Hansa Research wins IRS contract for three years

Hansa Research has been conducting the IRS on behalf of the MRUC since 2003, thus becoming the longest serving agency on IRS

As an extension of its long standing relationship with MRUC (Media Research Users Council), Hansa Research has won the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) contract for the third time in a row for the period 2010—12. Hansa Research has been conducting the IRS on behalf of the MRUC since 2003, thus becoming the longest serving agency on IRS.

Ashok Das, managing director, Hansa Research, says in an official communiqué, "We look forward to handling the IRS contract for the next three years. It allows us the opportunity to innovate and in turn raise the benefits for those utilising the research."

MRUC (institutor of the IRS) intends to release the IRS on a quarterly basis from 2010. Currently, it follows a half yearly format.

Welcoming this move, Arvind Kapila, marketing director, Rajasthan Patrika, says, "It is good news that Hansa will continue doing the IRS. This brings continuity and innovation to the measurement and research approach."

As is known, IRS is a readership survey with an annual sample size exceeding 2,50,000 household interviews. It is a survey for media and product ownership/usage. The prime objective of the study is to collect readership information from a cross section of individuals in great detail so as to present an unbiased picture of their readership habits.

In addition to the print media, the IRS captures information on television and cinema viewing habits, radio listening habits and Internet usage. It also captures information on various FMCG products – usage, consumption and durable ownership – amongst households. Since media and product ownership/consumption information is captured from the same household, it enables the link between the media and product data.

IRS has more than125 subscribers, which includes advertisers, media houses and advertising agencies.

For the record, Hansa Research, part of the RK Swamy Hansa Group, is credited to have brought some innovations to the research, primarily the Household Potential Index (HPI) — a quicker way to profile consumers; iLAP — a tool to understand local area profiles within a city; and better sampling techniques.