MidBritain - Insight into the UK's Superconsumers

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We believed that the idea of a group of individuals that are old-fashioned, narrow-minded and conservative - is wrong, outdated and perhaps even offensive.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).

The MidBritain Panel

This research has merely whet our appetite for more. That’s why the MidBritain panel was launched in March 2008 in conjunction with BMRB. This panel, which has been accepted industry-wide as a proven research methodology, enables us to develop further insights into the attitudes and behaviours of this important segment of Britain.

The brief overview of this panel is as follows:

• 5000 MidBritain panellists consisting of 2,000 non-readers and 3,000 readers (Daily Mail read in the last month, The Mail on Sunday Readers read within the last 3 months)
• Data weighted based on TGI
• Online/ secure web based portal
• Survey length of 20 minutes
• Incentive of a prize fund of £64K a year
• A charity donation per survey

This panel provides a targeted, cost-effective and robust way of conducting investigative and in-depth research into the minds, attitudes and behaviours of MidBritons, all at a moment’s notice.