The Publisher Research Council (PRC) says that insights from the Establishment Survey (ES) show that people who read, generally earn around 50% more their non-reading counterparts, across the entire spectrum of society. #ReadToEarn
“Don’t count the people you reach, reach the people who count,” says Peter Langschmidt, consultant to the PRC.
According to statistics pulled from ES, only one third of South Africans read*. However this percentage grows the higher one moves up the SEM (Socio-Economic Measure) scale. In the SEM 8-10 segment, the majority read. Reach for print media (newspapers and magazines) by SEM increases significantly from 18% (SEM 1) to nearly 60% in SEM 10,
READERS vs NON-READER REACH BY SEM
According to Langschmidt, “Adspend and ratings should follow money and sales, not absolute numbers of people. Do you read because you are prosperous or do the prosperous read? Actually the two are inextricably linked as it’s almost impossible for the ‘unread’ to get ahead in life, or even a job for that matter. How else do people advance or gain information about the world?”
The numbers show that while only two in ten South African households fall within the SEM 8-10 category, they earn six times more than SEM 1-4 and they have half the money that is available to buy products and services.
HOUSEHOLD vs AVG INCOME
The ES conclusively shows that the more one reads the more one earns. The exact opposite is true for radio, the more one listens, the less one earns.
“The simple fact remains, readers are more educated, about 50% better off than non readers financially, more aware, better informed, early adopters, influencers and business decision makers,” concludes Langschmidt. “To reiterate – don’t count the people you reach, reach the people who count!”
For additional information and research on reading and the full READ presentation, visit www.prc.za.com.
*SOURCE: ES 6 months ended Dec 2016. Past Month cumulative readers of Newspapers or Magazines vs. those who have not read any Newspapers or Magazines.