Measuring Public Outreach

In the infrastructure planning process, the effective communication of information through media strategies is important in ensuring that the public is aware of and understands various infrastructure projects. To assess what media strategy is effective in involving the public, the information audience rate (IAR) was developed. This index shows the number of citizens who receive information released from government or planning authorities. Although the concept is the same as measuring the audience rate of television programs, IAR is a new and useful way to simultaneously evaluate several mass media sources. It is also applicable in planning a media strategy for different population groups. This case study, estimating the IAR of the Tokyo metropolitan area, illustrates how one group of suburban residents differs from another group–in this case, central business district (CBD) commuters and noncommuters. These groups represent two lifestyles: the CBD commuters tend to spend only nights and weekends in the suburbs. Of the 10 media considered, television and national newspaper columns had the highest IAR. The local newspaper column was effective for noncommuters, while the Internet and advertising posters in trains were effective for CBD commuters. Circulars and city bulletins were effective for both groups.