Mxit joins the DMMA

Mobile is currently under-reported by the DMMA's official measurement provider, Effective Measure (EM), as there are a number of challenges with gathering data across these devices - particularly feature phones. Jarred Cinman, chair of the DMMA, explains: "The DMMA measures audience data in two ways; a tag-based tool that gauges site traffic for in-depth analysis, and an online survey that provides audience demographical data. Because both the tagging mechanism and survey do not work well on smart and feature phones, a large section of internet mobile traffic is under-reported - particularly the lower LSM market."

With Mxit coming on board, the DMMA is now able to incorporate more mobile data in its reporting. Mxit functions on over 8,000 different mobile devices, and a mechanism is being developed that will allow the DMMA audience survey to appear on cellphones that have the mobile network. Data gathered from these surveys will then be weighted against the AMPS universe to provide a realistic audience picture, and Mxit apps will also appear on the EM leader boards.

Large footprint

"Mxit's footprint is large in the areas we have very little information about. We have access to some of this data through the Vodacom portal, but we know a great deal of this audience's time is spent on Mxit. With Mxit joining the single currency, we will now be able to survey and ultimately represent these users - a massive chunk of the market which was previously left behind," says Cinman.

From Mxit's perspective, the move allows it to conform to a single, recognised industry standard. Andrew Kramer, Vice President of Sales for Mxit, says: "Since the new Mxit management took over at the end of 2012, we have been very clear that from a reporting perspective we want to fall in line with industry standards. To reflect this, we have moved our user numbers reporting from past 90 days to past 30 days and shifted all advertising formats onto CPM and CPC pricing.