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 appear 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.
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 before the given deadline. All our prize draws are managed by our research company BMRB, 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).
What are the odds of winning a prize draw?
There were 4,706 Urban Life members in 2007. In total we gave away 2,530 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 cash. This number of prizes (2,537) gives each panellist ( 4,706) over a 50% chance of winning.
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 BMRB, we are not given your name or address alongside the results. The only time we will see your name or 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 BMRB who have encrypted them!).
Who are the Urban Life Team?
There are three 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 Paul Wood a research executive, while Katharine King is Urban Life's research director and oversees the project. Cathy O’Brien and Reshma Harjani work for BMRB, our Urban Life research partner, and ensures the project runs smoothly and complies with MRS (Market Research Society) guidelines.
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!
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.
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.
If you have any other questions which we have not answered above, please feel free to email helpdesk@myurbanlife.com
