NFO-MBL to exit IRS; Hansa Research Group likely to take charge

In a significant development, NFO-MBL, the field research agency for the Indian Readership Survey or IRS, the largest continuous media survey monitoring demographics, media habits and product/brand usage in India, will cease to be associated with the study after the release of the current round, namely round 10, due by the end of this month.

Though no official confirmation from NFO-MBL was forthcoming due to a holiday within the agency on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti yesterday, sources in the know indicated, "this would be the last round" for the agency. Sources maintain that Hansa Research Group, the market research company promoted by ad agency, RK Swamy/BBDO, will take up the fieldwork for subsequent rounds, beginning with round 11. "The entire team working on IRS within NFO, will move to Hansa," highlighted the source.

Official sources at MRUC and Hansa Research maintained things are still at a discussion stage.

Ashok Das, managing director - Hansa Research Group, said, "Nothing has been finalised yet. We are still in discussions with MRUC (Media Research Users Council, governing body for IRS)." Srinivasan Swamy, CEO - RK Swamy/BBDO had a similar line to toe. "There is nothing to confirm," he said. "Hansa Research Group is in dialogue with MRUC and a contract hasn't been signed," he stated. Roda Mehta, chairperson, technical committee, MRUC, simply said, "No call has been taken at the moment."

For the record, NFO-MBL was appointed the field research agency for the Indian Readership Survey in 2001 after incumbent ORG-Marg opted out of the contract, citing financial reasons. Ashok Das, who was then president of ORG-Marg, had told agencyfaqs! then, "We have never made money on the IRS in any single year. We did quite well on sales this year (2001), for instance, but we still made losses."

Das had stressed on the nature of the IRS contract coupled with the size of the market, limited by competition between two surveys (NRS and IRS) as the factors responsible for the "burden" on ORG-Marg. "It is difficult for this market to support two large surveys," he had said hinting that a single currency would be a better option. "We have suggested that they (MRUC) can talk to NRSC (National Readership Studies Council, governing body for the NRS) and get together for a single survey," he had added.

Though voiced almost two years ago, Das' concern has takers today at MRUC with its new director general, NP Sathyamurthy, who is into his third day in office at Worli, Mumbai, sharing a similar point of view. "Frankly, multiple databases only create confusion in the market place," he says. The challenge is to bring various industry bodies together across media, and offer a single currency which is acceptable to all, in terms of pricing, credibility and timelines, making it unbiased at the same time. This will ensure apple-to-apple comparisons as well as make it commercially viable to cover a larger sample base for improved veracity and insights."

For all his noble intentions though, a "coming together" seems unlikely at least for now with the current round of the IRS to be released by the end of this month and the NRS 2003 slated for launch at the onset of the monsoons. © 2003 agencyfaqs!