BRC's 'blank canvas' painted with RAMS data

Despite only having data available from April to August 2021, the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa and researcher Ipsos used a “blank canvas” to meet the needs of the radio broadcasting sector.

In a webinar held on Friday, BRCSA CEO Gary Whitaker said the industry body’s mandate was to “provide stable currency that would never [again] be affected by external factors such as the pandemic”. To do so required “best in class thinking” and to include improvements such as more inclusivity in terms of the panels.

The data gathered was scrutinised by Robert Ruud and Brenda Wortley of Robert Ruud and Brenda Wortley of 3M3A and leading statistician, Professor Ariane Neethling, The auditors and the expert statistician endorsed the veracity and robustness of the dataset, declaring it “fit for release”.

Because the pandemic brought to a halt face-to-face interviews in field, the BRC and Ipsos used telephonic and passive listeners’ panels to gather the data. Ipsos’ Hendrik van Blerk says the telephonic interviews used a system of random cellphone numbers across all service providers. With 95% of South Africans using cellphones, this allowed for a random distribution of South Africa’s population. Ipsos conducted three thousand interviews a month.

“This is the media and advertising industry’s bold step into a new era of audio measurement, designed to support commercial trading,” Whitaker said.

He stressed that due to the changes in methodology from face-to-face manual completion 7-day diaries to the dual method computer aided telephonic interviews (CATI) day after recall (DAR) and a MediaCell passive listening panel, “this new dataset is not comparable to the previous BRC RAM™ dataset”.

The methodology, the BRCSA explained, has been structured into two parts. Firstly, the 3 000 CATI conducted monthly (36 000 per year and nationally representative) provided audience measurement in 15-minute segments, along with audience tracking on radio events and roadshows. The programme covered over 280 stations (commercial, African language and community).

Secondly, a MediaCell Passive Listening Panel, which measures linear broadcast and digital consumption of 4 000 panellists daily, with minute-by-minute tracking of activities. MediaCell data, will only be incorporated at the end of Q1 2022 once the fully recruited panel is in place.

“This dual methodology will ensure an uninterrupted radio currency that delivers data more frequently with granular insights to aid all sectors of the market,” Whitaker said.

“We are very pleased about the new BRC RAMS AMPLIFY™ approach. As an industry, we now have a much clearer understanding of the South African radio landscape and of our own listener behaviour. The shift from Face-to-Face to CATI DAR as a methodology, as well as the inclusion of a listening panel, represent a huge leap forward,” said Primedia Broadcasting chief strategy officer, Deborah Schepers.

Chairman of Primedia Broadcasting, Geraint Crwys-Williams, said radio had been challenged as a category without its currency. This release, he said, couldn’t have come sooner. “Looking at the RAMS results, I am thrilled to see strong listener engagement with the medium in South Africa, particularly on our Primedia Broadcasting stations, and congratulate the BRC on completing a difficult task to deliver this release.”

947 and Kfm 94.5 have now both surpassed the 1 million mark for P7D listenership
Kfm 94.5 has 40% more listeners than its nearest competitor in the Western Cape
702’s listenership is now 774 681, affirming the work done on the station’s repositioning a year ago
CapeTalk’s audience count is now 143 014, the station’s largest ever on-air listenership.

Crwys-Williams said the data confirmed radio as being “the single most credible source of reliable news and information. As fake news and misinformation spread, we can and must counter it with courageous, independent news and radio brands delivering credible, market-leading content; a commitment we take very seriously at Eyewitness News”.

He pointed to the strength of CapeTalk’s “exceptionally high digital streaming uptake, much higher than its reported terrestrial radio base. For the first time, the RAMS numbers now reflect the station’s presence, and the terrestrial numbers are higher than the already impressive streaming figures”.

In KwaZulu-Natal, East Coat Radio reported reaching 1 256 000 people over a seven-day period. “What is important to us is a high level of engagement and responsiveness from our audience,” said managing director, Boni Mchunu. “That is an indication that we connect with them, and that as a brand, East Coast Radio matters in their lives.

“Our programming is designed with our audience’s needs in mind. Because of the Covid-19 lockdown, we understood that their habits, movements, and needs had changed. As such, we made changes to our programming to suit these behaviours. All our teams tweaked their thinking and strategy to tailor-make campaigns and packages that put the listener, in the new normal, first.”

Jacaranda FM reported an audience of over 1.4 million listeners every week with a 1 558 000-strong digital community. “It’s really energising to see how much our audience has grown, especially during the pandemic where Jacaranda FM’s family values and innovations are being sought out by consumers,” said managing director, Deirdre King. The RAMS data show 32% of the Jacaranda FM audience are between 35-49 years old, while 28% of their listeners belong to the 25-34 year market. The station appeals to young and old alike as 18% of listeners are younger than 24 years old and 23% are older than 50 years.

The full presentation can be downloaded here.

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