways of making their views known to the comics neglects that possibility, and from experience, publishers like DCT are very willing to take good opportunities for promotion to new readers (including my wedding!)

The views expressed by the KS2 kids will always trump our views, although there is probably a certain hierarchy for those outside the target age (parents who know what their kids would love, for example, and younger people closer to the target age like you, Harry, over a 40-year old without kids like me!)

I believe Nigel's point is that all of this is common knowledge and practice. I was myself baffled by what you were proposing.

AndyB wrote:I believe Nigel's point is that all of this is common knowledge and practice. I was myself baffled by what you were proposing.

What I was proposing about all of the schools being surveyed wasn't a serious point, I know it's ridiculous to think that could happen. My point I'm trying to make is that an online survey (which would also appear in the comic) would allow The Beano to get back more feedback from people than surveying selected schools.

WizzKid97 wrote:

AndyB wrote:I believe Nigel's point is that all of this is common knowledge and practice. I was myself baffled by what you were proposing.

What I was proposing about all of the schools being surveyed wasn't a serious point, I know it's ridiculous to think that could happen. My point I'm trying to make is that an online survey (which would also appear in the comic) would allow The Beano to get back more feedback from people than surveying selected schools.

The problem with an online survey is that you need to know about it to take part. And therein lies the nub of the problem. To get feedback you need to spend money, but you need the feedback to know where to spend the money!

WizzKid97 wrote:Thank you for actually bothering to explain the reasons behind it all unlike Nigel who thought it'd be funnier to be sarcastic and rude.

If you spent less time taking umbrage and more time reading what I had posted instead of mis-reading it, you would be spending your valuable time much more productively.

Someone (NP?) mentioned the 3 favourite strips box that used to appear in comics, which were actually pretty useless at the end of the day. Only a tiny minority of readers actually wrote in, the majority not being quite so invested in having a say. I remember one sub-editor admitting to me that they had to make letters up because they often got so few of them. Basing the content of a comic on such a smell sample of preferences (which are probably not representative) may well do far more harm than good.

That was me on the three strips thing. I never filled one in, but I did win a Rogue Trooper mug from Tharg during Wilderlands.

The difference is that getting out to schools and finding out what people tell you to your researchers' faces will do much more, including increased awareness. Three favourite strips and surveys for readers only tell you what a section of the current readership like, not what the potential readership would like - and as more readers leave the target market or stop buying for any other reason, they need to be replaced for a comic to have any future.

That's the problem with programme's like Radio 4's 'Any Answers' - it only tends to reflect the opinions of the type of people who listen to programmes like that!

- Phil R.