Publisher Research Council launches Establishment Survey

Dejan Bozic © – 123RF.com

The BRC and PRC are the funders and owners of the data.

Peter Langschmidt, research consultant to the PRC says ES is a multi-purpose, multi-media survey providing context for all media and all media currencies in South Africa. The hub with donor currencies is based on global best practice and was proposed in 2013 by Kuper research, while conducting an AMPS future proofing exercise for Saarf.

This means the ES is a central hub with a ‘democratic sample’ that matches population and is linked, via common fusion hooks (such as demographics and media consumption), to currency donor research surveys.

These surveys generally match sales, so samples are skewed towards urban areas and called ‘monetary or sales samples’. The first currency to be linked will be Tams in April, Rams and Pams will follow later in the year.

Any other media owner survey, brand or product usage or survey with sufficient demographic and geographic hooks can be fused with the ES. Companies with large databases can even ‘multi-base’ their customer database with the ES.

It measures reading (not just print and digital), viewing (not just TV) and listening (not just radio), which reflects the new reality of how people consume media. Therefore, it is platform agnostic, displaying total audience as well as audience by individual platform. Cinema and On the Go are also included.

Probability sample

The nationally representative probability sample of people aged 15 years and over, with a sample size of 25,000 per annum will be released across two waves (12,500 per wave). All measures are consistent across all media with the primary questionnaire being designed by Kantar Media UK. New measures, such as time spent with each medium, are also included.

The data is consistent and reliable as interviewing is spread over 49 weeks of the year, ensuring that all periods in the year are covered across all provinces and area types. Releases happen twice a year, based on six months worth of data.

Now, after 40 years of using the single source AMPS, this new ES hub and currency donor model takes some getting used to. However, working with the data and seeing how each constituency can now get the best of both worlds and control their own sample to match their medium has tremendous benefits, as opposed to everyone being shoe-horned into a single sample.

The Establishment Survey launch can be classed as a ‘mini-launch as the primary launch will take place in September when the first full year of data, based on the 25,000 sample, will be released and the new reading currency, PAMS, will be linked to the ES and will be released shortly afterwards.

For more information, go to www.prc.za.com.