At the end of September, the Gesellschaft für integrierte Kommunikationsforschung (Society for Integrated Communication Research, or GIK) published its ‘best for planning’ (b4p) market media study for the tenth time. Germany’s largest and most comprehensive market media study provides an in-depth look at user’s current behaviour in terms of media usage and consumer behaviour.

b4p 2022 offers a particularly large number of innovations in its anniversary year. In the area of markets, brands and industries, the ‘new technologies’ segment is receiving an elevated level of attention. This segment initially highlighted data on the usage behaviour regarding foldable smartphone/notebook displays, balcony power plants and wallboxes for charging e-vehicles. New criteria regarding smartphone purchases and the attitude towards the 5G standard were also identified.

On top of that, the study also offers the latest insights into German’s holiday habits, which are currently undergoing radical change. In this context, the study newly inquired into things such as travel bookings and travel security. Ecological aspects concerning the purchase of cleaners and detergents as well as the use of natural, vegan or pharmaceutical cosmetics can also now be measured. The b4p also offers new lists of eyeglass provider and health App brands.

Along with the topics ‘media’ and ‘markets’, the b4p also maps out the topic ‘people’ in detail and provides new insights. Society changes despite the high level of continuity that abounds in it as regards consumer-driven attitudes, psychography and demographics. In order to properly map out these societal changes, topics such as foreign and native languages as well as data on the implementation of flexible and mobile working models during the pandemic were inquired into and analysed. One of the new findings of the analyses is the construct type ‘opinion-shapers’, which accounts for almost 14 per cent of the German population – or rather, ten million people.

The five media companies Axel Springer, Bauer Media Group, Funke, Gruner Jahr and Hubert Burda Media have joined forces under the umbrella of the Gesellschaft für integrierte Kommunikationsforschung (GIK). They jointly operate the cross-media market media studies best for planning (b4p) and best for tracking (b4t) to provide clients and market partners with data to plan their advertising and to analyse the use of advertising media.