Demographic and psychographic information

Vivintel (formely Vividata)

Vivintel is an excellent source of Canadian marketing information, based on a survey of print and digital media exposure, product usage, and lifestyles.

Start with the online Vivintel, which can be searched from off-campus. Using the Cross Table tool, you can build tables that answer questions such as:

Are Canadian Geographic readers more likely to care about a car’s fuel efficiency than readers of Elle Canada?
Are frequent gardeners likely to be open to trying new food products?
Are readers of Zoomer Magazine or Elle Canada magazine more likely to sell their house in the next 12 months?

Vivintel, the new interface for a database previously known as Vividata, is in a beta stage of its development, with significant changes expected throughout 2025. For more information on how to use Vivintel and interpret tables, please see the Beta Vivintel Guide.

Older resources related to the older Vividata interface:

Introduction to Vividata (Fall 2023)
Video version: Introduction to Vividata (courtesy of Conestoga College Library) *Please note that while this video helps explains some helpful concepts, the interface it shows is quite outdated and some features (such as product-specific data) is no longer available.
Vividata Advanced Guide
Vividata survey methodology and general topic coverage
List of psychographic statements (Spring 2022)
List of publications measured (Fall 2023)

If you want to cite Vivintel information, see the SFU Library Citation Guide for Business Sources (APA style).

SimplyAnalytics

Using SimplyAnalytics you can create maps, reports, or rankings of Canadian psychographic information, using PRIZM data from Environics Analytics. Their PRIZM system classifies Canadians into one of several unique lifestyle segments, with names like "Arts & Affluence" and "Urban Digerati".

Use the PRIZM5 dataset for the most recent (2015 and later) data. Some categories have been slightly revised from the earlier PRIZM C2 dataset, which provides data from 2010-2014. To view a detailed description of a specific lifestyle segment or cluster, click the name of the cluster and select "View metadata" from the menu that pops up. Data sheets provide information on "who they are", "how they think", and "where they live".

Additional Resources for SimplyAnalytics:

Find top PRIZM5 segments in a geographic area [guide]
Create a Combination Location [guide] - shows how to create a customized geographic area for analysis

You can view a workshop on SimplyAnalytics and audience research below. Created for PUB 375, this video should give you a head-start in navigating this tool.

Statista

Statista provides a one-stop shop for statistics and reports related to a wide range of industries, including Publishing. Their "Consumer Insights" reports provide demographic and psychographic information on Canadian consumers of various products and services, which may be useful for researching your target audience. There are also many r eports related to the media industry, such as "Podcast Readers in Canada," "Magazines: The Hockey News Readers in Canada," and "Online Magazines: National Geographic Readers in Canada."

The data in these reports comes from Statista's own Consumer Insights Global Survey, but many other statistics available in the database are aggregated from publicly-available sources. Make sure to always check the source information, so that you can track down the original source which may include more details and context.

For other Publishing-related statistics, check out the "Books & Publishing" section within Statista, or try some keyword searches for your specific topic of interest.

Other demographic and statistical information

Governmental sources

Statistics Canada
The premier source for Canadian Statistics. Choose the Browse by Subject option to find statistical tables and analytical publications about population, education, culture, etc. Much of the time there isn't a breakdown by age, so start with Vividata first.

BC Stats
Provides the "provincial government's largest concentration of statistical products, services and expertise." Choose either the "B.C. Data Catalogue" or the "Statistics" tab at the top to browse through various categories.

U.S Census Bureau
Can be useful if there is no equivalent Canadian information.

Non-governmental sources

Best customers: demographics of customer demand and Household spending: Who spends how much on what
Two annual ebooks with data on the demographics of consumers in the United States. Data is taken from the Consumer Expenditure Survey of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tip: You can search across older volumes of both texts at the same time in our Gale New Strategist US Consumer publications.

The American marketplace: demographics and spending patterns
An online journal with useful (if American) articles about target markets.

FP markets, Canadian demographics [print]
Contains data on income, population, PSYTE clusters and more, on a federal, provincial and municipal level; but it stopped publication in 2012.

Business Source Complete
A useful database for finding articles about particular audiences or target markets, consumer behaviour, readers, etc. Much of the content has an American focus.

CBCA Complete and CBCA Fulltext Business
Canadian-focused databases, useful for finding articles about consumer behaviour and potential markets.

Advertising information

General resources

CARD Online (Canadian Advertising Rates and Data)
Search the 'Magazines' category, and for online magazines use the 'Digital' category. Online advertising rates are rarely available. Sometimes there is information on website traffic.

dMAC Specifications
Digital Magazine Advertising Canadian Specifications from Magazines Canada.

The Ad pages [print]
"Vancouver's advertising and marketing resource guide" contains print media rates and circulation, and includes local printers, suppliers, etc.

Association of Magazine Media (US)

Alliance for Audited Media (US) formerly Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).
Most of their data is only available to members, but some topline data on total circulation is available for free through their Media Intelligence Center. The site also includes some Canadian titles under the CARD classification, but more detailed data is available from our CARD Online database.

SRDS Consumer Media Advertising Source
Available in-house at all Vancouver Public Library locations, and provides "directory information and media rates for US print, digital, magazine, and website listings."

Plunkett's advertising & branding industry almanac
Contains some publishing-related general trends and projections.

The #AmReading series by Booknet Canada covers the demographics, behaviour, and buying preferences of the average book-buying social media user on Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest
Facebook's advertising page
Twitter's ad page
Google's ad page
Pinterest's advertising standards

Business plans

Basics of financial management : a handbook for Canadian magazines [print]
The Small magazine handbook series has books on advertising, management, and financial issues, all brought out by Magazines Canada
Business plans handbooks series has examples of real business plans from entrepreneurs in various small industries. Sample search: Publisher
Small Business BC also has sample business plans and related resources
Some useful books could be found through a keyword search in the Library catalogue for writing business plans