RAM gives boost to private FM, says Radio ADEX study

Launched by TAM Media Research in 2007 for the radio Industry, Radio Audio Measurement (RAM) has led to growth in ad duration volume by 87 per cent, apart from an increase of 42 per cent in the advertiser base in four Indian Indian metros -- Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), launched by TAM Media Research in 2007 for the radio industry, is perhaps one of the biggest sources of growth of advertising on radio channels. A recent universe establishment study and panel based respondent data by TAM, collected during May-August 2011 across the four key metros which has the presence of RAM, as well as the additional nine cities of Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Nagpur and Pune, shows how RAM changed the universe for radio advertising.

In an official communique, L V Krishnan, chief executive officer (CEO), TAM, says, "This time, the RAM roll out is much wider and deeper. These nine cities will help advertisers get an insight into the interaction between the radio and their consumers, and also help broadcasters fine tune their basket of programming for these audiences. This will help propel higher commercial viability for the industry at large."

The first finding of the Radio ADEX data reflects a very positive change that RAM has brought about in the four metros, when the advertising numbers for the period of January-June 2011 is compared with the same period in 2007, the year RAM was launched. The first findings state that the advertising duration volume grew by 87 per cent, in addition to new advertisers entering the four regions, which resulted in an increase of 42 per cent in the advertiser base. Also, the number of brands participating in radio advertising grew by 45 per cent.

The study also highlights trends about radio listenership or consumption behaviour between the nine cities. One such trend that has come to the fore is that the universe size of the newly-added nine markets is 50 per cent of the existing four RAM markets. Furthermore, according to the study, the southern markets observe higher FM penetration, as compared to northern markets.

The study also reveals that on an average, there is 95 per cent FM universe that has been reached in a week across all the markets apart from Chennai and Jaipur, which has 100 per cent weekly reach. Also, the time spent listening in the nine new markets, is comparatively more than the existing four metro markets. Moreover, markets like Nagpur and Jaipur observe 28.29 (hh:mm) and 24.05 (hh:mm) time spent on a weekly basis.

The study next states that while a majority of the newly added nine markets are heavy in home listening, out of home listening in the existing four metros markets is higher compared to the new markets. Meanwhile, Indore and Lucknow are lowest in rank when it comes to listening to radio out of home. Moreover, majority of the new markets have a heavy composition of male audiences, whereas the existing Mumbai and Kolkata markets witness a substantial composition of female audiences.

The study then highlights facts like listenership in the northern cities like Delhi and Jaipur are skewed towards higher SECs, while markets like Nagpur and Kanpur are skewed towards lower SECs. Meanwhile, the morning time band observes highest listenership contribution across the day throughout all the markets; however, Indore observes the highest listenership contribution from the mid-morning time band.

The study in the end reveals that listenership contribution on Saturday and Sunday are higher for the new markets, whereas in the existing markets, Saturday observes least contribution.

The study conducted between the period of May to August 2011, consisted of two steps -- the first one, the Radio Establishment Survey, conducted from May-June, 2011, comprised steps such as defining and updating the reporting universe for RAM, ascertain factors that influence radio consumption and help in setting the sampling frames for the panel setup.

The second part of the study called Panel Recruitment, Counselling and Reporting was conducted in July-August 2011, and included steps such as random, stratified sampling to ensure robust representation, panel counselling, and a management team which delivered the highest quality through respondent compliance.