APPENDIX 28
Letter from the Head of Corporate Affairs
Gallaher Group Plc to the Clerk of the Committee (TB 8E)
During the evidence sessions of the Health Committee,
reference was made to an agency document and research carried
out amongst 15-24 year olds. Much was made of the "age 15"
point, I believe, without a full understanding of the research
referred to. I can further assist your committee by way of this
letter to set the record straight.
The research referred to is from the Target
Group Index (TGI) and is a proprietary product of the British
Market Research Bureau (BMRB).
TGI is a continuous survey that has been carried
out in Great Britain each year since 1969. It gathers data on
the use and purchase, by consumers, of over 4,000 brands, within
more than 500 product fields. Data on the readership of around
200 newspapers and magazines, weight of TV viewing, radio listenership
and attitudes to a raft of lifestyle issues are also collected.
The survey comprises completed questionnaires
from over 24,000 "adults aged 15-plus" (BMRB's definition).
Each respondent provides information on his or her use or purchase
of all major products, brands, and services. Respondents return
an extensive self-completion questionnaire that they are given
at the end of a 20-minute face-to-face interview. Respondents
are selected by a random location methodology.
TGI is bought by all advertising agencies in
Great Britain, its breadth of 500 product fields means it is relevant
to all accounts an agency handles—which is why BMRB cast
their net so widely.
The salient points to note are:
— BMRB is a market research agency,
part of the Kantar Group of companies, and has no direct links
to any of the manufacturers of the 500 products included in the
survey.
— No manufacturer to my knowledge has
any influence on the product categories included in the survey,
nor on the specific questions asked. As the questions are about
product and brand usage (and are of the type "Do you")
it is hard to imagine how or why any influence could be brought
to bear.
— BMRB define adults as 15+, I am unable
to shed any light as to where this definition comes from.
— There are no filters on any of the
questions by age—so everybody is asked about cars, drinks,
tobacco, credit cards, loans, driving licences, mortgages etc,
which all have some age related boundaries. I imagine BMRB believe,
given that the questionnaire is self-completion and therefore
they are not in a position to police which questions are answered
by whom, it is simply easier to ask all questions of all people.
— TGI is used by advertising/media
agencies to gain a broad understanding of consumers and as part
of the media planning process—eg, if you are trying to communicate
with certain product/brand users, which publications are the most
cost effective at reaching that target. I am sure that our agencies
use TGI when compiling media schedules for our brands (they do
so for all other clients), but we work within a strictly regulated
code of advertising practice which, amongst other matters, contains
a proscribed list of publications. TGI is used within these confines.
— The Government-funded Central Office
of Information (COI) will through their advertising agencies use
TGI. Indeed their current anti-smoking campaign and associated
media strategy will almost certainly have TGI analyses as part
of the process.
I hope this is useful to you. I attach a copy
of all product fields covered by TGI[34].
As ever, if I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate
to contact me.
9 February 2000
34 Not printed. Back
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