WHITE
PAPER


JULY
2010



 1

 



 


Reaching
Catholics
with
Targeted
Media
Planning


It’s
vitally
important
in
media
planning
and
buying
that
you
target
your
audience
and

determine
the
right
media
market
for
your
message.

The
very
first
step
in
the
process
is
to

understand
the
concentration
of
American
Catholics
in
a
given
region.

For
purposes
of
this

informational
document,
we
researched
populations
up
and
down
the
eastern
seaboard.


According
to
the
National
Opinion
Research
Center
at
the
University
of
Chicago,
the
Catholic

share
of
the
U.S.
adult
population
has
held
fairly
steady
at
just
under
25%
in
recent
decades.




 2

 


What
this
seeming
stability
obscures,
however,
is
the
large
number
of
people
who
have
left

the
Catholic
Church.

Approximately
one
third
of
the
survey
respondents
who
say
they
were

raised
in
the
Catholic
faith
no
longer
describe
themselves
as
Catholic.

These
numbers
seem

to
illustrate
that
roughly
10%
of
all
Americans
consider
themselves
as
former
Catholics.


Research
shows,
however,
that
these
losses
have
been
partly
offset
by
the
approximately

2.6%
of
the
adult
population
who
have
changed
their
affiliation
to
Catholicism.


Another

factor
that
has
assisted
in
keeping
the
steady
percentage
is
the
disproportionately
high

percentage
of
Catholics
among
immigrants
to
the
U.S.

These
two
variables
have
played
a
key

role
in
keeping
the
overall
percentage
of
the
population
that
identifies
as
Catholic
fairly

stable.

(Source:

Pew
Research
2010)



 3

Many
assumptions
have
been
made
about
the
concentration
of
Catholics
in
certain
regions

and
cities.

However,
the
Pew
Research
Study
has
determined
that
one
of
the
highest
areas
of

concentration
is
in
the
Northeast
with
39%
of
the
area’s
population
made
up
of
Catholics.


Although
this
number
is
quite
high,
there
are
two
areas
along
the
eastern
seaboard
that
are

even
higher.

Those
areas
are
Connecticut/Rhode
Island
with
43%
concentration
and
New

Jersey
with
42%.


Surprisingly,
the
Washington,
DC/Maryland
area
has
a
much
lower

concentration
coming
in
at
just
18%.






There
are
many
areas
to
consider
in
an
effort
to
target
Catholics
on
the
east
coast.

Below
we

have
profiled
several
regions.


Market
Snapshots
(Source
Wikipedia,
2000
US
Census
)


Providence,
Rhode
Island
(Connecticut/Rhode
Island)


Providence
is
the
capital
and
most
populous
city
in
Rhode
Island.

The
Providence

metropolitan
area,
which
includes
Providence,
Fall
River,
Massachusetts
and
Warwick
has

an
estimated
population
of
1,622,520.

In
2006,
this
area
was
officially
added
to
the
Boston

Combined
Statistical
Area
(CSA),
the
fifth
largest
CSA
in
the
country.

(What
this
means
for
a

media
plan
is
that
you
have
the
ability
to
capture
the
Boston
Metro
at
a
much
reduced
rate.)


In
the
last
fifteen
years,
Providence
has
experienced
a
sizable
growth
in
its
population
age

group
of
those
under
18.

This
growth
has
been
attributed
to
the
influx
of
Hispanics.

The

median
age
in
the
city
is
28
years
although
the
largest
age
group
is
actually
those
between

the
ages
of
20
and
24.



 4

 


DC
Metro
(includes
Northern
Virginia
and
parts
of
Maryland)


Northern
Virginia
consists
of
several
counties
and
independent
cities
in
the
state
of
Virginia

generally
radiating
southerly
and
westward
from
Washington,
DC.

The
area
is
the
most

diverse
in
terms
of
both
the
number
of
ethnic
groups
and
nationalities
represented.

It
also

is
the
highest
income
region
in
Virginia
with
six
of
the
twenty
highest
income
counties
in
the

nation.

As
of
2006,
the
census
estimates
over
2,
432,000
people
in
Northern
Virginia.

This

number
is
approximately
32%
of
the
state’s
population.




Montgomery
County,
Maryland,
one
of
the
most
affluent
counties
in
the
country,
is
situated

just
north
of
Washington,
DC
and
southwest
of
Baltimore.

The
recorded
population
of
the

region
is
approximately
971,600.

In
addition
to
being
one
of
the
most
affluent
areas
in
the

nation,
it
also
has
the
highest
percentage
of
residents
over
25
years
of
age
who
hold
a
post

graduate
degree.



 5

 


New
Jersey


New
Jersey
lies
largely
within
the
sprawling
metropolitan
areas
of
New
York
City
and

Philadelphia
and
is
the
most
densely
populated
state
in
the
United
States.

The
population
in

July
2009
was
estimated
to
be
over
8,707,000
and
represents
an
increase
over
the
2000

census
of
268,000
or
3.2
percent.


According
to
the
2000
Census,
the
median
age
of
a
New

Jersey
resident
was
36.7
years
and
the
number
of
15
to
24
year
olds
in
the
area
was

measured
at
over
1,005,000.



 6

 


Having
a
specific
geography
and
defined
target
will
provide
a
better
budget
benchmark,

making
for
a
much
sounder
media
plan.



 7