Australian radio industry signs contract for integrated audience surveys

The radio industry in Australia has chosen the GfK international research group to conduct the country’s first integrated electronic audience surveys.

Announcing the awarding of a three-year contract, Joan Warner, chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), says the country’s radio industry has taken the first step to future-proofing its audience measurement system from 1 January 2014.

The contract will provide such features as mobile data capture and online recruitment and data capture.

“This marks a new era for the future of radio audience measurement in Australia, ensuring currency continuity and a multi-mode approach to data collection, including plans for the testing of electronic measurement enhancements,” she said.

The service will introduce an e-diary for computers, tablets and mobile phones, synchronised across the Internet and compatible with all operating systems, with other features being tested this year.

From the first survey in 2014 there will be a minimum of 20% of survey participants recruited online and completing the e-diary. This percentage will be closely monitored with the aim of reviewing and possibly increasing the percentage for year two.

“The aim [is] to integrate the best and latest form of electronic measurement by the end of the first three-year term,” Ms Warner said.

GfK will also launch a new radio audience behaviour panel which will go beyond the surveys and examine key issues for the radio and media industries including consumption of radio via the Internet, platform usage trends, the role of radio in people’s lives, mobile and headphone listening. This panel will be made up of 5,000 respondents per year with quarterly reporting of key insights.

Gary Lamb, Managing Director of GfK said: “This is a big day for GfK, and we fully appreciate its importance for the Australian radio industry.”

The GfK Group is a global research corporation established almost 75 years ago as Germany’s first market research institute, and claims to be the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, with more than 10,000 employees in 100-plus countries.