Early in 2007, we made the decision to rigorously research and redefine the traditional notion of ‘Middle England.’ We believed that the idea of a group of individuals that are old-fashioned, narrow-minded and conservative - is wrong, outdated and perhaps even offensive. So we devised a new more representative, contemporary term for this key group – MidBritain.
Throughout this process, we discovered, among other things, that MidBritain is made up of diverse, well-educated, brand aware, powerful, influential, technologically savvy and politically minded individuals. They account for 47% of the UK population and are responsible for 51% of all consumer spending. In other words, these are not the kind of people who should be ignored or marginalized.
It hasn’t been easy. The research required to arrive at the definition of MidBritain was an exhaustive, rigorous and ultimately ground-breaking process. In order to paint a clear and succinct picture, we relied on a multi-faceted research process comprised of a mixture of in-depth qualitative techniques supported by robust industry-standard quantitative data. This initial research was and continues to be a part of an iterative process with each stage serving to inform and influence the direction of future studies.
Our initial research involved:
- 12 UK-wide focus groups consisting of 120 respondents in total, covering the attitudes, values, media and brand use of MidBritain.
- An in-depth ethnography study led by research specialist Gutsy which involved seven respondents, recruited via on street vox-pops followed by at least two days of immersion, further supplemented by video diaries. Over 20 days of footage was incorporated into our findings presentation.
- A continuous quantitative test and validation process via CACI and TGI.
- Five ACORN groups - wealthy executives, affluent greys, flourishing families, secure families or settled surburbia - used to define MidBritain, a definition validated by CACI. (Please see attachment below for more information on ACORN groups).
How do we continuously track MidBritons' attitudes to the economy and politics
MidBritain is reseached via Associated Newspapers' UK Represetative Panel. The panel was re-launched in June 2009 to enable us to understand insights into the attitudes and behaviours UK for strategic and advertising use. Having UK representative panel enables us to understand non readers in depth and allows us to benchmark our readers, this is a media first.
Brief Overview of Panel
- Total Number of Panellists: 10,000 Panellists
- UK Representative
- Data weighted based on NRS
- Methodology: Online/ secure web based portal
- Response rate: 20%
- Questionnaire length: 20-25mins
- Research Agency: Kantar Media
