MxMIndia

Tag: measurement

  • Our efforts on combating infiltration are focused on the individual(s) responsible for these activities and we firmly believe that television channels are committed to maintaining a clean and transparent ecosystem, the BARC statement reads

    BARC issues statement. Effort on to “combat infiltration”. Committed to “generate ratings that subscribers rely on”

    By A Correspondent

     

    Measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council has issued a statement today (Saturday, October 17). Here goes:

    Over the last several days, there have been various news reports as regard to Television Ratings and Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC India). BARC India as an Industry body has representation from bodies that represent Broadcasters, Advertisers, and Advertising and Media Agencies. BARC India owns and manages a transparent, accurate and inclusive TV audience measurement system.

    BARC is providing the necessary assistance to the ongoing investigation by law enforcement agency and this should be seen in the light of larger stability of the panel and in the interests of self-regulation, rather than in isolated cases of particular channels which leads to a distortion of facts.

    Our efforts on combating infiltration are focused on the individual(s) responsible for these activities and we firmly believe that television channels are committed to maintaining a clean and transparent ecosystem.

    BARCs management team works with full confidence and support of Board and the various Committees. BARC continues to be driven by only one goal: to generate ratings that its subscribers rely on which are deeply rooted in science, report with the greatest sense of responsibility and truly reflect ‘What India Watches’.

  • Presenting Week 2, Day 5 of of Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. And do come back tomorrow for another question and another answer

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das: Can one trust audience measurement data?

    It’s going viral. Each Q&A we hear is firing up the Whatsapp and mail circuit. People have been laughing, screaming out incorrigible reading a response… but there’s no denying that each question-and-answer is profound and funny. Presenting Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. And do come back next week for another round of questions and answers.

     

    Please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar, to visit the archives of Q&As.

     

    Q. Can one trust audience measurement data?

     

    A. I am a strong advocate of data-based insights to complement decision-making processes. So any measurement data can at best be indicative and should be leveraged for directional purposes. Doubting the credibility of measurement data isn’t a constructive route to move towards an augmented intelligence.

     

  • If we can develop single platform to track the media consumption habits, it would take consumer-centricity to a new level, writes Ritu Midha

    Ritu Midha: A single media measurement platform, anyone?

    By Ritu Midha

     

    Earlier this week, I had an interesting conversation with a friend who was stuck in traffic in Mumbai’s Western Express Highway. Jammed close to a hoarding of ‘New Woman’ magazine which read ‘She is just like you’, his reaction ‘Only if she (HemaMalini/new woman) knew who she is being compared to…’

     

    Though I found the comparison amusing at that instant, the media journalist in me immediately said, ‘spill over and wastage’.  To be honest, Outdoor has been off my radar for quite a while, and I have no clue how its effectiveness is measured.

     

    However, I’ve been interested in measurement currencies of other media – be it Print, Television, Radio or Internet. And often I find myself wondering if it was possible to measure all of people’s media consumption habits instead of measuring each media individually. The consumer, after all, is the focus of all marketing communication – and key is to reach him/her effectively and cost-effectively – the medium being just the vehicle.

     

    Coming back to various media, the measurement data for each one of them is available digitally, and that is where similarity ends.  Frequency, sample size and delivery platform are completely different. Nonetheless, while currencies for all mediums are different, they are identical in a sense that they target consumers’ media consumption habits and patterns.

     

    A disclaimer here: my blog this week is just an outcome of my curiosity and quest for knowledge, rather than a statement.

     

    Moving on, is it not possible to merge all these currencies together and create a single media consumption currency? What if it could be done at the industry level?  Technology majors like IBM and Wipro are well-equipped to take care of such a system. During my stint with a telecom giant, I have witnessed how various systems on different platforms can be effectively merged together. Multiple data sources and systems are merged into one with customer-centricity as the driving force. Whatever marketing and service delivery could imagine, IT delivered.

     

    An industry body delivering data that reflects the media and product consumption habits of people.  Awesome!!!

     

    Can we find out what the media and product consumption habits of SEC A person in a small town in Uttar Pradesh are on a single platform?

     

    It’s not an easy task, and could see many glitches to start with. But if it can be done, it would take consumer-centricity to a new level.

     

    And most important of all, would it not save several manhours and monies for media agencies?

     

    Ritu Midha is a senior journalist and web strategist based in Mumbai. She is also Consulting Editor and Editor – Special Projects, MxMIndia.

     

  • The real game was hardly the burly gladiators of the two teams engaged in organized mayhem. It was what happened during the advertising break

    Paritosh Joshi: 49ers lost the XLVIIth (but I’ll get over it)

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    Since my son moved to beautiful San Francisco, I have thrown my lot in with its sports fans. Back in October ’12, I exulted with them as they celebrated the SF Giants’ World Series victory, grabbing the World Series back after just a year’s gap. When, on February 3, 2013, the San Francisco 49ers squared off against Baltimore Ravens at the Mercedes Benz Superdome, New Orleans, in the finals of the National Football League, the Super Bowl, obviously I was rooting for them. What a game it was, with 49ers conceding a narrow 31-34 victory to the Ravens.

     

    But the real game was hardly the burly gladiators of the two teams engaged in organized mayhem in that Louisiana battleground. It was what happened during the advertising break, (and to be fair, the halftime show featuring Beyonce), that the 47th edition will be remembered for.

     

    Adult American males (TV time spent at nearly 3 hours) and females (2 hours and 30 minutes) are among the world’s most enthusiastic television viewers. While the emergence of Cable brought with it a huge growth in Pay TV, America’s Network operators: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox; continue to depend primarily on advertising revenue. And the biggest stage for advertising, from sea to shining sea, is the most anticipated, most viewed television show every year; the Super Bowl.

     

    So you already knew all that. But you probably don’t know this: No one knows exactly how many people watched the event that night. It isn’t a state secret or anything, just that they haven’t finished watching it yet.

     

    Yes, the match was settled in the favour of the Ravens that evening itself but that isn’t all there is to measuring viewers, certainly not in the manner agreed between broadcasters and advertisers in the US. Both agree that many viewers postpone viewing from live play out to a later point for a wide variety of reasons impinging upon their viewing convenience and comfort. This has something, but not a whole lot, to do with the popularity of DVR devices. In fact, it goes all the way back to 1976 and the Victor Company of Japan (more popularly recognized by the abbreviated JVC – Japan Victor Corporation). In September ’76, JVC launched the VHS recorder and birthed a global entertainment revolution. A powerful feature that VHS recorders soon offered was their ability to be programmed to record one or more shows when they were unattended. If circumstances contrived to make you miss a show, you could now record it for later viewing. Without really meaning to, the VHS recorder marked a great watershed for television: the era of time-shifted viewing had arrived.

     

    While the initial impact on viewing habits was minuscule, VHS prices came down rapidly and soon a recorder graced every American living room. Even we in India weren’t unaffected. By the late 1970s, our great international trading entrepreneurs of the day – Mr H Mastan Mirza, Mr Sukur N Bakhia, Mr K Lala and Mr V Mudaliar come to mind – introduced India to the VHS revolution. This wide adoption was already starting to measurably impact viewing behaviour by the 1980s.

     

    BARB, the UK’s Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board was set up in 1981. Before its first decade was out, BARB turned its attention to time-shifted viewing and began to wire up VHS recorders in sample homes in addition to measuring on-schedule viewing.

     

    Brings me to an acronym that you would do well to learn now; you are going to be hearing it a lot. VOSDAL. Viewed On Same Day As Live. Self-explanatory really but here is the corollary. Measurement currencies now measure time-shifted viewing for seven days after the original show ran on the FPC (Fixed Point Chart). This is VOSDAL+7, the statistic now widely agreed to be fair measure of the total audience garnered by a show.

     

    Our own viewing behaviour has begun to change at an accelerating pace. DVRs, first introduced to the Indian consumer by Tata Sky in 2010 are now offered by all DTH operators and, with the mandatory rollout of Cable Digitalisation in the top four metropolises, by the major MSOs as well. Adoption cycles will be slow to kick in but prices will keep dropping driving penetration up.

     

    By the way, DVRs are by no means the only technology disrupting the viewing habit. The emergence of second, third and even fourth screens are metamorphosing viewing into a parenthetical “television” experience that shifts it both temporally and spatially.

     

    BARC – the Broadcast Audience Research Council will begin to take its first baby steps soon. While the easiest thing to do would be to continue along the trajectory already established by TAM, it should be clear to stakeholders on all sides that this would be suboptimal and, in the medium term, a significant handicap for the medium.

     

    It is imperative that BARC recognize the need for building a measurement framework that goes well beyond VOSDAL. It will take time to bring consensus around any VOSDAL+ position on the measurement currency but the time to get it started is now.

     

    In the meanwhile, I am betting that Super Bowl XLVII broke last year’s viewership record of 108.7 million viewers. Any takers?

     

    PS: Only when I started researching this piece did I discover that VHS stood for Video Home System. Did you know?

     

    Paritosh Joshi has been a marketer, a mediaperson and a key officebearer on industry bodies. He is developing an independent media advisory practice. His column, Media Matrix, appears on MxMIndia, usually on Thursdays

     

  • Not only the viewership pool but rating methods too are significantly different for Indian TV channels abroad, says Jenish Shah

    The Anchor: 5 reasons media reach & measurability in India are different internationally

    By Jenish Shah

     

    #1 South Asian channels are a niche segment. Regardless of the size of channels like Sony, Zee, Star, etc in the Indian markets, one has to remember that these channels cater to a very small base but extremely targeted audience of the South Asian diaspora worldwide.

     

    #2 Niche channels do not rate accurately. In the same vein that Indian niche channels are currently hotly debating the rating mechanism in India (such as the NDTV vs TAM debate), ratings of South Asian channels on mainstream rating systems (Nielsen, Rentrack etc) do not throw accurate light on channel performance. For example, a channel like Fox News caters to almost the entire universe of 311 million people in the US. While a Hindi GEC like SET, Zee, STAR caters to the relatively small 2.83 million NRIs. It’s unfair to compare apples with oranges!

     

    #3 Distribution is the accepted currency. In the absence of any industry accepted rating mechanism for South Asian channels, distribution of the channels (ie the number of DTH, cable, IPTV platforms they are present in) is the currently accepted method of gauging the strength of South Asian TV channels in the international markets.

     

    #4 Subscription revenues. While in India, the revenue split for media houses of ad sales versus subscription revenues is typically 70:30 in favour of ad-sales, the reverse is true for the international markets. While we are still struggling to implement the digitization bill here, almost the entire TV universe in the international markets is digitized. Which makes distribution (and hence subscription) an important part of the equation in the international business.

     

    #5 Moving beyond TV. International markets are more evolved in terms of internet penetration and hence avenues like Roku TV and Google TV have become an increasingly important part of content distribution. Just being present on TV is not enough – being present on any screen that the audience interacts with becomes a must!

     

    Jenish Shah is VP International Sales, Prime Time India

     

  • Suresh Srinivasan believes there is no alternative to the IRS – and it doesn't need one.

    The Anchor: Suresh Srinivasan on 5 reasons IRS is an effective measurement tool

    By Suresh Srinivasan

     

    #1 The only indicator. Currently IRS is the de facto gold standard for measurement of newspapers and magazines. IRS is based on continuous study with fairly large data base. More importantly there is no other indicator and it is the standard used by the industry.

     

    #2 It’s not about just absolute numbers, but also gives the trend of the industry over the years. The trends are a valuable resource for media planners, publications and advertisers. These are not volatile numbers but have been slow and steady indicators of changes in the industry. This gives a meaningful picture of what’s happening in the industry.

     

    #3 Considering that we are a large nation, IRS proves to be a cost-effective, valid and timely method of assessment of consumption of media. The sheer magnitude and scale of collecting and collating this data involves lot of work but IRS makes this possible and a valid data is available its users.

     

    #4 Besides the readership data available on frequency and demographics, IRS has become a vital source of comprehensive information. It has become a repository of data that can provide information on various other parameters like intent to purchase.

     

    #5 With technology coming in IRS is poised to become much more robust and will take research to higher level. It is a continuous journey to present better data to its users.

     

    Suresh  Srinivasan is the Vice President (Advt) of The Hindu Group of Publications.

  • Advertising veteran Ishan Raina on the evolution of OOH

    Malls are great for Digital: Ishan Raina

    Ishan Raina, CEO & MD, OOH Media India Pvt Ltd is an advertising veteran. An IIM Calcutta Alumni, Raina was one of the first industry experts to stress that it was important to engage consumer at various touch points.  The changing lifestyle today has proved his conviction true. In a conversation with Ritu Midha of MXM India, elaborates on the evolving OOH medium, advent of digital OOH and measurement. Excerpts:

    Q: How do you see Digital OOH growing in India vis-à-vis other media?

    The Out of home TV medium in India is about four years old and still in its growth phase. But the medium has grown a lot as compared to what it was four years ago. It was a conceptual selling at that point of time where the challenge was not only in growing the company but also growing the industry as a whole. Today people understand this medium and the future prospect of this medium. The change in the lifestyle trends of the consumers and media fragmentation has led to the growth of this industry. Time spent for consuming traditional mediums is also getting shorter. OOH TV being an SEC ‘A’ focused medium adds dynamism to the existing media plan of the clients for their brands.

    Today OOH industry commands 15-20 percent of the total advertising share.  Digital OOH TV has 15 percent of this share ie 1-2 percent of the overall advertising budget. The biggest challenge is to grow the size of the market which is still at a growth stage. We need to grow this to 4-5 percent in the next two years.

    Today we have over 300 clients from across categories from Automobiles, Finance, Telecom, Retail (Luxury, Apparels etc), Media, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Travel & Tourism, Education etc. using us for various reasons /campaigns. In brief, since the industry is still emerging and not yet mainstream media, there is immense scope for new clients, categories and growth. While starting new clients & categories has been difficult, repeat clients have been relatively easier, due to good formal (research) & informal (word of mouth) feedback.

    Q: In terms of new types of Digital OOH advertising, how does India compare with US, China and Europe?

    In India there is certainly a considerable change in the lifestyle of consumers today. People spend more and more time out of home whether it is in their offices, malls, multiplexes, restaurants, gymnasiums, bookstores etc. This change in the lifestyle trends of the consumers and media fragmentation has led to the growth of this industry. OOH television networks adds a great value as it follows these consumers wherever they are thus becoming the only medium present in a day of the life of a consumer.

    India is a growing market and thus provides tremendous opportunities to advertisers to reach out to their target group. This has also resulted in the development of various new media formats with digital OOH being one of them. In general, Digital OOH space is expected to see a tremendous growth in the future, given the expected infrastructural growth, increased amount of time spent outside home, and the general economy boom in the coming years.

    China is the largest market in the world for digital OOH TV, and our strategic partner Focus Media, is the global leader. In Europe as in the US this medium has become more of a point of sale medium and not a “day in the life of an SEC A consumer” as it is in emerging markets, such as India and China.

     

    Q: What part of media spends goes into Digital OOH?

    Digital OOH TV commands 1-2 percent of the overall 24,000 cr advertising industry. This will grow to 4-5 percent in the next 2 years. About 80 per cent of this would belong to 2-3 national players and we hope to continue being the revenue leaders of digital OOH TV industry. Digital OOH advertising is emerging as an integral part of the media mix for advertisers, and is being used by them for various companies and launches.

    Q: Is measurement still an issue with Digital OOH advertising and promotions? What kind of research is now being done to measure?

    In Digital OOH format, we understood the gap of measurement in traditional OOH and thus initiated OOH Metrics, which is today India’s first ever large scale digital Out-Of-Home TV research. Out-of-Home media conducted this research in association with Nielsen – world’s leading provider of marketing information and audience measurement.

    OOH Metrics is the only Metrics available in Outdoor Audio Visual space as of now conducted to understand the Demographic profile of the people and the audience behaviour. It is the study done across 8 cities, conducted by Neilsen, with a sample size of almost 15,000. OOH Media also does campaign research for the brand advertisers on OOH screens to quantify and qualify the viewership.

    We have done over 100 Campaign Evaluation Studies across categories like Auto, Telecom, Finance, FMCG, IT and many more to find the recall of ads through this medium. The results have been encouraging which have resulted in long term relations with clients.

    Q: If we look at geographical segmentation – do some parts of the country respond better to Digital OOH than others? Similarly would the trends vary in metros and non-metros?

    Digital OOH is value for money in metros but as you go down the chain that is tier 2 and tier 3 cities, it becomes an expensive option because of the availability of the regional formats. So Digital OOH is actually a medium for major 8 metros with good density & quality of audience or locations.  This will change over time.

    Q: To what extent has the advent of mall culture and modern retail helped the cause of Digital OOH. And how do you see it contributing five years from now?

    The OOH TV format has actually evolved tremendously in Offices / Commercial Bldgs and Tech Parks / Residential complexes, Gymnasiums as well as large format malls / multiplexes / Modern Trade. There is a constant evolution of infrastructure (malls and hypermarkets) which is bringing the radical change in lifestyle and spending patterns of consumers. These In-stores facilities offer a wonderful opportunity for Branding of various products at the “point of purchase”. Thus greater the increase in number of In-store networks more is the opportunity to utilize these networks as a medium of advertising and creating a top of mind recall. Digital OOH media is strategically present in In-store locations with more than 2000 screens in Malls, lifestyle stores, Supermarkets. Digital OOH adds a lot to the communication by being the only audio- visual medium and thus we can say the medium is increasingly becoming effective and is here to stay for a long time.

    Q: What as per you are emerging trends in Digital OOH advertising?

    Audience, not screens, is the Mantra:  The quality and quantity of audiences that the screens provide, is what is the ultimate driver for this medium and the differentiator between different brands in the medium.

    Localisation / Customisation of Messages: OOH Media has been the most flexible medium today and gives a chance to slice and dice the message of the campaign as per the kind of audience an advertiser would like to reach. The client can select the locations, cities, frequency and language as per their requirements. Flexicasting provides an advantage of getting as local as possible just like an outdoor but with the power and capability of Audio-Visual.

    Relevance is the new king: The role of content is thus becoming very important in this medium and OOH Media continuously experiments with content to make it more relevant for the audiences and thus attracting more eyeballs. Content Integration helps in creating a contextual connect for the brands. OOH Media customizes in-house content as per the client’s requirement and offering to make it contextual.

    Connect with consumer: The medium offers an advantage of Flexicreation i.e. creating customized ads and content according to the kind of audience the client wants to reach and also the kind of locations they want to advertise in. Flexicreation for the same medium is impossible in any other audio visual medium. The future will be and has to be the contextualization of the content and advertising messages.

    Q: How effective are touch screen kiosks and how best can they be utilized by the advertisers?

    It is still early  days – not currently scalable. Our model is ‘Push’ to the consumers, where as Kiosks rely on consumers to take some action.

    Q: A lot of money is being spent on airport advertising? Is it just the premium customer that lures the advertisers there – or is the recall value much higher of airport ads?

    Airports are a very effective locations –and of course brands advertise there to target a specific target group.

    Q: How powerful is OOH as part of experiential marketing?

    Its part of the experience currently, not really experiential marketing or interactive marketing. What OOH TV ensures is great recall across Sec ‘A’ and increasing also reach in select locations where due to media fragmentation and audience habits, OOH TV is actually the first time the audience is exposed to the advertising.