Epsom: profiling NZ’s most controversial electorate   21 Aug 2014

Epsom: profiling NZ’s most controversial electorate

Welcome to the wealthy inner Auckland electorate of Epsom: home of coat-tailing, the Tea Tapes, a convicted outgoing MP... and heavy newspaper and magazine readership.

Electorate research conducted by Roy Morgan between the 2011 election and April this year shows that electors in Epsom—the one held by the ACT Party with National’s endorsement—are more likely than the average Kiwi to read metropolitan newspapers or magazines, use the internet, listen to the radio or go to the cinema—but less likely to watch television, or read community newspapers, unaddressed mail or catalogues.

The majority of general voters in Epsom read at least four newspaper editions a week: over a third (34%) are ‘Heavy’ newspaper consumers, reading at least seven editions (excluding community newspapers) per week, with a further 24% reading between four and six editions.

Nearly half the Epsom electorate (45%) reads the latest issues of least five magazines, compared with just 28% of all New Zealand’s general electors. Most electors in Epsom (55%) watch less than two hours of television per day on average, including the 8% who watch none at all.

% of General Electors with Heavy, Medium, Light or None media consumption habits

Although the majority of electors in Epsom (53%) read a community newspaper in the last seven days, this is well short of the 66% nationally.

An important point for parties and candidates wishing to target these voters via direct leaflets is that 45% of Epsom’s electors say they do not read any unaddressed mail in an average week. A similar proportion use the internet over 15 hours a week (44%) or go to the cinema at least twice in an average three month period (45%).

Pip Elliot, General Manager New Zealand – Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Roy Morgan’s Electorate Profiles can provide parties and candidates with a greater understanding of voters’ media habits down to an electorate level. Although many media decisions are made at the national level, it is imperative that local branches fine-tune their campaigns to make sure their messages reach voters, and that those targeted messages communicate about what is most important in that area.

“Just recently launched in New Zealand, Roy Morgan’s Helix Personas segmentation tool gives real insight into the minds of voters across the country. Helix users can examine the make-up of a specific area, or determine which types of Kiwis are more or less inclined to vote for which parties—and why.

“Well over a third of Epsom’s electors, for example, are in either the Bluechip or Smart Money persona, both within the Leading Lifestyles community. Highly educated and highly paid, these mid-life home-owning professionals are charitable and care about social issues such as education and the environment, but believe a strong economy is a fundamental necessity. For them, success is always attainable—and so they believe it is for everybody willing to put in the hard yards.”

Read this release in full on our website.

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