News International revamps database of 2m readers

by Jules Grant,, Brand Republic 13-Aug-04, 07:00

LONDON – News International, publisher of The Times, Sunday Times, News of the World and The Sun, is updating its reader database to maximise awareness and drive tests and sales.

The media giant's list holds information about 2.25m readers of its daily and Sunday titles who have responded to competitions and returned surveys.

Women dominate the News International list, making up 60% of the names. Most people on the list are over 35 years old.

Holistic, owned by the Preference Service, won the brief from Consodata-owned RFM.

Holistic has added selections to the file such as pet ownership, children's ages, music, car brands, charities, holidays, interests, income and date of birth to make the data more specific.

It had previously been divided into two sections: The Times and The Sunday Times in one, and The Sun and The News of the World in the other, each with a different target market.

Colin Grieves, the commercial development director at News International Enterprise, said: "Holistic offers a very proactive approach to list management. This means it can maximise the return on investment from our large database of readers -- a database that is constantly growing.

"We are confident that, in the hands of Holistic, our data will be sold responsibly and profitably."

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