Press Releases
Th UAE People Meter study – a point of view from the board of the Advertisers’ Business Group
Mon, 23 Jan, 2012
The UAE People Meter (“TView”) project is now a live research study and we hope it will be made commercially available to Media Agencies and non-stakeholder broadcasters in the near future. Several questions are being raised by the advertising and marketing community, many of which will be addressed by TView via a published FAQ. When this is available, the ABG will share it with our members. In the meantime here is our current assessment of the situation and a response to some of the issues that have been raised.
The ABG lobbied the TRA – successfully - to open up the Technical Committee to all interested and technically capable parties. Technical questions have been resolved via that Committee. The ABG hopes that all its members’ media agencies took up the opportunity to play a full role in the project and that they will continue to do so. Advertisers were also represented on the Technical Committee. All key issues were settled by the Committee by consensus. Any unresolved issues should be taken back to the Committee and resolved.
The ABG encouraged the Steering Committee to include in the research a strong representation of South Asian stations, as for some ABG members these stations reflect the cultural interests of half our consumers. The Technical Committee played a full part in drawing up the final list of stations covered.
The ABG’s involvement in this project has been entirely post-tender. Like the MBUs, multinational advertisers were invited by the TRA to the inaugural meeting at which the tender outcome was announced. Advertisers chose immediately to take up the TRA’s offer of a consultative role on the Steering Committee. MBUs chose not to take up the similar position offered to them. Questions about the tender process should be directed to the tender organisers.
Questions have been raised about the cost of the study. This is a matter for buyers and the seller to resolve between themselves. We are confident that both groups, having a long history of successfully completing complex negotiations, are more than capable of reaching agreement.
The ABG’s “observer” status is entirely appropriate: our role is to observe and advise. If the final product is professionally produced and a move forward, we will commend it to our members and expect our agencies to use it. If we see shortcomings, we are free to offer constructive criticism without being compromised by any commercial interest in the project itself.
In our opinion, the TView team should take the following action in order to ensure the project’s success:
1. Issue a FAQ in response to all technical issues that have been raised by advertisers and agencies.
2. Move rapidly to complete the incorporation of the new TView company.
3. Bring to market quickly a fully-functioning realistically priced commercial release of the data.
4. Introduce a rolling audit of the process, with regular reports to the Technical Committee.
5. Create a framework for sharing learning from the project with organisers of the proposed Saudi Arabian people meter project.
Our position overall is that the new study represents a step forward because it uses a robust methodology and because the operating researcher has experience in managing the technology. We expect benefits to accrue to agencies and their clients through the development of a behaviour-based viewing study. And we expect broadcasters to benefit from an enhanced ability to optimise their programme schedules. Technical improvements can always be suggested and implemented via the Technical Committee.
At this stage the most encouraging factor is that real progress is being made after many years of debate. The ABG will formally review the research as soon as the full commercial release is available. We hope to be able to give the research our full endorsement following that review.
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