Man & his Media!



Photo Credit: Ravi Kiran



A picture is worth a thousand words.. but here I want to add a few words to this photo. I am sure this picture by Ravi Kiran caused many more to ponder than only those who left their comments on his post. Different people may have seen the picture with a totally different perspective and I was just thinking of all the different perspectives that could have been possible. Here I would want to comment on possibly what thoughts this photo would have germinated in the minds of professional related to media.

What does a professional (media) think when he/she sees a person of this profile reading the TOI?

Now, when I say "this profile" I am not being judgemental nor do I want to hurt any sentiments. By the looks of it (note, the words) the person is a of lower SEC, probably has no shelter, is low on means of subsistence and hence not really a desired target for most branded products and services. For anyone who has a different pov on the above profile, it may be futile reading further as the difference in our perspectives will only get wider.

Of course! maybe the person in the photograph may have just got the newspaper from a passerby and it was just a coincidence that Ravi captured him on camera with the newspaper. Maybe, the person is not a regular reader at all.

But, then as I said, for arguments sake let us just look 'at' the picture and not try to look 'behind' the picture and continue the discussion further. 

The newspaper is a product and like most products is designed to cater to a certain profile of audience. If the newspaper defines, its desired audience in terms of demographic characteristics (Gender, Age, SEC, MHI) then the man in the photo may probably not qualify as the desired audience. But, if the newspaper defines its desired profile in terms of a mindset, in terms of an attitude - though the picture does not tell us much about that but, the person may well qualify.

However, if I may take a guess, the demographic profile of the person in the picture does not match the desired profile for over 90% of the advertisers in the newspaper. The advertiser may wonder if the perception (possibly supported by research data) that he has about the profile of the readers of this newspaper is correct?  And, he would only hope that there are not many others of a similar profile who read this newspaper.

The advertiser is bound to give his media agency a tough time when next he sees his media plan.

The media planner will quickly rationalize that yes - 6% (say) of the readership of the  newspaper basis the IRS does come from the lower SEC and hence this person reading the newspaper is not surprising at all. Going a step further, the planner may start qualifying that while the man is seen reading he may still not be an 'average issue reader' and hence may not be part of the CPT calculations in the plan.

If the query reaches the media researcher, I am sure the researcher will be able to explain how the said profile is an exception and even if counted in the research it would not have enough weightage to skew the overall profile of the reading audience. Besides, since the research is a masthead recall research if the person is not a regular reader - he may just not recall the masthead even if he is part of the research sample.

Each, in their own world thinking of just what concerns them - but they all miss the big picture.

The 'Man' and the 'Media' are not just 'eyeballs' or 'mastheads' - these are two in a relationship. There is a bond between them. Imagine the hardships and challenges that the man must be facing in life - but, he makes time for his media. He is as immersed in it just as much as you and I would be - in the luxury of our rooms. The newspaper gives him something he cherishes, it does something to him which he finds very valuable. As a media, as an advertiser, as a planner or as a media researcher - unless we understand this relationship we cannot make a judgement on what is depicted in the picture. Whatever, would be the demographic profile of the man; whether the man is on a pavement or if he were reclining on a luxury yacht - it is the relationship between him and his media - that is of interest.

Yes, reaching an audience of a desired profile is important; but, engaging with the audience is critical. Just knowing that a certain person identified a masthead is not enough to know how to build an engagement with the person by using some space below the masthead.

And, all of us - involved in the business of media have nothing with us to understand this relationship. Unless we understand the relationship we cannot partner with the newspaper to deliver to the consumer a 'facet' of the advertising brand and hope that the consumer will engage further.

The research we currently have is just like this 'long-shot'; we know that the person most probably is a reader and that is about all that we know from the photo/research - rest all is left for us to hypothesize.

Do not divide - and rule!!

Yes, that seems to be the philosophy of media research providers in India. In a market that is otherwise offering choice to consumers like never before, media research providers have a very contrary view on providing choice. Let me explain.
 

If one has to buy any syndicated research what one gets is the total solution. This total solution includes the database along with the software that rides on that database. IRS data come with the IRS Analyser; the radio database (ILT) comes with the EARS software; NRS data come with Sesame; the TAM database comes with its own softwares Xpress, Xpert and Viewergraphics; and, finally, AMAP TV data also can be analysed through their own software.

Largely, the choice the consumer of media research gets is whether one wants to buy the product or not. There is not much scope for breaking up the total solution and buying components from across vendors. No choice in that area.

So, the mantra is that ‘if you want to use my data, you need to buy my software’. This approach sounded fantastic when providing the software was a sure value addition where people were tired of reading voluminous printed reports. However, now these softwares are hygiene and at times a limitation to the kind of analysis one wants to do.

Well! Each of the software providers may say that ‘you can always buy the raw data separately from us’ and do your own analysis. Yes, we can buy the raw data but will it be available at a reasonable cost -- after having paid for the data and software already? Yes, we can buy the raw data but are there any companies that provide the data online – at the same time as their normal data are released? Mostly, the raw data are provided long after. Yes, we can buy the raw data but is there any guarantee that the research provider will adhere to the defined data formats and codes and not change these according to their justified requirements? Yes, we can buy the raw data but is there any standardization in the measures, definitions, data formats and codes that will enable us to seamlessly build applications that cut across databases?

The answer to all these is a NO. All research providers do not provide access to raw data. The raw data if on sale are very expensive to buy. They are usually available after an appreciable lag beyond the release of the regular data. The database formats and codes change frequently. There are no standards of data exchange.

This problem we are facing is a lack of open systems. We have all seen the growth of industries that have open systems – computer hardware and software, telecom, Internet, etc. This is the era of plug-and-play but our media research providers are not ready to divide their systems.

The systems need to be divided into data as one unit and application software as the other unit. One should be able to buy data in specified standard formats from any research provider and the application software from another, if one so desires. On the one hand, this will reduce the barriers to entry in the media measurement space as companies with strength in either of the functions can create a niche and provide specialized service. On the other hand, it will drive investments into data analysis applications by media organizations, each trying to analyze the data in their own way. In the long run, it will bring value to media research users.

The task of bringing these open systems into existence lies with the user bodies that regulate the media research in the country. It should be on the agenda of the MRUC, NRSC, JIB, etc., to insist upon open systems so that it encourages specialization, competition and innovation and brings in true choice for the media research users.

(Published earlier in Viewpoint, Exchange4media)