Radio audience measurement in Australia from January 2014
Nuremberg, 25 February 2013 – Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has awarded the contract for radio audience measurement to international market research company GfK. The three year contract starts on 1 January 2014 and aims to make radio audience measurement in Australia fit for the future.
Commercial Radio Australia Ltd (CRA) is the national industry body representing Australia’s commercial radio broadcasters. Commercial Radio Australia Ltd currently has 260 members, representing 99 percent of commercial radio licensees on air in the country.
For market research organization GfK, which has already been successfully measuring audiences in a number of European countries, this is the first audience measurement contract in the Asia and the Pacific region. It marks a major step forward in the new corporate strategy, which aims to expand audience measurement and media research outside Europe. The new contract is a major milestone and confirms the great importance of Asia and the Pacific as a growth region. GfK is taking over the contract from Nielsen Media, which has been responsible for radio audience measurement in Australia for more than 60 years.
Gary Lamb, Managing Director of GfK Australia, comments: “We are thrilled to be working together with CRA to future-proof radio audience measurement by bringing exciting innovations to recruitment and data-collection techniques, new software for data analysis and advertising optimization, and fresh perspectives on listening behavior.”
Introduction of e-diary
Mobile data capture, online recruitment of participants and online data capture will be key new features of the radio audience measurement. The new contract ensures a multi-mode approach to data collection and includes plans for the testing of electronic measurement enhancements. It also includes the introduction of an e-diary for computers, tablets and mobile phones, synchronized across the internet and compatible with all operating systems. In this way, GfK will modernize the overall system of data capture, future-proofing the Australian radio industry’s audience measurement, while at the same time, ensuring consistency with historic data trends.
“GfK was chosen by the industry to move radio audience measurement forward in the immediate future due to its extensive international experience, reputation for research excellence, and innovative but rigorous approaches to the measurement challenges ahead. This new relationship marks an exciting transition for the Australian radio industry,” said Joan Warner, Chief Executive Officer of CRA.
GfK will conduct further parallel pilot testing throughout 2013 to ensure validity of the new data capture methods and comparability with the existing currency. From the first survey in 2014, a minimum of 20 percent of survey participants will be recruited online and asked to complete the e-diary. Also included in the new contract is the option of real-time management and monitoring of the personal placement of diaries to ensure that population potentials for demographic groups which are difficult to reach are represented appropriately in the sample. Trials of the e-diaries conducted in 2012 were completely successful and met with high levels of acceptance among listeners.
CRA is also launching a Gold Standard for radio analysis software in 2014 that will allow for certification of software used for radio audience measurement reporting in future. In addition, GfK will launch a new panel comprising at least 5,000 members to track audience behavior of radio listeners. It will go beyond the standard surveys and examine key issues for the radio and media industries including consumption of radio via the internet, platform usage trends, the role of radio in people’s lives, and mobile and headphone listening. The major insights will be reported on a quarterly basis.
About GfK
GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, with more than 12,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2011, GfK’s sales amounted to €1.37 billion.
To find out more, visit www.gfk.com