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The Demographix Research Blog
Random thoughts from the team at demographix, keeping you up to date with what's new in the world of online research. Use the year and month links below to navigate the blog entries.
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November 2007 blog entries:
Now magazine scores PR success with Demographix data
12 Nov 2007 — IPC Media’s celebrity gossip and beauty tips weekly, Now magazine, has scored a thumping PR success with the results of a survey conducted using Demographix. The survey, of over 2000 women with an average age of 35, looked into their dieting habits and revealed some eye-catching results.
A story on Channel 4 News led on the fact that dieting often proves fruitless, saying: “Less than one in ten women who lose weight by dieting manage to keep it off, according to a new survey. Only 9% diet successfully while the remaining 91% put the fat back on and are doomed to a cycle of calorie counting for the rest of their lives.”
The more sensational misuse of drugs is what caught the eye of reporters at The Sun. Under the headline "It's diet coke for many women", it noted that: “One in six young British women claims they stay slim by taking cocaine or speed, a shocking poll has revealed.”
The Daily Mail also pointed out that other drugs, such as slimming pills, were also widely used by women desperate to match idealised body images. It said: “The survey, carried out by online analysts Demographix, found 37 per cent had taken slimming pills, 15 per cent had taken speed or cocaine and 26 per cent had used laxatives as slimming aids.”
The widespread coverage given to the survey results shows how the Now team knew what hot button issues the media is looking for, and also allowed them to position Now as a concerned observer.
Helen Johnston, Now’s editor, was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: “Sadly this survey shows once a woman starts on the path of fast faddy diets they become her companion until the day she dies. Body image is the female curse of the 21st century. Whatever a woman's achievements in life, her whole self-image is totally bound up in her body shape.”
At Demographix, we think this is one of the best examples we’ve seen of customers using survey results to maximise PR opportunities for their brands.
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