As anyone who has attended a production industry confab can attest, your typical English-Canadian producer is male, over 40 years of age, has been in the business for over 10 years and most likely devotes some energy to making documentaries. Now the CFTPA has the data that backs up the anecdotal info.

According to a CFTPA survey, the first to delve into any kind of member profile, one in three members is part of a medium to large-sized company, with the same proportion reporting over $1 million in revenue in the last fiscal year. Fifty-one percent also reside in Ontario. While the survey stopped short of assessing the cultural makeup of members, it did provide valuable demographic information, something the association lacked in terms of empirical data, says CFTPA president and CEO Guy Mayson.

‘The business is changing very quickly. You’ve got to be very responsive to industry trends in this business. It’s very important if you’re running a trade association to stay on top of your members and stay in contact with them and understand how they’re feeling. It’s something we did as a bit of an experiment, but it worked better than we thought. So we’ll definitely do another within a year to three years,’ Mayson says.

The survey, conducted by Solutions Research Group, had a 26% response rate from the CFTPA’s 400 members, which is generally considered a good rate for association surveys. Results were presented at the CFTPA’s annual board meeting at the Banff Television Festival last month.

Only selected demographic numbers were made available to Playback, but Mayson says the study also provides information on how well the association is perceived to be doing its job and where members feel the CFTPA could do better.

Respondents gave the association full marks for its role in government and industrial relations, including lobbying provincial and federal governments, as well as its work in terms of labor negotiations.

‘Areas where we need to improve are in member communications,’ says Mayson. ‘I think we’ve already addressed a lot of that. We’ve worked hard to get a lot of information out – more timely information – to members, but those were areas where there is still a need for improvement. Better communications – not just in terms of what’s happening in the industry, but what the association is doing, what our priorities are right now and what we’re working on right now.’

The survey results will help the CFTPA assess how its membership is likely to change and how it can better serve underrepresented groups within its ranks, Mayson adds.

‘You’ve got to keep track of who your members are and what their priorities are. It also reflects as we go forward that the membership is likely to change. A lot of people will be moving on out of the industry, and a lot of new people will be coming into the industry, so it underlines the need to stay responsive, encourage new entrants and make sure you keep track of what their priorities are too.’

For example, while documentary (48%), drama (42%) and feature film production (40%) rank as the top three genres produced by members in the last three years, new media, at 15%, ranks right alongside animation and children’s production, which were both at 16%.

Other top-line data includes a regional breakdown, which indicates that 51% of members reside in Ontario, 23% in B.C., 11% in Alberta, 10% in Quebec and 3% in Nova Scotia. Newfoundland and Manitoba make up 1% each.

In terms of age breakdowns, 40% of members are 45 to 54 years of age, 27% are 34 to 44, 16% are 55 to 64, and 10% are 25 to 34. Meanwhile, 63% are men.

-www.cftpa.ca