Ipsos wins Radio Audience Measurement Survey contract in South Africa

As part of the new relationship, Ipsos will utilise global expertise, working closely with the industry, to introduce a leading edge and innovative measurement to the market, the aim being to integrate the latest form of electronic measurement tools to future-ready this programme.

“In addition to the changing media landscape and consumer habits, the international pandemic and our own lockdown regulations accelerated the clear need for the radio listenership currency to be made future-ready for many reasons,” says Gary Whitaker, CEO at the Broadcast Research Council (BRC) of South Africa.

Pitch consultants, IAS, were appointed by the BRC to manage the RFP process, ensuring that a structured and fair process was followed. The RFP was run in the true spirit of collaboration with the inclusion of as many sectors as possible on the RFP briefing and judging committees. The broadcasters appointed members with varied roles inside their own organisations ranging from research to programming to commercial sales. Community radio was represented by members of the MDDA (Media Development and Diversity Agency) and NCRF (National Community Radio Forum) as well as The Media Connection. The AMF (Advertising Media Forum) appointed a representative as did the MRF (Marketing Research Foundation).

“Broadening the scope to the measurement of audio listening, as opposed to just traditional radio listening, is an exciting development, which should assist planners and strategists to form a much clearer picture of audiences’ listening behaviour and consumption patterns across the different audio platforms,” says Johann Koster, CEO of the MRF.

In South Africa, Ipsos will introduce a combined methodological approach, deploying international measurement standards that will provide robust sampling. The programme will measure linear broadcast and digital consumption of 4,000 panellists weekly, with minute-by-minute tracking of activities. In addition, 3,000 CATI interviews will be conducted monthly to provide audience measurement in 15-minute segments, along with audience tracking on radio events and roadshows. The programme will cover 280 stations (commercial, South African language and community).

“Consumers are able to access media across a variety of platforms and devices, and we have to keep pace with the technology that changes the way that these consumers access radio. We also understand that broadcasters are not only looking for reliable currency, but for deeper insights on how listening habits are changing. Our approach will future-ready this programme with the integration of data from multiple sources and by driving new technology solutions from MediaCell for passive measurement, a first in the sub-Saharan Africa market. This will provide broadcasters, media agencies and advertisers the robust and representative data they require,” says Nick Coates, country manager of Ipsos in South Africa.

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Jim Ford, global MediaCell lead at Ipsos, adds: “This is a really exciting development for both Ipsos and the radio industry in South Africa. The faster and more granular data that the MediaCell technology delivers is a game changer and will capture both broadcast radio and device streaming from a large and representative panel, ensuring the measurement of audio services in South Africa will be future-ready.”

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