MxMIndia

Tag: TAM

  • Paritosh Joshi: Can we do without TV ratings from time to time?

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    By now the trade is probably abuzz with concerns about how the suspension of TAM reporting is going to play havoc with the lives of broadcasters, agencies and advertisers. Must this be so?

     

    Broadcasters and agencies have got accustomed to trading in television inventory using the ratings as currency. However, here’s the simple truth: what the trading system prices is not what the advertiser buys.

     

    Peoplemeter markets represent not just a minority of the overall population, they represent a minority of the television household population too. Indeed, thanks to the rapid growth of DTH in rural India, they represent a minority of digital households.

     

    Here’s the truth hiding in plain sight. There is a study that covers 30 times as many households as TAM does which also picks up who watches what. And this study is possibly far better suited to picking up the ever lengthening ‘long tail’ of television channels better than the ~9000 TAM Peoplemeter homes. It is called Indian Readership Survey.

     

    The IRS, which everyone sees as a readership measure- and it does this role with commendable certitude- is actually a comprehensive study of all media, new and old. In addition, it picks up the household’s consumption of a very wide range of goods and services that enable strategists to develop a sharper understanding of how media consumption and product /category usage correlate with one another.

     

    While TAM takes a monadic view of television channel consumption and deals with nothing else, the IRS sees both sides of the picture: input (as represented by media consumed) and output (goods and services). IRS picks up demographic information in much more detail and actually takes a dynamic view of how different segments are changing in size and composition while TAM ratings have a population grid that stays unchanged for long periods of time- running into years. This, in a country that is experiencing change at unprecedented pace. Finally, IRS is based on a simple random sample, each home showing up in the study only once and not on a panel where familiarity may breed contempt.

     

    Today, instead of worrying about the absence of TAM in the weeks to come, use the opportunity to understand TV in IRS.

     

    Paritosh Joshi has been a marketer, a mediaperson and a key officebearer on industry bodies. He is developing an independent media advisory practice. He can reached via his Twitter handle @paritoshZero

     

  • Do frequent changes in standings impact Hindi GECs? Quick takes from a few media agency pros & marketers

    Does anyone care about GEC GRPs see-sawing?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    The battle of the Hindi general entertainment channels has intensified in the past few months. With most of them showing new seasons of popular shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, Dance India Dance etc, the competition has not only increased between the channels but also viewers – who wants to watch what?

     

    If the TAM ratings of the past few weeks are studied, it becomes very clear that there is no sure-shot contender for the numero uno position. The weekend which saw the first episode of KBC on Sony made the channel numero uno for the weekend slot. However, overall ratings for week 36 saw Zee in the top slot. Week 35, saw Star Plus in the top place whereas for week 33, it was Zee at number one position.

     

    The yo-yoing has been going on for sometime now, so who gets affected by this – channels, media planners or advertisers? Or don’t the weekly ratings matter much? MxMIndia spoke to a few media planners/buyers and advertisers to get their perspective on it and to find a few answers.

     

    According to Anita Nayyar, CEO, India and Southeast Asia, Havas Media, in the GEC space there are four top channels – Star Plus, Sony, Zee and Colors – and their ratings keep fluctuating among themselves, which isn’t a recent phenomenon. “One week, one channel is peaking so the other week it’s another channel’s chance. Also, there isn’t much difference between their GRPs; it’s a matter of only a few numbers that they fall short of each other in the race. Therefore, it’s nothing alarming even for the clients who follow the GRPs to the T. However, we do keep in mind the trends and what gets the eyeballs to the channel. For instance, KBC taking Sony to number slot was expected. One needs to keep such issues in mind and plan accordingly.”

     

    Agreeing with Ms Nayyar, Hiren Pandit, managing partner, GroupM adds that one needs to keep in mind what is the programming mix of different channels. With KBC opening with 6.1 TVR, Sony was bound to reach the top slot. Therefore, one needs to track the new big shows coming up and how they’ll fare rather than worrying about channel shares which keeps see-sawing because of these shows. As for advertisers, they too focus more on shows and its performance rather than channels. Hence, such yo-yoing shouldn’t bother anyone unless it’s a drastic one.

     

    “I don’t think anyone takes these weekly GRPs of GECs into account; therefore, such weekly see-sawing shouldn’t matter. If one looks at various channels, you’ll see that most of them have reality shows or special episodes or Grand finale etc as their strategy to drive channel GRPs especially on the weekend. Hence, a media planner or buyer doesn’t get affected by it as most of the deals are separate for these (channel driver) reality shows and separate for rest of channel (regular) programs. And to advertisers what matters is the consistent deliveries through regular shows and not these few spike on select shows,” adds Neelkamal Sharma, COO – Buying, Madison Group.

     

    However, the advertisers feel a little different as GECs which have a vast reach in the country are seen by the advertisers as the best way to reach out to their audiences and brands spend millions to use the visibility given by these channels.

     

    Kamal Nandi, vice-president (sales & marketing) of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing explains that as a brand, for them the two things that matter the most are efficiency and effectiveness. “Therefore, as advertisers on these GECs, we do look at cost and ratings points as the two most critical evaluating parameters. Hence, such fluctuations do effect our decisions as we monitor them closely.”

     

    Similarly, Mayank Shah, Group Product Manager, Parle Products says, “The content of every show on every channel varies. Despite the fluctuations, there are certain properties that continue to be at the top. These shows provide great opportunities for advertisers. However, strategies keep changing. So we do keep these fluctuations in our mind and alter the strategy as and when required. Advertising strategies are based on the kind of viewership a channel has. If a product matches with the channel’s target group, then advertisers will continue to advertise on that channel because the reach is effective. Also, there are various aspects to consider while choosing channels. Hence, the positioning is an important criteria, but not the sole criteria.”

     

    Hence, one thing is clear, that weekly ratings of GECs might not be considered as the sole criteria by planners or advertisers as much a monthly or the performance of the show in general. But they do matter when it comes to brands spending on GECs to reach their desired audience.

     

  • The return date for the dismissal motions will now be December 14 and not September 13

    WPP, Nielsen dismissal motions to be heard on Dec 14

    By A Correspondent

     

    The return date for the dismissal motions will now be December 14 and not September 13. As per the proposed order posted by the New York Supreme Court, on August 30, the Court granted NDTV’s application for a conference to set forth a schedule by which the three key parties (NDTV revising its complaint), WPP’s existing motion to dismiss and Nielsen’s proposed motion to dismiss the motion. (See proposed order at: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=H5fLtBSiJltQWmamdxHfhQ==&system=prod)

     

    On August 31, 2012, the Court conducted a conference, via telephone, with counsel for NDTV, counsel for the Moving Defendants (WPP) and counsel for the Nielsen Defendants. On the Conference Call, counsel for NDTV indicated, inter alia, that NDTV will conduct an investigation as to whether or not Kantar, IMRB and JWT were properly named in the Complaint, and, if not, NDTV will make the necessary changes in the Amended Complaint.

     

    Having considered all of the papers and arguments regarding the scheduling
    disputes, the Court ordered: that:

     

    1. NDTV file and serve its Amended Complaint on or before October 5,
    2012, via electronic filing;

    2. The Moving Defendants (WPP) file and serve their supplemental motion papers
    responding to the Amended Complaint, if any, on or before October 19,
    2012, via electronic filing;

    3. The Nielsen Defendants file and serve the Nielsen Motions to Dismiss on
    or before October 19, 2012, via electronic filing;

    4. NDTV file and serve its opposition papers to the Motions to Dismiss and
    the Nielsen Motions to Dismiss on or before November 16, 2012, via
    electronic filing;

    5. The Moving Defendants file and serve their reply papers regarding the
    Motions to Dismiss on or before December 7, 2012, via electronic filing;

    6. The Nielsen Defendants file and serve their reply papers regarding the
    Nielsen Motions to Dismiss on or before December 7, 2012, via electronic
    filing;

    7. The return date for the Motions to Dismiss is adjourned until December
    14, 2012; and

    8. The return date for the Nielsen Motions to Dismiss shall be December 14,
    2012.

     

  • MxMIndia learns that the I&B Ministry may set up a joint government-industry committee if BARC activities don’t kick off by November

    Govt may set up own body if it doesn’t see action on BARC by November

    By A Correspondent

     

    Even as I&B secretary Uday Verma met stakeholders of the three industry bodies who are setting up the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) – the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) – yesterday, MxMIndia learns from sources that the government is exceedingly upset with the delay and if it doesn’t see any action by November 2012, it may set up a joint government-industry committee to take things forward.

     

    Other than the collective pressure of the News Broadcasters Association, the NDTV case against TAM and its principals and Doordarshan’s own misgivings on the issue are among the compelling reasons why the I&B ministry is in a rush for the formation of the BARC. The government is aware that like in the case of content regulation, it would not like to play a role in the issue, however it believes that precious time has been lost. MxMIndia was told the pressure consumer/advocacy groups and Members of Parliament have also been asking for a look-in at the ratings process.

     

    While representatives of the IBF, ISA and AAAI have reassured the Secretary that all is well, the fact is that misgivings are still simmering given the recent charges that have been traded between the IBF and the ISA and AAAI.

     

    BARC was mooted way back in 2008 and the formation process had started in 2010, with an announcement on the setting up earlier this year – in March at FICCI Frames, to be precise. However, there have been stumbling blocks, all of which have been are said to have been cleared.

     

    BARC and consequently an all-new system of data collection could mean investment of around Rs 1000 crore, depending on the number of measuerement boxes to be installed. To start with, a CEO needs to be appointed as presently all stakeholders have their own business responsibilities, the demands of which are increasing with the festive season coming up.

     

  • Star Plus is back as numero uno Hindi GEC, with Colors #2 and Zee #3 in Week 34

    Week 34, Hindi GECs: Star Plus #1, Colors #2, Zee #3

    By A Correspondent

     

    Star Plus is back as the top Hindi GEC in Week 34 in the weekly ratings made available to MxMIndia from an industry source. Star Plus score 265 (255), whereas Colors secured seven point lesser and was at 258 (238) and Zee was at 237 (283). Sony was a distant fourth at 211. Sab and Life OK were neck-and-neck at 126 (133) and 125 (135) respectively.

     

    Please note that the information has not supplied and verified by TAM Media. However our sources are reasonably reliable. The figures in brackets indicate ratings of the previous week.

     

  • The controversy and litigation over television viewership measurement may lead to question marks being raised on the final selection of the vendor for the unified print readership study

    NDTV-TAM war impact may be seen in print if Nielsen is appointed IRS research vendor

    By A Correspondent

     

    Measurement has suddenly become a bad word in the Indian media. Over the last month, there has been much sound and fury over TAM Media’s television ratings with news network NDTV filing a 194-page lawsuit in New York. Since last week, the channel and WPP, principals of TAM’s part-owner Kantar, have been sparring via statements issued to the media.

     

    But now MxMIndia learns that there could be rumblings in the print space too, over the appointment of the research company to conduct the unified Indian Readership Survey.

     

    The Board of the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) which manages the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI) is scheduled to meet today and announce the results of the contract following the RFP (Request for Proposals) issued last year.

     

    In a departure from the prevailing system of the research body being a partner and pocketing 85 percent of the revenues earned from sales, in the proposed system, the researcher was to be vendor being paid a flat fee. Hansa which has been conducting the study for MRUC since around eight years tied up with Ipsos and presented a joint proposal demanding a fee of Rs 10 crore. Nielsen’s original proposal was of Rs 12 crore, but the research major has been beaten down to a little below Rs 11 crore.

     

    However, ever since the news of the appointment of Nielsen was leaked last week, it appears that the controversy plaguing the television media research space could well lead to rumblings in print if it is indeed Nielsen which will be awarded the contract.

     

    MxMIndia too learns from its sources that Nielsen will indeed be appointed vendor for the IRS. The relationship is not of partnership as of now, but that of a client-vendor, where the research company has to undertake the exercise as per a set of instructions and for a fee. A global tender was issued and a technical committee carefully pored over each of the proposals. Various proposals came in but were rejected. The Hansa-IPSOS proposal reportedly did not find favour with the decision-makers because of the consortium modeit followed. It is believed that there was opposition to Hansa from some quarters.

     

    An MRUC member this correspondent spoke with raised some alarm. “While the work put in by the technical committee is commendable and selfless, they ought to have considered the mess that Nielsen has been in thanks to its co-ownership of TAM Media. The 194-page lawsuit sees the firm getting noteworthy mention. Moreover, there have been question marks over the retail audit too,” he said on condition of anonymity. “But it would be wrong to jump to conclusions on Nielsen’s appointment. If it is indeed true, we will raise the questions and convince ourselves. We clearly wish to be certain of the new vendors’ expertise in newspaper readership measurement – either globally or in India. We can’t afford to have any publisher, advertiser or agency questioning the measurement exercise and the bona fides of the vendor as has been the case with television.”

     

    That last bit we agree with. The WPP statement came in at 10.43 pm IST last night.

     

  • WPP and NDTV bring the battle over TAM ratings from the courtrooms to feeding the media with statements countering the other

    NDTV v/s WPP: War of words over the Weekend

    By A Correspondent

     

    I need another holiday, I told the boss.

    But why, he asked?

     

    Because since the time I thought I could bring in the weekend with a drink, the inbox has been inundated with statements from both NDTV and WPP.

     

    Wait, why WPP? The case was against Kantar, right?

     

    Oh, yes, it is. But Kantar is a subsidiary of WPP. And while it’s a listed conglomerate, Sir Martin Sorrell is bossman and he decides what WPP will do.

     

    So while it was good to see the Big WPP Boss himself getting his hands dirty, I was a little surprised to see him speak to the Indian media on the issue. Interviews with Sir Sorrell don’t happen daily, so who wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity.

     

    In one of the interviews, the WPP boss has even suggested that since NDTV’s lawyers essentially deal with litigations for restaurants, the lawsuit has been served correctly.

     

    Ah, well.

     

    Here are the six statements:

     

    26 Aug: Statement saying WPP takes India extremely seriously. That it is “ludicrous” to say WPP is taking India lightly

     

    25 Aug: WPP reacts to the 6 points raised in NDTV’s statement of the same day. Statement says Eric Salama responded to a mail sent by Vikram Chandra on July 27

     

    25 Aug: NDTV responds to WPP’s statement of 24 August (as well as to media interviews). Stings WPP and Sorrel, and sad to read these words: we request Sir Martin not to take India lightly. We request him to clean up his ratings operation in our country and to refrain from using his global PR clout to perpetuate corruption in his India ratings operation

     

    24 Aug: WPP issues a statement in Q&A form. Asserts NDTV’s decline is not down to any perceived failures in TAM data. In an interview with Mint, Sorrell says: “Nothing has been served properly. Nothing at all, that is why we call it a hypothetical lawsuit. The two-lawyer firm (engaged by NDTV) is based in Florida and it specializes in restaurant law. This is an Indian issue, not American. It is a bit of mischief on their part.”

     

    23 Aug: NDTV responds to WPP’s statement. “We request that WPP should focus on honestly fixing (for want of a better word!) their badly damaged and dishonest ratings system in India.”

     

    22 Aug: WPP statement on the NDTV’s “hypothetical” law suit. Says: “WPP is also giving active consideration to issuing proceedings against NDTV for defamation and has instructed its lawyers accordingly.”

     

  • With the war of words between NDTV and WPP never-ending, industry leaders must intervene… else the government will

    MxM Comment: Enough of trading charges. Industry needs to bring warring partners to the table

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    It’s the kind of content that’s been seeing our hit rates go up, but I seriously think enough is enough. It is time the industry gets together and brings warring partners to the table. It’s important that either an industry body like IBF or AAAI or someone who would earn the respect of all parties concerned were to convene this. MxMIndia would have been happy to take the lead, but we’d rather be an independent observer than a participant. Although both Star and Madison do have active linkages with NDTV and WPP respectively, I would think Messrs Sam Balsara and Uday Shankar would do well to take the lead. For, the current blamegame and exchange of unpleasantries can continue forever, and we could still be struggling for solutions.

     

    What’s worse is that Sir Martin Sorrell is himself being dragged into the war of words. So an NDTV statment rubbishes what Sorrell and WPP have to say. And WPP (and Sir Sorrell) haven’t hesitated from commenting on NDTV’s fortunes and its lawyers. Thankfully, Dr Prannoy Roy’s name hasn’t been pulled in yet. But for how long?

     

    Representatives from all stakeholders have privately confided to this writer and corroborated MxMIndia’s original standpoint that it’s the system that’s ought to be blamed for the mess the industry is in and not just TAM. I may even stick my neck out and say that from the information I have, the TAM management isn’t corrupt, though there one may not rule out the presence of some rotten apples in the rank and file. The only way to eliminate that is by a process that has a reasonable number of checks and balances.

     

    TAM’s problem is that for too long it has not had a joint stakeholder body (BARC, earlier Joint Industry Body) governing it and providing it a frame of reference for operations. In the recent past, with the exit of aMap, it’s been a monopolistic play but you can’t blame TAM for that. The industry didn’t patronise aMap well enough.

     

    News broadcasters are particularly peeved with the current measurement system because their demand for a stop to weekly ratings wasn’t accepted by TAM. TAM, on its part, said if all stakeholders – broadcasters, advertisers and agencies – were unanimous, they would make the switch.

     

    WPP is huge in India – Group M, Ogilvy and WPP and several other outfits. The aggregate employee strength is 12,000 and revenues are of around $500million. NDTV too has a reputation of being a quality broadcaster. I am sure neither is taking the Indian market lightly.

     

    Now let’s avoid a bloodbath of words.

     

    PS: I have another worry. The news broadcasters have already asked the Minister of Information and Broadcasting to intervene in the measurement issue. While one appreciates the sentiments of the NBA, asking the government to step in can be suicidal. If the government finds the war of words between statekholders never-ending, it may well do that and last week’s example with blocking Twitter ids is a fair indicator of how governments can act.

     

  • WPP responds to NDTV's statement which in turn had rubbised WPP's earlier statement

    Day 3: Now WPP responds to NDTV salvo

    So you read what NDTV said about WPP’s statement. Now here’s what we just received from WPP in Q&A form to make for better understanding of the situation.

     

     

    Q1. In its press statement, NDTV has said, while they claim that the suit has not been served, WPP surely knows, or should know, that service was indeed made on the 10th of August in New York, and processes under the Hague Convention are also underway. What is the exact situation?

     

    Answer:

    We are aware that the New York lawyers acting for NDTV have filed affidavits of service with the New York court claiming to have served the proceedings on various WPP companies. Despite this, valid service has not taken place and we will be drawing the Court’s attention to these inadequate and misleading statements in our motion to dismiss the claims in their entirety.

     

    There has been a faulty, and clumsy, attempt to serve on one company, but nothing on the others at all. No lawyer acting on behalf of any WPP company has made any such statement. In fact, Kantar Media (Research) UK is not even named as a party to any lawsuit.

     

    We are taking the unusual step of proceeding to dismiss the hypothetical lawsuit, despite the lack of any valid service, simply due to the attempted “trial by media”, which has been generated by the (unserved) lawsuit. In any event, there is no merit in the purported claims, nor do the US courts have any jurisdiction to hear any such claims.

     

    Any claim should be made properly, in India, in front of the Indian courts, which are more than capable of properly hearing any valid claim.

     

    NDTV appears to be blaming their poor financial performance on the ratings. NDTV’s financial state shows a dramatic decline, with its market capitalisation declining from around US $800 million in early 2008 to around US$60 million today. Over the same period NDTV’s share price has declined from a high of Rs 512.70 to around Rs 50 today. NDTV is operating in an extremely competitive market, and its competitors have also been in a difficult position. However, NDTV’s decline is not down to any perceived failures in TAM data.

     

    Q2.Where and when does WPP plan to file the defamation lawsuit?

     

    Answer: As referred to in its statement, WPP is considering an action for defamation and this consideration will include the appropriate jurisdiction.

     

    3. Why doesn’t the operating TAM file the case?

    Answer: TAM will be considering its own action.

     

    4. You say that WPP plans to file an application in New York to strike out the NDTV lawsuit. When will that happen?

    Answer: The application is imminent.

     

    5. What else do you plan to do?

    Answer: WPP is disappointed about the “trial by media” which has been initiated by NDTV. As we have said, TAM has been, and will continue to be, committed to working with the industry to improve the use of technology, coverage and transparency of the TAM data. A series of additional steps has very recently been agreed with the industry.

    WPP is committed to working with all industry stakeholders: we would be very happy to work with the mooted BARC structure: we work extremely well with similar bodies all over the world and would be happy to do so in India.

     

    6. You said in your statement “TAM has taken and continues to take stringent measures to protect the panel against repeated attempts at tampering by currently unknown parties and has recently agreed a series of additional steps with the industry to remove any question marks about the quality and reliability of the TAM data.” The timing of announcing these steps makes it look like TAM is responding to NDTV’s lawsuit. Why didn’t TAM take these steps earlier?

     

    Answer: In fact the steps referred to are just the latest action in an ongoing process of dialogue and improvement in the collection of data and not simply a reaction to the hypothetical lawsuit referred to in the press

     

     

    Now, don’t be surprised if you find an NDTV statement tomorrow… our inboxes are waiting! But, on a serious note, all of this is sad. And sad for the Indian broadcasting sector.

  • PR is clearly the main aim, as the WPP statement contains a number of legal flaws, NDTV notes, asking WPP to correct its "badly damaged and dishonest ratings system in India"

    Battle of courts spills to media statements, as NDTV rubbishes WPP claims

    By A Correspondent

     

    It was meant to be a battle fought in the courtrooms, but not unexpectedly, it’s now got down to the streets. It started with a statement issued by WPP on Wednesday, and on Thursday, news broadcaster NDTV too issued a statement.

     

    We publish it as is, so that none of the finer details are lost:

    NDTV is baffled and amused by the PR effort by WPP. PR is clearly the main aim, as the WPP statement contains a number of legal flaws.

     

    It is indeed strange that they term the suit as hypothetical as it is available for everyone to read in full on the website of the Supreme Court of New York (as reported first by the Hollywood Reporter and read by many since). In fact it appears as though WPP must have read it too as they refer too many details in the NDTV complaint and respond with several false denials!

     

    Moreover, while they claim that the suit has not been served, they surely know, or should know, that service was indeed made on the 10th of August in New York, and processes under the Hague Convention are also underway as is the normal procedure. Moreover, the lawyers for Kantar Media Research (UK), have already confirmed to NDTV that the service on their client was acceptable in New York. In fact, matters have progressed much beyond ‘service’; the lawyers for Nielsen have been in touch with our lawyers and have requested for an extension. In addition, the CEO of Kantar has been in touch with us and has acknowledged receiving the complaint. NDTV has affidavits to substantiate this.

     

    While many may attribute sinister motives to WPP’s Statement which is full of factual and legal errors, NDTV would give them the benefit of the doubt and assume WPP has made a silly error which simple cross-checking through their internal systems will soon correct. If all else fails, for details of the complaint we suggest they visit the Supreme Court of New York’s website where the “non-hypothetical” complaint is detailed in full.

     

    We suggest WPP refrain from using their massive PR machine to make baseless threats against NDTV. Instead we request that WPP should focus on honestly fixing (for want of a better word!) their badly damaged and dishonest ratings system in India – which in their Statement they acknowledge they have control over and is their responsibility.

     

  • Statement says WPP or its operating companies haven't been served any law suit as of yesterday

    WPP takes on NDTV, mulls defamation suit. Says NY courts have no jurisdiction on claims against it

    By  A Correspondent

     

    TAM Media Research’s part-owner WPP (via Kantar Market Research) finally broke its silence on the law suit filed by NDTV Limited in New York, USA.

     

    The statement asserted that the suit has, as of yesterday, not been served on WPP or any of its operating companies. And added: “There is no merit, whatsoever, in any of the claims made in the hypothetical Law Suit relating to the WPP Parties, nor do the courts of New York have any jurisdiction to hear any such claims.”

     

    “Despite the lack of any valid service, the WPP Parties are in the process of issuing an immediate application to strike out the hypothetical Law Suit and will be seeking their costs in so doing,” it said.

     

    Meanwhile, WPP is also active considering initiating legal proceedings against NDTV for defamation and has instructed its lawyers accordingly, the statement said further.

     

    The statement records the TAM being “proud of the service it has been delivering to the market for 14 years, and the way in which investment in technology has been applied to the service”. In a response to some of the charges levied in the NDTV suit, the statement says: “As recent developments indicate, TAM is committed to working with the industry to continuously improve the use of technology, coverage and transparency. TAM has taken and continues to take stringent measures to protect the panel against repeated attempts at tampering by currently unknown parties and has recently agreed a series of additional steps with the industry to remove any question marks about the quality and reliability of the TAM data.” The last bit pointing to the six action points that came out of the meeting with the ISA and AAAI last week.

     

  • TAM offers 6 action steps in meeting with ISA and AAAI on cleansing the measurement mechanism and also taking care of the misgivings in the existing ratings system

    TAM offers 6 action steps in meeting with ISA & AAAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) called a joint meeting on August 16 for TAM to present facts as they are relevant to the users.

     

    “As key users of audience research data, advertisers and advertising agencies need to know facts directly from the research agency. And if there are challenges at any level in the research, the research agency needs to share its proposed action plan with us,” said Bharat Patel, Chairman-ISA and Arvind Sharma, President-AAAI in a communiqué.

     

    TAM shared its perspective with ISA and AAAI and outlined six key action steps:

    • Appointment of a security officer and a security agency
    • Expansion in number of meters in the existing 6 top metros
    • A review by the industry of research processes that determine what TAM reports in its weekly reports. And what meter homes are left out of reporting for being data outliers
    • Getting the outlier homes independently audited
    • Faster panel rotation
    • An internal audit team to be put in place as soon as possible

     

     

    “We look forward to speedy implementation of the six action steps outlined by TAM. With the formation of Broadcast Audience Research Council-BARC on the anvil, it will be appropriate for us to request BARC to review if these steps are adequate,” added Messrs Patel and Sharma in the statement.