TAM’s RAM to launch in October

Currently, the data will be available for three cities, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, but Kolkata will soon be added to the list, maybe before the year ends

TAM Media Research is all set to launch its first set of data for radio audience measurement in India this month. Called RAM (radio audience measurement), it will cover three cities – Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. But the research company plans to add Kolkata to the list by the end of 2007.

RAM, which will be weekly in terms of frequency, uses the diary method for audience measurement. It hopes to become the currency in radio audience measurement as TAM is in the television sector.

Comparing the two methodologies of radio audience measurement in the country, the diary method and brand recall, LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research, says, “While the diary method slightly overestimates the data, brand recall method underestimates it.”

However, Krishnan adds that diary method is widely used across the world and as this form of research is done regularly the overestimation is evened out and the data is more accurate.

For the uninitiated, the MRUC (Media Research Users Council), which conducts the readership survey IRS, also comes out with radio audience measurement data based on the brand recall methodology.

Nielsen, which is one of the partners in RAM besides IMRB, is working on an electronic measurement system for the FM sector, and this methodology is being tested in various markets. The same methodology will be tested in India by the third or last quarter of 2008, and Krishnan says that the electronic measurement system will provide more accurate minute to minute data.

The diary method divides the listenership over parts of the day and identifies the station on which the listener has spent the maximum time during various time bands.

Currently, the reporting sample size for the each city is 480 individuals. A central body randomly chooses the sample and the field worker has no say in it. It’s only after 10-12 repeated attempts, when an individual doesn’t agree that a new individual is considered.

The sample has been divided as per socioeconomic classification (SEC), and 120 individuals have been chosen from each SEC – A, B C, and D and E. Similarly, the sample has been split into other categories such as five age groups and the two genders. While 96 individuals have been selected from each age group, 240 individuals have been selected from each gender.

RAM promises to answer many specific queries raised by media agencies such as which station suits which brand target group (TG) perfectly, or which part of the day is most efficient for reaching out to a particular TG. RAM also promises to evaluate return on investment as it will provide data on how much reach a brand could get, or the cost effectiveness of the medium.

Similarly, the measurement system also promises to answer several other queries such as when do people listen to radio, whether each station has its own unique set of listeners, and the time spent by a listener on a station.

Just like the TAM data, RAM has divided its data into several parameters such as reach and cumulative reach, time spent listening, average audience, and target audience rating point (TARP), which is similar to the TVR in television measurement. TARP represents the percentage of the universe listening for any quarter hour over the defined time period, which is affected by both reach and time spent by listeners on the station.

RAM has come up with the penetration of radio and FM in three cities. In Mumbai, the penetration of radio owners was 71 per cent, and out of these, 98 per cent are FM owners.

Similarly in Delhi and Bangalore, the penetration of radio and FM is 91 per cent and 83 per cent, respectively. And FM owners in Delhi and Bangalore stand at 100 per cent and 98 per cent, respectively.

Interestingly, among FM owners, Mumbai is the city where maximum people own FM through mobile phones (49 per cent), while in Delhi and Bangalore, more people use FM radio sets – 73 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively.

The corresponding figures for mobile phones with FM in Delhi and Bangalore are 39 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, while in Mumbai, the percentage of listeners owning FM radio sets is 41 per cent.

Krishnan said that the percentage of people owning portable FM devices in all three cities is very high and, despite that, listenership is still very high at home as compared to out of home. This implies that the potential of stations reaching out to listeners outside home is very high, and FM radio as a medium can be consumed anywhere and everywhere.

It is also learnt that most FM players in these three cities have subscribed to this service, except for Radio Mirchi, which is the market leader. But Krishnan is optimistic that Radio Mirchi will soon join the bandwagon, as talks are still on.