Frequently Asked Questions

My link to this latest survey isn’t working?
Do I need to have Adobe Flash Player to take part in the surveys?
What do you do with survey results?
Are the prize draws all a big con?
How likely am I to win a prize?
Do you pass on any of my data to companies?
Who are the Urban Life Team?
Do you publish a list of prize draw winners every month?
Do you get paid for asking certain questions?
Why so many marketing/advertising questions? 
How do I change my details? 
The survey I am trying to access says it has timed out?
 
 

My link to this latest survey isn't working?

If you are unable to click on the link, please highlight the link, copy it and paste it into the address field of your Internet browser. Some of you might find the link is broken across two lines. If this happens try to reform the link by cutting and pasting the different lines into your browaer. if you continue to experience problems, please contact helpdesk@myurbanlife.comBack to top
 
Do I need to have Adobe Flash Player to take part in the surveys?
 
To ensure you are able to complete your surveys in the year (including the Registration survey) you will need to have version 9.0 or higher of the Adobe Flash Player installed on the computer you will use throughout the year. This technology is used to make the completion of the surveys a more interesting and interactive experience.

To check whether or not your computer has Flash installed, and what version please visit: http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/flashversion.html

If necessary, the latest version of the Flash Player can be downloaded for free from: www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

Accessing the survey using your iPad: Unfortunately, Apple iPads don’t currently support Flash. Therefore, you will not be able to access the registration survey or the surveys across the year. Please try the surveys on a device that supports Flash Player.

Please remember the computer you are using to register with may not be the one you use to complete your surveys during the year. Back to top

 
What do you do with survey results?
 
Urban Life results are used in two main ways. Firstly, to provide the inspiration for editorial articles and features that appears in Metro. Secondly, results are used by our commercial team to fathom what kind of lifestyles readers lead and the brands consumed most often by young, urban professionals. You can see in the Press Cuttings section of the website a selection of the articles written using Urban Life results. We also post result highlights on the website - the results from the previous wave will be available for you to view after you have completed each main survey. Back to top
 
 
Are the prize draws all a big con?
 
We can assure you that prize draws run after every main Urban Life survey and take place amongst all of you who have filled in that month's main survey by the given deadline. All our prize draws are managed by our research company Kantar Media, one of the largest research organisations in Europe. Prize draws are conducted anonymously with winners randomly selected according to strict guidelines set down by the Market Research Society (which is like a consumer Watchdog, but for the research industry). Back to top
 
How likely am I to win a prize?
 
There were 4,643 Urban Life members in 2010. In total we gave away 2,210 HMV vouchers worth £20 each. Additionally we gave 6 x £1,000 cheques, one for each main survey, and the final prize of £5,000.

There were 360 16-17 year old Urban Life members in 2010 as well, who had a separate prize pot. Back to top

 
Do you pass on any of my data to companies? 
 

We never pass any of your personal details on to any persons, companies or organisations. When we get the aggregated data from each survey from Kantar Media, we are not given your name or email address alongside the results. The only time we will see your name or email address is when we are sent the contact details of the prize draw winners. This information is sent separately from the survey results. So rest assured, if you have confessed to any crimes or sins during Urban Life, then they are safe with us (or more precisely, safe with Kantar Media who have encrypted them). Back to top

 
Who are the Urban Life Team? 
 
There are four of us from Metro managing the Urban Life project. Kenny Campbell, the editor of Metro, you know already. Urban Life's project is run on a day to day basis by Gemma Hardy and Andrew Murphy. Katharine King, Metro Research Director, oversees the project. Euan Mackay, Reshma Harjani, and Karen Alexander work for Kantar Media, our Urban Life research partner, and ensure the project runs smoothly and complies with MRS (Market Research Society) guidelines. We also work with Tim Griffiths and Adele Beesley from Join the Dots (formerly Virtual Surveys) (another research partner), who will be running certain surveys throughout the year.

If you should win a prize during the year, James Brinkler and Jamie Gough at Yarrington Ltd will send you an email with your prize. Back to top

 
Do you publish a list of prize draw winners every month?
 
Under the Market Research Society's guidelines and the Data Protection Act, we are actually not allowed to publish the names of the members who have won prizes without their permission. However, if we do have permission, we do publish information about the prize winners each month and the grand prize winner at the end of the year. So if you have won a prize and would like to tell others about it - please feel free! Back to top
 
Do you get paid for asking certain questions? 
 
We never charge anyone for putting questions on to an Urban Life survey. As such, there's no such thing as a "sponsored" question on Urban Life. We do not make any money from selling questions. This is one of the key things that sets Urban Life apart from most other surveys: it is highly accessible and it is free. Back to top
 
Why so many marketing/advertising questions? 
 
As a free newspaper, Metro is completely funded by advertising revenue. To justify the existence of Urban Life, we need to demonstrate that we are helping our advertisers better understand the "Urbanite" audience they reach by advertising in Metro. To do this we need to understand the brands you consume and the advertising that sticks in your mind, hence the number of questions about advertising in our surveys. As mentioned in the answer to question 4, we never "sell" brand-specific questions and so do not make any money directly from them. However, by offering our advertisers free insights we do strengthen our commercial relationships with them, which in some cases has resulted in new advertising business for Metro. Back to top
 
How do I change my details? 
 
If you would like to change any of the details you have provided us with, you will have the opportunity to do this at the end of every main survey. Alternatively you can email helpdesk@myurbanlife.com,who will be happy to do this for you. Back to top
 
The survey I am trying to access says it has timed out? 
 
This can sometimes happen as when the server is very busy. Please try and come back to the survey in 15 minutes or so. If you continue to experience this problem, please contact helpdesk@myurbanlife.com Back to top
 
 
 
If you have any other questions which we have not answered above, please feel free to email helpdesk@myurbanlife.com