MxMIndia

Tag: RSCI

  • The INS execom is reportedly piqued about a senior advertising honcho’s assertion that those opposing the new IRS should be banned

    IRS update: INS to decide future course today * Many papers withdraw * Legal action mulled to stop ongoing field research

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian Newspaper Society, the apex body of newspaper publishers in the country, had a specially convened meeting of its Executive Committee yesterday (Feb 5). According to sources, some members were incensed with the tough stand that the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) had adopted in its Governing Council meeting the previous day. “They can’t armtwist us. We are compelled to harden our stand, ” an INS member told MxMIndia.

     

    While discussing next steps, including legal action against the IRS, a smaller group is likely to meet in New Delhi today. The INS execom is reportedly piqued about a senior advertising honcho’s assertion that those opposing the new IRS should be banned.

     

    Meanwhile, many leading newspapers have written to the MRUC, RSCI and Nielsen, asking for their mastheads to not be included in the survey.

     

    On the legal recourse, according to one school of thought, since the IRS study is ongoing, the field work is on even as the controversy is raging. “The only way to stop the RSCI and Nielsen is by getting a stay,” an INS member told this correspondent.

     

    As reported earlier, adding to MRUC’s woes is the Association of Indian Magazines communiqué asking for the IRS to be withdrawn. “The current round of IRS has many glaring glitches when it comes to magazine readership,” AIM general secretary R Rajmohan wrote in a letter, adding: “We urge MRUC to immediately withdraw IRS 2013, as such faulty reporting of readership numbers can have extremely damaging impact on business, apart from misleading media planners and advertisers. ”

     

  • Decision on IRS by RSCI on Feb 19

    MRUC issues statement. Decision on IRS by RSCI on Feb 19

    By A  Correspondent

     

    We have received the following statement from the MRUC director-general Shaswati Saradar:

     

    :: IRS 2013 was released on January 28, 2014.

     

    :: In the week since then, there has been considerable comment and discussion in the media about the quality of the study. Yesterday, the Indian Newspaper Society sought a meeting with the MRUC to discuss the situation and the way forward. Following on from this meeting, the MRUC Chairman convened an emergency meeting of the Board of Governors to crystallise the Council’s point of view. This meeting held earlier today has taken the following decisions:

     

    :: The Council asserts that the design, methodology and in-field execution of the study was benchmarked to and conducted at the very highest standards. The massive integration of technology, from DS-CAPI, through automated collation and tabulation, to a brand new UI (user interface) with a comprehensive suite of on-board analytics played a crucial role in this exercise. The Council intended to deliver a study that could legitimately carry the ‘Gold Standard’ appellation. It is satisfied that the study has moved many steps forward in that direction.

     

    :: The Council is conscious that it is now only one of the two constituents of the Readership Studies Council of India. With the RSCI now being in charge of governance of the study, the MRUC is no longer at liberty to make a unilateral determination of the way forward, particularly in a situation as contentious as it appears today.

     

    :: The Council looks forward keenly to the RSCI meeting called by the RSCI Chairman on February 19, 2014. All aspects of the study will be placed before the RSCI for helping the broader community of stakeholders convince themselves about the study’s robustness and integrity.

     

    :: A brief presentation is appended. This will elucidate many of the aspects referred above. (presentation embedded in this story)

     

  • Dainik Jagran went a step further and said the AC Nielsen's claim of scientific method of surveying is 'khokhla'

    #1 daily Dainik Jagran damns IRS on its Page 1

    By A Correspondent

     

    When we wrote about dna’s questioning of the IRS findings, we had used the phrase ‘knives are out’ to describe the development. But now it appears newspapers are bracing themselves for the war.

     

    Leading news daily Dainik Jagran,  the numero uno daily in the  country as per the IRS 2013 study, has published a large front-page story say it doesn’t approve of the IRS findings. In fact it goes a step further and says the AC Nielsen’s claim of scientific method of surveying is ‘khokhla’ (Google translate: ~hollow, gossipy).

     

    Legal eagles are being consulted on how to combat the MRUC, RSCI and AC Nielsen in Court, but in the meantime those whose publications have gained much in the study or reflect favourably vis-à-vis competition are saying that it’s unfair to damn the readership study authorities.

     

    As reported by MxMIndia yesterday, some aggrieved dailies are considering collectively or individually filing law suits.  When alerted about this, a senior MRUC functionary told us that Court cases files by aggrieved members and newspaper groups after the publication of readership numbers is nothing new for the MRUC.

     

  • MxMIndia learns that a few leading dailies are planning to collectively and individual contest the IRS in Court. They are currently seeking legal opinion on the same.

    Key newspapers likely to contest IRS numbers in Court

    By A Correspondent

     

    Does it help having a stakeholder-led body supervise measurement exercises? Logically, it should, but often it could mean more problems.

     

    Paritosh Joshi

    Running the technical committee and the MRUC and RSCI is a thankless job, and as Paritosh Joshi, head of the MRUC and IRS techcom, told MxMIndia in an interview, “as a TechCom person, I have to do the best possible job of design and process management. The numbers are outcomes that distill the voice of respondents.”

     

    The problem is that a large number of the key newspapers are unhappy with the new set of readership figures. While the response was muted at the Mumbai launch of the new IRS, the murmurs got louder when the report was unveiled in Delhi on Wednesday.

     

    Sensing a negative outcome from the stockmarkets, a leading listed newspaper company even engaged investor analysts with data to point out what it consider as anomalies. As reported earlier, dna had also questioned the data by way of a front-page note.

     

    MxMIndia learns that a few leading dailies are planning to collectively and individual contest the IRS in Court. They are currently seeking legal opinion on the same.

     

    When alerted about this, a senior MRUC functionary told us that Court cases files by aggrieved members and newspaper groups after the publication of readership numbers is nothing new for the MRUC.

     

  • The Technical Committee meeting was held yesterday (Jan 22) and the first findings of the study are scheduled to be released before the month ends, and in all probability on January 28.

    New IRS study findings to be released next week

    By A Correspondent

    The new Indian Readership Survey findings are scheduled to be released next week.

    It may be remembered that on the basis of a recommendation of  the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI), the Media Research Users’ Council had awarded the IRS contract to Nielsen. The decision was arrived at after a comprehensive nine month process that began in November 2011, with the formation of the RSCI by its sponsors, the MRUC (Media Research Users’ Council), and ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation). The RSCI was mandated by the industry to oversee the conduct of a unified Indian Readership Study (IRS), billed as the world’s largest continuous readership study.

    The Technical Committee meeting was held yesterday (Jan 22) and the first findings of the study are scheduled to be released before the month ends, and in all probability on January 28.

    (See also: http://www.mxmindia.com/2013/03/new-improved-irs-hailed-by-industry/)

  • Happy to have bagged the contract, Nielsen India is getting set to work on the readership study

    IRS will see a technology leap: Prashant Singh, MD-Media, Nielsen India

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Nine months since RSCI began the process for shortlisting the most bankable partner, it was jubilation time for the team at The Nielsen Company in India, having won the coveted contract of research work for the Indian Readership Survey. The victory is sweeter following as it does the controversies of the past few weeks.

    While the industry is still taking in the news of the appointment, for Nielsen India it is a chance to prove its authority in the print measurement space. And what better metric than IRS. The company plans to centre its focus on newer mediums – with increased dependence on technology – that will help ease data collection and analysis and more importantly bring about consistency in the readership numbers.

     

    MxMIndia interacted with Prashant Singh, Managing Director – Media, Nielsen India to gather his views on being appointed the new partner by RSCI for IRS. Though it is still early days, Mr Singh dwells on what the future will look like for readership studies in India and how they are geared for the big challenge that’s being watched closely by all concerned. He even had some words of comfort regarding the controversy that it is currently embroiled in thanks to its joint ownership of TAM Media but he assures that it won’t have any impact on how they continue to do business going forward. Excerpts:

     

    Q: This isn’t the first time the Nielsen Company has done a readership survey in India, though it is after a gap. How have things changed since then (other than the size of the population and hence sample size)?

    Things have changed within the market research industry itself. With the advent of technology there is so much that is available to us to tap into. Today, the scenario is such that any market research can be elevated to a level where one can get a much better read of the market without going through the peeves that are associated with it. For example, Nielsen is actively deploying Computer Aided Personal Interviews (CAPI) instead of the regular pen-and-paper format that was practised for market research. What that does is that while there is an interviewer who goes and interviews the person instead of using pen and paper, the person uses a computer/tablet/palm-device to capture responses. As I said, the entire market research industry has gone through a significant change in the past 5-6 years. With MRUC, we hope to bring significant technological upgrade even on the IRS.

     

    Q: What is it that you think won you the bid (we know it didn’t go to the lowest quote, because yours was higher)?

    I have no idea. This is something that you should ask MRUC. We are just happy that we bagged this prestigious project.

     

    Q: Do tell us what you are going to be doing from now to when your part of the study will start? When does work start for you?

    The MRUC and Nielsen teams will sit down and discuss what the plan will look like going forward. The first step for us is to sign the contract and start with those proceedings. Probably MRUC is the right body to talk about future plans, which we will do sometime in the near future.

     

    Q: For the benefit of the industry, what are a few of the salient differences between the IRS we see now and the IRS that we will see when you’ll be there?

    Multiple innovations in technology features are being brought in. Some of them would be visible to the users while some will be visible to MRUC. But at this point it is not fair for me to talk about the specifics of the proposals. There will be more clarity on what are the things that are coming to the fore in the near future.

     

    Q: Do you see any challenges cropping up with Nielsen planning to lay increased emphasis on technology?

    Where market research is concerned, with technology we’ve been fairly confident that there are benefits and not challenges. In fact there are challenges in doing market research in India whether it is about how you show inputs to respondents or about how you make sure that the right interviews are happening at the right time and place…and technology actually enables us to do a better job at it. In the last 3-4 years, we have taken multiple steps to embrace technology wherever we can right from data collection to data reporting, etc. So we see technology as an enabler and not a challenge.

     

    Q: One of the problems that any such vendor contract arrangement is about what do you do when the contract is not renewed? For instance, even after 8 years of working on, Hansa (and Ipsos) lost the contract to Nielsen?

    We do a good job and keep our clients happy; there is no reason that the contract will not be renewed. It is about how you deliver to the promises made. If one doesn’t deliver then obviously the contract could go away from you.

     

    Q: Will you hire some of the talent from Hansa if rendered redundant due to the loss of contract, later in the year?

    I cannot comment on this.

     

    Q: Media measurement is a tricky business these days and most often a thankless job. Your take on this?

    Not just media measurement but market research anyway is challenging. In India there are multiple challenges including sociological, geographical… and every market research agency has to understand these challenges and figure out ways to deal with them. Sometimes you can deal with them nicely and sometimes not so nicely. If we are open with our clients and talk to them about the challenges that there are then I think we should be fine.

     

    Q: One of the frequent peeves we’ve heard from the magazine sector is that IRSes don’t measure niche readership very effectively. How will you correct that?

    Again I cannot comment on that but it is part of the proposal and the RFP and you will hear more about that from us and MRUC together.

     

    Q: There have been some charges that while Nielsen is a specialist in television measurement, it isn’t with print readership?

    Globally, Nielsen is a specialist in television (measurement)…that’s what I can say. I cannot comment on what  others speculate. Yes, we do specialize in television measurement which does not mean that we do not do other things. People will speculate what we can and what we cannot but I cannot say much on that.

     

    To give you a higher perspective, Nielsen as a company globally looks at business in two key parts: we measure what people buy and we measure what people watch. Both the businesses are very significant in terms of revenue. So it’s not that Nielsen is just a ‘watch’ business we have a huge portfolio within the ‘buy’ side of the business too. It would suffice to say that we do a lot more than television.

     

    Q: One last question, and we know the matter is sub-judice: but we heard murmurs that Nielsen shouldn’t bag the contract because its name is stained in the TAM controversy. Also, a hitch with the retail audit earlier this month. Your comments.

    We are happy that the MRUC and RSCI have given due importance to the proposal that we submitted and have awarded the contract to us. We are working towards making sure that we do a great job in delivering IRS. As for the controversy, we have a policy of not commenting on issues that are under litigation and will stick with that. But I can say that it is business as usual for us amidst all that is happening around.

     

  • This joint bid will combine Hansa's extensive experience of readership measurement in the Indian context with Ipsos' global expertise of conducting readership surveys in 60 countries

    Hansa, Ipsos to jointly bid for IRS in ’13, sign MoU

    By a Correspondent

     

    Hansa Research and Ipsos have entered into an MOU to jointly bid for the new Indian Readership Survey (IRS) contract that starts with IRS 2013. Hansa Research has been conducting the IRS, the world’s largest continuous readership survey for the last nine years i.e. since IRS 2003. This joint bid will combine Hansa’s extensive experience of readership measurement in the Indian context with Ipsos’ global expertise of conducting readership surveys in 60 countries. Through the joint participation, the two companies expect to make a very strong and forward looking pitch for the new IRS contract.

     

    Mr Ashok Das, Managing Director, Hansa Research Group said: “We are happy and excited to work with Ipsos on this prestigious project, and hope to bring in a number of new ideas into the IRS.”

     

    Mr Mick Gordon, CEO of Ipsos inIndiasaid: “We are delighted to be working with Hansa on this very exciting project and we hope we can persuade RSCI that our combination will be a very big plus for the industry. Ipsos measures readership in more than 60 countries around the world and has made a name for itself in introducing many innovations into this specialist area of market research – we were the first to use CAPI and DS-CAPI in readership measurement, for example. We believe we can add significant value to Hansa’s proven expertise and experience on the ground in India.”

     

    Speaking to MxMIndia, Mr. Suresh Nimbalkar, Senior Vice President, Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd said that the reason Hansa decided to join hands with Ipsos was to offerIndiathe best possible IRS. “We want to deliver the best possible product and we are working forward to it. We started people meter, IOS, we have continuously innovated and besides we have had a long standing relation with Ipsos. There is synergy between the two and so we decided to collaborate, rethink all aspects of IRS and offer an even better product (IRS) whether in technology, talent, and so on.”

     

    Hansa Research is a global full service market research agency headquartered in India, conducting market research in 77 countries with offices in India and US. Over the last few years, Hansa has developed sound mechanisms to reduce fieldwork related issues that has been widely acclaimed by research users for its ability to minimize some long standing industry weaknesses.