Recent reader research BK-information

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This year BK-informatie is celebrating its 40th year. We thought that this was an appropriate time to conduct research among our subscribers. What do they think of BK-informatie, what are their needs, what do they want to retain and what do they want to change?

In the fall of 2017, we asked consulting firm LAgroup to conduct a survey of our readers. They did so via an online survey. The results are now out and we are happy to share them with our readers.
The online survey was sent to 2,000 subscribers whose e-mail addresses were known to us. Of these, a quarter completed the questionnaire in full. A good response rate! We would like to thank all respondents for taking the time to complete the questionnaire. The results will lead to a better trade magazine in the future.

Who are the respondents?

Respondents who completed the questionnaire have subscribed to BK information for an average of 16 years; shortest one month and longest 40 years - that is, from the beginning.

The average age of the respondents is relatively high, partly explained by the fact that the average age of subscribers to trade magazines is, as a rule, relatively high. The results of the survey should therefore be viewed in light of that relatively high age of respondents. Three quarters of respondents are over 50 and 2% of respondents are under 30. Unfortunately, because the younger generation is underrepresented, nothing can be said about, for example, the difference in the media behavior of millennials and that of older generations.

Almost half of the respondents live in North and South Holland and almost none live in Flevoland, Friesland and Zeeland. A third of all respondents live in the four major cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht.

The target group consists mainly of visual artists: of all respondents, 85% work as professional visual artists and almost 20% work (also) as teachers. Of the respondents, 81% work independently and more than half of the respondents work independently full-time.

BK information is primarily informational

The strongest association with BK-information is "informative. The majority of respondents see BK-information, in line with the magazine's name, as an informative magazine focused on visual art and artists. 85% (completely) agree with the statement "BK Information is interesting because it is primarily informative," and without BK Information, two-thirds of respondents would be less informed about visual art.

In addition to being informative, the ads also score high. As many as 90% of respondents said they view them, and 82% always or regularly view the ads.

Of the different types of advertisements, contests, entries and commissions are rated as the most interesting. In addition, advertisements about exhibitions, grants/funds and artist-in-residencies are mentioned the most.

Most respondents read certain sections, with articles on developments in the visual arts and culture sector scoring highest, followed by the sections Domestic and Foreign. The section Visual Arts in Public Space and the artist column are also well rated.

A quarter of the respondents feel that certain topics are underexposed in the magazine. From the multitude of suggestions we mention a few: earning and participation opportunities, (new) art (developments) and information about the daily practice of visual artists.

The full article appeared in BK Information #2, 2018

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