Urban life: research adventures in a changing world

In today’s world young, urban professionals form a desirable market for many brands and products. High incomes and spending power are often combined with brand consciousness and a tendency to early adoption in many markets. As such they frequently form the core of many marketing campaigns . Yet it is this very group who can be the hardest to reach through conventional advertising. Working long hours, establishing successful careers, combined with often active social lives, this group is rarely at home. They watch little TV, are selective in their media choice and in many Western economies have been the group least likely to adopt newspapers in the same way that previous generations did. Metro is a free newspaper targeted at this Urbanite population. Launched in 1999 in London it is distributed at Underground stations in the Capital during morning commuter time. Designed to suit busy travellers, it is written in a concise format covering just the facts without any political spin. Since 1999 the concept has been taken to a further 7 UK cities again distributed at key commuter points. Metro has been enormously successful in reaching the young, urban audience. It fits into their lifestyles and has successfully established a branding that reflects its audience. Within 4 years it has established a readership of 1.469 million across the seven cities covered.

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