Press Releases

The AMPS^®2008B CD’s will include the Technical Report, Media by Demographics & Services, Media by LSM groups 1–4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 (for Total Adults), as well as the Branded Data report (branded data by demographics).

In addition to the CD’s, SAARF has also decided that in the interest of making the data more widely available to all stakeholders, the contents of the CD’s will also be available free of charge on the SAARF website in future. This facility should be up and running before the end of April 2009.

The information that will be made available at the industry presentations will be under embargo until 12:00 on Thursday 18 September 2008, and attendees will naturally be expected to honour this arrangement.

The AMPS^®2008A CD’s will include the Technical Report, Media by Demographics & Services, Media by LSM groups 1–4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 (for Total Adults), as well as the Branded Data report (branded data by demographics). These CD’s will be available within 14 days of the release date.

The Order form for the above-mentioned CD is also available on our website under “Order Publications”.

AMPS® 2007B - Media becoming a bigger part of South Africans’ lives

South African adults are consuming more media. As measured by the latest All Media and Products Survey (AMPS®), most media types have shown significant growth over the previous AMPS®, released in September 2007 (AMPS® 2007A).

This latest AMPS® release also shows positive gains being made in terms of the development of South African society, with improvements being seen in the SU-LSM® wealth measure, as well as in education and access to services and amenities.

SAARF AMPS® provides a wealth of information on South Africa’s adults (aged 16+). The cornerstones of AMPS® are people’s demographic data, which media they consume, from print to radio to cinema, and which products and brands they purchase and use. SAARF AMPS® 2007B also includes Branded AMPS®, with data on products and brands, including FMCG brands, fast food outlets, cell phones, financial institutions, and food and grocery retailers, amongst others. This allows users to match target markets with media consumption behaviour, segment markets, identify characteristics of media consumers as well as their brand usage, and identify opportunities for individual media types and titles.

SAARF AMPS® 2007B presents data collected during the February to November 2007 period. The total sample size was 21 068 respondents, representing a total universe of adults, aged 16+, of 31,109-million people, an increase over AMPS® 2007A of 0.7%, or 206 000 people.

All comparisons made are between the previous AMPS® release, AMPS® 2007A, and the current release, AMPS® 2007B.

More homes have electricity. Nationally, 87.4% of homes are electrified, up from 86.0%, with specific gains being made in Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

More homes also have water piped in, with a resultant decline in the incidence of water on the plot only. Currently, 51.2% have water in the home (up from 49.5%) with significant growth of this service in KwaZulu-Natal, and 23.3% have water on the plot (down from 24.4%, especially in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng).

The incidence of flush toilets in the home has grown, from 44.4% to 46.2%. These gains were seen especially in Gauteng, on the Reef and in Pretoria.

Bad news for Eskom but good news for the country’s development index, is that the incidence of geysers in households has grown (35.6% to 37.3%). Putting more strain on the national grid is the growing number of electric stoves making an appearance in homes. Just over 56% of homes now have electric stoves (from 53.6%), while gas and charcoal stoves have been on the decline, falling from 16.6% to 15.4%. Across the country, except in the Western Cape and North West, more homes have microwave ovens than before, up from 41.6% to 45.9%.

The wealth profile of South Africa continues to steadily improve. SAARF’s Universal Living Standards Measure (SU-LSM®) shows the steady exodus of people from the lower SU-LSM®s, while the ranks of the upper middle and upper SU-LSM®s are swelling.

Over the previous AMPS® release, SU-LSM® 1 has fallen from 4.8% of the total population, to 4.1%, with losses seen especially in the Eastern Cape. SU-LSM® 2 has declined from 11.0% to 9.8% nationally, with significant declines in Mpumalanga and the Free State. The decline of SU-LSM® 3 completes the picture of a dwindling lower class. This group now accounts for 10.8% of South African adults, down from 11.9%. These changes were seen especially in KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape.

Higher up the scale, SU-LSM 6 and 7 have grown. Nationally, SU-LSM® 6 is up to 17.3%, from 16.0% in the previous AMPS® release. SU-LSM® 7 has grown significantly from 8.5% to 9.3%.

Looking back just three years to 2004, these changes are even more noteworthy. SU-LSM® 1-4 has declined by 24% since AMPS® 2004, from 50.6% to 38.5%. SU-LSM® 5-6 has grown by 17%, from 27.1% of the population to 31.8%. The top SU-LSM® groups have also increased significantly, with SU-LSM® 7-8 growing by 45% (11.0% to 16.0%), and SU-LSM® 9-10 by 21% (11.3% to 13.7%).

Income levels are slowly improving. Significantly fewer people are to be found on the two lowest income levels, while income brackets higher up are swelling. SAARF believes this is not due to people becoming unemployed and therefore falling out of these categories entirely, but rather that wages are improving and households are moving up the income ranking.

There has been a significant decline in the R1-R499 income bracket, from 4.5% of people to 3.6%, especially in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Similarly, the second lowest bracket – R500-R899 – has declined, from 15.2% to 13.1%, across all provinces except the North West and Western Cape.

The two highest income brackets have grown significantly. From 12.4%, the R7 000-R11 999 bracket has grown to 13.9%, and the R12 000+ group has risen from 11.2% to 13.2%.

Overall, fewer South African adults are without schooling than before. The previous AMPS® release showed that almost 5% of people had no schooling. This has dropped to 4.2% in the current release, substantially lower than a mere ten years ago, when 12% of adults had no schooling at all.

Functional literacy levels, where people have completed at least primary school, are up significantly, from 85.9% to 87.8%. Other significant changes in education level were seen in secondary and tertiary schooling. More people have matric, from 25.6% previously to 26.7% currently. The number of people holding technikon degrees has also increased, from 4.8% to 5.4%.

Print has grown its share of the media pie since the last AMPS® release. The medium is closing in on the 60% consumption mark, as its reach increases to 58.0%, significantly up from the 55.5% seen in AMPS® 2007A. Growth came through from Gauteng, where just shy of 80% of people consume print (79.2%, up from 74.8%). Mpumalanga has also delivered more readers, with 55.8% of the adults in these provinces reading papers or magazines (up from 47.9%).

The tables below show the growth in the number of titles over the years, based on the number of publications measured in SAARF AMPS® 2007B.

The newspaper medium has significantly upped its readership over the previous AMPS® release, across all categories. The latest AMPS® release shows that 46.8% of all South Africans over 16 read a newspaper, up from 44.4% six months ago. There are now 14,572-million newspaper readers, a gain of 747 000 readers for the medium.

The medium has made real headway into three provinces – Gauteng, where penetration rose from 63.2% to 67.7%, Limpopo (36.2% to 41.7%) and Mpumalanga (38.6% to 45.0%).

Several titles made significant readership advances over the last AMPS® release.

Again and again, SA’s newspaper phenomenon, the Daily Sun, is proving that it’s doing all the right things for its readers. AMPS® after AMPS®, the paper has posted enviable growth, and the latest release is no exception.

Crossing the 4-million reader mark in the previous AMPS® release, the Daily Sun now has the 5-million reader target firmly in its sights. Its reach is up from 13.9% to 15.3%, with 4,755-million readers in the bag. This growth has come through primarily from Gauteng.

The second daily to show statistically significant growth is the Sowetan, which grew its readership from 5.5% to 6.6%, with 2,040-million readers. The paper has grown its base in Greater Joburg and Soweto, on the Reef and in Pretoria.

Looking at weeklies, the Mail & Guardian is up from 1.2% to 1.5%, with 467 000 readers, a growth of 100 000 readers. It has enjoyed significant growth in Gauteng

City Press grew from 7.5% to 8.6%, with a readership of 2,667-million currently. The paper increased its reach in Gauteng.

In the weekend market, The Independent on Saturday has declined, from 0.7% to 0.5%, with a current total of 163 000 readers.

The Sunday market is buoyant. The Sunday Sun has attracted 320 000 more readers, pushing up its readership to 2,846-million, with a reach of 9.1%, up from 8.1%.

Sunday Times has picked up a further 260 000 readers, upping its reach from 11.4% to 12.3%. Much of the title’s growth came from Gauteng, where it grew its readership base from 1,271-million readers to 1,454-million (a reach of 22.7%, up from 19.9%). Sunday Times currently has 3,820-million readers.

Lastly, Sunday World’s reach has increased from 4.1% to 4.7%, with 1,459-million readers, just over 190 000 more readers than in the previous AMPS® release.

As was the case with newspapers, the glossier side of the print medium has enjoyed growth over the previous survey, with magazine readership in general going up. Almost 40% of adults consume the medium (39.3%, from 37.5% previously), with more readers coming on board from Gauteng. Total magazine readership is 12,239-million.

Weekly and alternate-monthly magazines have been the main contributors to the sector’s growth, being the only two magazine categories to achieve significant growth.

Several titles have grown their readership over the previous AMPS® survey. A handful of magazine titles showed significant declines this period.

(The electronic measure, SAARF OHMS, is the official currency for out of home media.)

Only billboards and store ads failed to make a significant gain in reach into the SA population, although even these two outdoor categories are trending up. All other categories showed statistically significant growth over any given week, compared to the previous AMPS® period.

Total radio (past 7 days), 29,081-million listeners, or 93.5% of the adult population, stable on the 93.3% of the previous AMPS® survey. On a “Yesterday” filter however, radio has made a statistically significant jump, from 81.1% to 82.2%.

Mirroring the movements seen in RAMS®, Gagasi 99.5 and Kaya FM 95.9 have grown their audiences, as has Talk Radio 702.

Three other stations saw their reach declining over the previous AMPS® release:

Any TV (Yesterday) viewership has climbed from 70.5% to 73.7%, with growth in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. Across any given week, television viewing is also up significantly, from 81.4% to 83.4%, especially in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng.

Most other TV channels have also fared better across the week compared to the previous AMPS® release.

Across any given week, cinema audience levels have remained unchanged, with 1.8% of adults settling down to take in a show.

On all other time filters, the medium has shown no change, except in the “Cinema – Ever” category, where a growth in the number of cinema-goers in Mpumalanga and Limpopo contributed to an increase to 58.1%, from 55.8%.

SAARF AMPS® 2007B measured 1 435 brands, in 106 product categories ranging from acne preparations to yoghurt.

SAARF AMPS® 2007 B RELEASE

AMPS® 2007 B will be released on Thursday 13 March 2008.

The information that will be made available at the industry presentations will be under embargo until 12:00 on Thursday 13 March 2008, and attendees will naturally be expected to honour this arrangement.

The AMPS® 2007 B CD’s will include the Technical Report, Media by Demographics & Services and Media by LSM groups 1–4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 (for Total Adults). Also included is the Branded Data report for those media owners that contributed to the funding of Branded AMPS® 2007 B. These CD’s will be available within 14 days of the release date.

February 2008

SAARF AMPS® 2007A Release

AMPS® 2007A will be released on Thursday 20 September 2007.

The information that will be made available at the industry presentations will be under embargo until 12:00 on Thursday 20 September 2007, and attendees will naturally be expected to honour this arrangement.

The AMPS® 2007A CD’s will include the Technical Report, Media by Demographics & Services and Media by LSM groups 1–4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 (for Total Adults). Also included is the Branded Data report for those media owners that contributed to the funding of Branded AMPS® 2007A. These CD’s will be available within 14 days of the release date.

For your convenience the order form is attached below. If you would like to order AMPS® 2007A, please click on REPLY and then complete the form and return.

The Order form for the above-mentioned CD is also available on our website under “Order Publications”.

Newspaperman to steer SAARF

Media 24’s Sarel du Plessis has been elected the new Chair of the South African Advertising Research Foundation.

The new Chair of the South African Advertising Research Foundation has ink in his veins. For the first time in SAARF’s history, the Foundation will be chaired by someone from print, a major stakeholder in SAARF’s joint industry research.
Well-known newspaperman Sarel du Plessis takes over from marketer Francois Loubser, whose year in office now draws to a close.
Du Plessis is publisher and senior general manager of RCP Media, the Media 24 division which publishes the Sunday newspapers Rapport, City Press, Sunday Sun and Sondag.
His career in print spans almost 30 years, from his early days as an ad booking clerk at Republican Press, through to his seven years at Times Media, where he worked on the sales and marketing of Business Day, helped launch SportsDay and Sunday World, and then as sales and marketing director of Times Newspapers, was responsible for the biggest newspaper in South Africa at the time, the Sunday Times.
He is active on a number of industry bodies, including Print Media SA, the Newspaper Association of SA, the ASA, and SAPA.
Du Plessis, who took over as Chair on 10 May 2007, was the unanimous choice of the SAARF AGM. Kagiso Media’s Mike Siluma was elected as Vice-Chair.
The new Chair has a very clear goal for what he wants to achieve during his term. “The media industry as a whole has a responsibility to marketers to provide the best common currency to facilitate the buying of advertising space,” he says. “I want to work with all stakeholders to ensure we have the best possible sample, with results released at optimal intervals, while staying within budget. I do not want to see the kind of situation we had some years back where we cut down on the frequency of the best print research product in the world, purely for the sake of cost.”
Du Plessis wants to ensure that all stakeholders work together for the common goal of producing the best media audience research currency possible.
SAARF’s CEO, Dr Paul Haupt, says “I’m delighted that Sarel decided to make himself available for this demanding position. SAARF has been very fortunate over the past number of years with the calibre of people who have served as its Chair, and I am sure that Sarel will do a great job”.

Problems with Television Flighting Codes affects TAMS

Since SAARF introduced overnight ratings on its Television Audience Measurement Survey (SAARF TAMS), there have been concerns regarding the daily release time of the ratings and events data. When daily data releases were introduced on 18 July 2006, multiple separate data sources had to be integrated into one on a daily basis. The programme and spot data that were previously obtained from the broadcast logs of the individual broadcasters had to be integrated with viewing data from the SAARF TAMS Panel. This article is intended to explain why the integration of these different data sources are proving to be more difficult than anticipated and which thus sometimes leads to delays in the release of the data to the industry.

When the South African Advertising Research Foundation launched overnight TAMS ratings, it was clear right from the beginning that SAARF would be able to meet the agreed daily time of release of the viewing information (ratings) as decided by the TAMS Council at that stage. To release the viewing information at about mid-morning on the day after the broadcast was no problem. However, it was soon realized that this did not apply to event (programme and spot) data.

After an investigation by AGB Nielsen Media Research, the SAARF Contractor for TAMS into what is done in other countries, it was evident that, internationally, daily viewing data are normally released separately from the event data. The latter is subject to checking of, for instance, spot codes especially when a new spot was flighted for the first time. Television advertising is created by different production houses and each of them has their own spot coding system. This frequently results in two different spots having the same code or the same spot having two different flighting codes.

Despite the fact that the allocation of flighting codes for spots does not fall under the control of SAARF, and in fact is not part of the SAARF TAMS operation, it has now inevitably become our problem. Problems with flighting codes have always been there except that now for the first time since the introduction of the TAMS Panel, we have a complete and objective third party record of all programmes and spots aired on all television channels and this information needs to be cleaned and reconciled on a daily basis before it can be released to the industry.

When the current SAARF contractor for TAMS (AGB Nielsen Media Research) downloads data each morning, problems that are experienced are mainly related to the duplication of spot codes or finding the same spot with two different codes. A great deal of time goes into resolving these inconsistencies. This involves the manual correction of incorrect codes, which can only be done after contacting the relevant advertising agency to obtain the correct code. This does not only take time, but one can also not phone an agency at six o’clock in the morning and expect to get the required assistance. Although the SAARF ratings are thus available relatively early in the day, we then have to wait until the event data can be corrected before releasing everything to the software suppliers.

Against this background, the SAARF TAMS Council has reiterated that overnight viewing data will be released the next day, except when unforeseen circumstances such as power failures, communication problems to download the data, etc. occur.

The current manual intervention required to correct incorrect codes meant that SAARF had to decide on an interim measure relating to the release times for specifically the event data. At a TAMS Council Meeting held on 14 December 2006, it was thus reconfirmed that the overnight viewing data files for the previous day’s viewing will be released by 10h00 the next morning to the computer bureaux (on weekdays). For Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the overnight viewing data files will be delivered to the computer bureau on the Monday. The release of the event data, however, will as an interim measure only take place 1 day later to ensure that we have sufficient time to correct all incorrect codes. For example, the viewing data for Mondays will be released on Tuesdays, while the event data will be released on Wednesdays.

Computer bureaus will now be able to release the overnight viewing data on the next day as originally envisaged, so that users will get quick access to the ratings. However, users will only be able to look at the spot and programme information a day later.

It was also agreed at the TAMS Council meeting of 18 January 2007, that when the event data file is issued a day after the viewing data file, it will include all viewing, programme and spot information to make life easier for all users.

The long term solution, however, will be to code the commercials correctly at the production houses. To control this, a central industry controlled coding facility (preferably on-line and available 24 hours per day) would be required. This will effectively mean that each commercial spot will have a unique flighting code allocated centrally and that broadcasters will only accept spots with one of these unique codes. In such a scenario production houses will be able to contact the coding website at any time of the day or night to acquire a suitable code which will bring much needed standardization to this facet of our industry. A similar system is already successfully in use in the UK.

SAARF will continue to consult with its stakeholders to try and find the best possible solution for the industry as a whole and we hope that definitive progress in this regard will be made in the near future.

SAARF Secures International Heavy-Weights in Research for its 6th Symposium

How will digital technology influence the future of advertising? How do you buy and sell TV ratings in an overnight environment? How are other countries dealing with electronic radio measurement and specific issue readership? These are topics which a panel of top international speakers will be tackling at the 6th SAARF Media Research Symposium, taking place from 28-30 March 2007 at Kwa Maritane Game Lodge in the North West province.

Registration is still open for those wanting to stay at the forefront of issues affecting media research. Delegates will once again be enlightened by highly regarded leaders in the field, who will speak within the framework of this year’s symposium theme: Media Research Challenges – Perspectives from Different Continents.
Delivering the Wally Langschmidt Memorial Address is Andrew Green, director of strategic insights at ZenithOptimedia in London. In advertising for over 25 years, Green has worked for, amongst others, OMD in New York where he headed up global research, and for ACNielsen Singapore as director of media and syndicated services. Advertising Age named him Media Innovator in 1998 for his work in setting up television audience research in China. Green will be speaking about the “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” of readership research. Green will also address the issue of whether the Internet will make history redundant.

Also taking the stage will be Steve Garton, global head of Media, Synovate, UK. With 35 years of research experience in the UK, Australasia and Asia Pacific, Garton is particularly focused on the discovery of new insights into the relationship between media and its audiences, and how digital technology will influence the future of advertising; two topics which he will expand on at the Symposium.

Vice president of analytics and modelling at Nielsen Media Research, USA, and chief statistician of Nielsen Outdoor, Pete Doe will take symposium delegates through the electronic measurement of outdoor, as well as the possible future integration of Internet media audience data with SAARF’s survey data.

Two CEOs from Australia and one from the Netherlands will also be heading for South Africa. Head of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner will give insight into Australia’s use of flooding in its radio diary survey, while Toni Petra, chief executive of AGB Nielsen Media Research, Australia, will look at the new era of time shifted TV viewing. Dr Irena Petric of NOMMEDIA, the Netherlands’ equivalent of SAARF, will speak about her country’s return to Specific Issue Readership (SIR). She will also inform delegates about how the media, marketing and advertising industries are organised in the Netherlands.

Across the border into Germany, Gabriele Ritter, research director of AGMA Frankfurt (a joint industry committee similar to SAARF), will share Germany’s experiences in the implementation of a new interviewing methodology, and the management and quality control of multiple contractors.

Ireland’s experiences so far in moving radio to electronic measurement will be covered by Paul Mulligan, operations director for Radio and Television, Eire (RTE). Mulligan, who is chairman of Ireland’s TAM industry body and the Joint National Listenership Research Body’s technical committee, and who has supervised Ireland’s National Population Census, will also round off the three days of presentations with a look at the buying and selling of daily television ratings.

Finally, on top of the insights of this impressive ensemble of speakers, delegates will also be treated to a game drive and bush braai, making the 6th SAARF Symposium an event not to be missed.

Radio back in form - RAMS October 2006

The fourth release wave survey, which consists of data gathered from 18 529 respondents (aged 16+) over two fieldwork periods, running from mid-May to August 2006, shows resoundingly that radio is on the up.

Bigger slice

iGagasi 99.5 (formerly P4 KZN) has taken a bigger slice of the radio pie, growing its audience from 2.2% in the August release of RAMS, to 2.8% (past seven days), giving it a total audience of 854 000. Increased numbers of listeners in Durban, among males, in the 50+ age group, and among blacks are the source of the station's climb across the week.

iGagasi's average Monday to Friday audience is also up, from 1.1% in the previous RAMS survey, to 1.5% in RAMS October 2006, with 454 000 listeners in total. Gains were made in the urban, metro, Durban, male, 25 - 34, and SU-LSM 5 demographics.

Further down the coast, Algoa FM has grown its national reach. The station's audience is now at 666 000 in total, growing from 1.7% in the previous survey, to 2.2% (past seven days). This growth can be seen particularly in the station's rural audience component, as well as among males, the 16 - 24 age bracket, SU-LSM 5, and among blacks.

Higher levels overall

The significant audience gains of these two stations have contributed to the higher listening levels in total over the August 2006 release, reversing the medium's decline seen in the past two surveys. Radio listening levels are now comparable with the year previous.

Across the week, radio penetration has increased significantly, from 90.1% to 91.6%. The medium has grown its audience pool specifically in the Western Cape, in East London, in the 50+ age group, among blacks, and in SU-LSM 9. (The average time spent listening during the week however, has dropped by 40 minutes, to 31 hours and 48 minutes.)

On an average Monday to Friday, radio reaches 77.4% of the adult population, which is also up significantly on the previous survey's 76.0%. Listenership is up especially within urban and metro areas, in Kimberley, among males, whites, those over 50, and in SU-LSM 6.

Weekend listening is similarly up. On a Saturday, audience levels are at 73.6%, with growth in urban and metro areas, and among males and coloureds. On a Sunday, audience levels are at 71.9%, with growth in a number of demographics - metros, urban areas, Johannesburg, Soweto, males, 16 - 24, blacks, and coloureds.

Changes to audience makeup

Average daily listenership levels for individual stations are very stable, with no other commercial radio stations showing any significant changes in audience levels. A large number however, experienced significant changes to their audience composition.

Demographic shifts across the week (past seven days) include:

In the community radio sector, while Total Community showed only a significant demographic shift, growing its SU-LSM 1 audience base (past 7 days), a number of individual stations showed significant changes over the previous survey.

Those which have attracted more listeners are Radio Alpha 97.8 FM (42 000 listeners across the week), Radio Bushbuckridge (150 000), Setsoto Community Radio (14 000), Radio West Coast 92.3fm (47 000), Unitra Community Radio (408 000), and X-K Fm 107.9 (12 000).

Moutse Community Radio, Radio Khwezi, and ICORA FM showed significant declines over the previous RAMS.

Technical notes

With the release of AMPS 2006 Rolling Average (RA), a new six-month small town/village/rural RAMS measure is available, which has been added to the May-August large urban data to produce this fourth national RAMS wave. As before, this component is not flooded. In small towns, villages and rural areas, only primary respondents (those that also did the AMPS interview) in households completed diaries.

RAMS October 2006 also reflects the new 2006 population estimates used in the recently released SAARF AMPS RA 2006. These estimates, supplied by Unisa's Bureau of Market Research (BMR), are part of a new set of population projections for South Africa for the period 2001 to 2021. They are based on the 2001 census structures, as well as a large number of other data sources, and factor in the impact of HIV/Aids.

The total adult population for the SAARF RAMS universe increases by 0.8%, from 30.656 million in 2005 to 30.903 million in 2006 (an increase of only 247 000 people). The demographic profiles remain relatively unchanged in terms of gender, age, and population group.

The 2006 population estimates also reflect the recent changes in the provincial boundaries for seven of the nine provinces, with a few community size changes occurring in the small urban sector. RAMS users will find that the incidence of people on a provincial level remains comparable, but they will see a difference in thousands. They will also find that a few community size changes have occurred in the small urban sector.

Another change which will be found in RAMS October 2006 is the adjustment to the eight household income groups. With a real increase of average household income of 5.3%, from R905 a month to R998, the lowest income bracket has gone up by R100 (R0 to R599), and the top bracket is now set at R14 000 and over, compared to R12 000 in previous RAMS surveys.

The fifth wave of SAARF RAMS 2006 will be released on 22 November 2006.

[16 Oct 2006 09:02]

The South African Advertising Research Foundation’s
All Media and Products Survey 2006 Rolling Average

The South African Advertising Research Foundation has released its All Media and Products Survey (AMPS®) for 2006, containing information on South Africa’s 30.903-million adults (16 years and older): their demographics, which media they consume, and which products and brands they purchase and use.

SAARF AMPS® 2006 RA also includes Branded AMPS®, with data on products and brands, including FMCG brands, fast food outlets, cell phones, financial institutions, and food and grocery retailers, amongst others. This allows users to match target markets with media consumption behaviour, segment markets, identify characteristics of media consumers as well as their brand usage, and identify opportunities for individual media types and titles.

SAARF AMPS® 2006 Rolling Average (RA) is based on 12 months of fieldwork, from March to September 2005, and from January to June 2006. These two fieldwork periods are combined to form the 12-month rolling data of AMPS® 2006 RA. The sample size was 24 813.

SAARF AMPS® 2006 reflects new 2006 population estimates, supplied by Unisa’s Bureau of Market Research (BMR). These estimates are part of a new set of population projections for South Africa for the period 2001 to 2021, and are based on the 2001 census structures, as well as a large number of data sources.

The total adult population for the SAARF AMPS® universe increases by 0.8%, from 30.656-million in 2005 to 30.903-million in 2006 (an increase of 247 000 people). The demographic profiles remain relatively unchanged in terms of gender, age, and population group.

The impact of HIV/Aids however, which is taken into account in the new estimate, can be seen amongst women and in the younger age groups. For the second year, the female population is in decline, dropping from 50.4% in AMPS® 2005 RA to 50.2% of the total adult population, although this decline is not statistically significant. The 16-24 age group has fallen from 26.6% to 26.4%, and the 25-34-year group from 24.3% to 24.0%, however both these declines are not significant..

The 2006 population estimates also reflect the recent changes in the provincial boundaries for seven of the nine provinces, with a few community size changes occurring in the small urban sector. The Free State and Western Cape remain unaffected by boundary changes, while the redrawing of the South African map sees the population of Limpopo and North West declining significantly, while the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga have increased in size. The Eastern Cape’s population is down slightly, while Gauteng’s is up slightly. Users will find that the incidence of people on a provincial level remains comparable, but they will see a difference in thousands.

The SAARF Universal Living Standards Measure (SU-LSM®s) for 2006 uses the same 29 variables as the previous survey, making the ten groups completely comparable with AMPS® 2005 RA.

A measure of wealth, the SU-LSM®s show that the South African population is steadily becoming better off, with significant changes over AMPS® 2005 RA in SU-LSM® 1, down from 7.6% to 6.1%, while SU-LSM® 2-3 has declined slightly. SU-LSM® 4-6 has remained unchanged.

SU-LSM® 7 has grown from 7.1% of the total adult population, to 7.8%. SU-LSM® 8-10 continues to trend upwards.

South Africans society is becoming steadily wealthier, as this graph comparing the latest LSM® figures from AMPS® 2006 RA, with 1994 shows (using the 1993 LSM® weights, since one cannot trend to 1994 using the new 2001 SU-LSM® figures).

AMPS® 2006 RA sees South Africans with more money to spend than the previous survey, with average household income increasing 5.3% in real terms (from R905 to R998, up by 10.3% before factoring in inflation at 4.8%). The eight income brackets have therefore been changed, with the lowest bracket up by R100 (R0 to R599), and the top bracket now set at R14 000 and over, compared to R12 000 plus in AMPS® 2005 RA.

11.576-million people claim to be employed, either full-time (26.3%) or part-time (11.1%), with a further 2.678-million self-employed. This is a slight improvement on the previous year’s employment results, but not substantially so.

Total unemployment figures, including those who are not looking for work, such as housewives, students, and retired people, are down significantly, from 66% to 63%. Of these people, 9.346-million are looking for work, giving the country an unemployment figure of 30.2% (down slightly over the previous survey from 31.0%).

In terms of how people are managing their money, significantly more adults have opened savings/transmission accounts (up from 37.6% to 39.6% in AMPS® 2006 RA), and substantially more are using debit cards (up from 3.1% to 3.9%, first 12 months).

More adults are also taking out funeral insurance (up from 13.0% to 14.5%) and medical insurance (up from 3.3% to 3.8%).

Improvement in education levels has been slow but steady, as the socio-economic status of the country improves. Ten years ago, 12% of adults had no schooling. Today, only 6% have no formal education, and 95.6% of adults are literate.

Primary education is up significantly, from 82.6% in AMPS® 2005 RA, to 84.1%, and 24.6% of people have matric. Just over 10% of the adult population has gone on to tertiary education.

What sports are South African men and women interested in? Men’s interest in many of the major sports is waning, with significantly fewer men claiming to be interested in soccer (65% to 63%), cricket (26% to 24%), boxing and wrestling (26% to 23%), and billiards/snooker (23% to 19%). Interest in sport is also down slightly, to 22%.

Just under a quarter of women say they aren’t interested in any sport, with 32% enjoying soccer, and 19% interested in dancing.

As far as participation is concerned, half of men participate in no sports, compared to 69% of women. Going to a gym or health club has declined by 6%, to 11.6% (past month). Sports which men do participate in are soccer (23%), billiards/snooker (12%), and walking/hiking (6%), while 7% of women claim to walk or hike, and 5% to participate in dance.

SAARF’s Crime Monitor shows that South African adults have been less impacted by crime since AMPS® 2005 RA.

Respondents are asked whether, in the past twelve months, they have personally been a victim of violent crime in South Africa, such as physical assault, mugging, gang attack, rape or hijacking (obviously excluding murder). They are also asked whether they have personally been a victim of non-violent crime, such as housebreaking, pick-pocketing, and car or cell-phone theft.

Readership of print titles has remained stable, with 52.7% of the adult population consuming this medium (16.294-million readers in total).

While a number of new titles were launched during the 2006 fieldwork period, AMPS® 2006 RA reports only 12-month rolling data. These titles will therefore not be reflected on this database, but users will later be able to access them on the 6-month database.

Total newspaper readership is up, thanks in the main to the impressive performance of two daily papers.

The first is Daily Sun, the new top dog when it comes to newspaper readership. No stranger to rapid growth, Daily Sun continues to drive up its readership figures, which are up significantly on AMPS® 2005 RA from 9.8% to 11.9%. The tabloid now has 3.679-million readers, making it the most read newspaper in the country, overtaking the Sunday Times. Growth has come through especially from SU-LSM® 5, 6 and 9.

Isolezwe continues to prove that publishing in a vernacular language can bear fruit. The title has grown its readership from 477 000 (1.6%) to 644 000 (2.1%). Its expansion into Gauteng has been successful, with readership in the province growing from 6 000 in AMPS® 2005 RA to 26 000 currently.

The impact of changes in the Western Cape newspaper market, with the launch of the Daily Voice and Son (the latter published on four days of the week) – is being seen in the readership of the established titles.

While the Cape Times’ slight decline over the previous AMPS® survey is not significant on a national level, it is significant for the Western Cape. Total readership dropped from 1.0% to 0.8%, but in the paper’s home province, readership is down from 321 000 (10.6%) to 245 000 (8.0%). Similarly, readership of the Cape Argus has declined from 1.4% to 1.2% in total, but in the Western Cape, its figures are down from 14.0% to 12.2% (371 000 readers).

The declines seen in this media sector in the previous two AMPS® survey have been halted, with the medium’s readership now remaining stable overall.

Only Any Monthly readership gained significantly however on the previous period, from 25.3% to 26.6% (8.205-million readers).

There were also a number of demographic shifts in total magazine reading. SU-LSM® 4 has shown a significant decline in magazine readers, from 24.2% to 21.3%. Similarly, SU-LSM® 6 and 8 have lost readers, and are down to 42.4% (from 44.4%) and 66.8% (from 68.2%).

On an individual title level, only one publication gained significantly in terms of readership – TV Plus, from 3.6% to 4.4%.

Total TV (yesterday) is trending down, from 66.9% in AMPS® 2005 RA, to 66.2% in the latest survey.

TV winners included DStv (in total), whose past 7 day viewing rose from 5.9% in the previous AMPS® survey, to 6.9% in the current survey. Total DStv ‘yesterday’ viewing also increased, from 4.6% to 5.5%. (The question for Multichoice DStv decoder in the home has been expanded to include an option for PVR, in addition to the option for a dual-view decoder.)

SABC 2 and 3 grew their ‘yesterday’ penetration, from 29.9% to 31.8%, and from 19.5% to 21.3% respectively.

SABC 1 declined significantly over the previous year, from 70.6% (past 7 days) to 68.5%, as was the case with e.tv, whose past 7 day penetration dropped from 57.5% to 56%, and whose ‘yesterday’ viewing declined from 36.7% to 34.5%.

	Average household income	Average age
Total DStv	R16 984	41
M-Net CSN	R13 764	44
M-Net Main Service	R12 307	42
SABC 3	R7 452	39
SABC 2	R6 133	39
e.tv	R5 891	36
SABC 1	R4 603	36

Radio has grown its 7-day pool of listeners, making significant gains on the 2005 incidence figure of 91.8%. Total radio listenership now stands at 92.7% (past 7 days), with 28.633-million listeners.

Helping to grow radio’s share has been the community radio sector, which has upped its listenership significantly, from 16.2% to 18.7% (past 7 days).

Total commercial/PBS radio (past 7 days) has however, declined significantly, from 75.6% to 74%. Stations which have contributed to this loss are 99.2 YFM (down from 4.2% to 3.5%) and Jacaranda 94.2 (down from 7.7% to 7.0%), and Munghana Lonene FM (down from 4.6% to 4.0%). SAfm has bucked the trend, increasing its audience significantly over the previous survey, from 1.5% to 2.0%.

The decline of cinema seen in previous AMPS® surveys has been reversed, with average four week attendance up from 6.5% to 7.1% (2.191-million attendees in total).

For the first time in several years, people’s exposure to billboard advertising is down significantly. In AMPS® 2005 RA, 74.3% of adults saw billboard advertising (past 7 days), a figure which has dropped to 72.4%.

Store ads have also declined, from 81.7% to 79.4%, and minibus taxi ads have dropped to 61.2%, from 62.9% in AMPS® 2005 RA (past 7 days).

Access to the Internet has grown, with over a million adults logging on “yesterday”. Past 7 day and ‘yesterday’ Internet surfing has grown significantly amongst SU-LSM® 8-10. The latest AMPS® shows that 22.6% of this SU-LSM® group accessed the Internet in the past 7 days (up from 20.8%).

SAARF AMPS® 2006 RA includes Branded AMPS®, with data on products and brands, including FMCG brands, fast food outlets, cell phones, financial institutions, and food and grocery retailers, amongst others.

This information, such as the sample provided next, allows users to match target markets with media consumption behaviour, segment markets, identify characteristics of media consumers as well as their brand usage, and identify opportunities for individual media types and titles.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF), tracking media trends of all media nationwide, including outdoor media, will now undertake an electronic outdoor media survey – the first results will be released in SAARF AMPS® 2006. Chief Technical Officer, Piet Smit, discusses the motivation for an electronic outdoor survey and its advantages.

While in TV are for years electronically tracked at an ad exposure level, while radio and print at the advertising vehicle level, the numerous outdoor media were not measured at the same level. This move will bring outdoor advertising measurement at the same level than TV.

A pilot project was run with Nielsen Media Research in 2002 in South Africa using a so-called car meter. South Africa was chosen for the pilot resulting from the high credibility that SAARF obtained in the world over the years. The car meter was further refined and tested in Chicago in the USA to eventually develop the Nielsen Personal Outdoor Device (Npod)

The success thereof has led to the launch of electronic outdoor measurement by SAARF as part of AMPS in 2006. A full national sample will be rolled out over three years, and the project will commence in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal next year. The other provinces will follow during 2007/8 so that in 2008 we will have a full national sample. The sample size for 2006 will be 2 230 respondents, 1 972 in urban areas and 258 in rural areas.

Respondents will be required to carry a tracking device called the Npod™. The Npod uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, In layman’s terms, the Npod™ communicates with satellites and if three satellites can identify it at the same time, the global position of the Npod can be determined as accurate as about 50 cm. Using an Npod™, SAARF will be able to track the exact movements of these respondents and when overlaying this with a Geographic Information System (GIS) map showing the position of outdoor sites, it will be possible to identify which sites each respondent have passed, This will for the first time give media owners, advertising agencies and advertisers data that can be used for campaign planning GPS technology is also used by SAARF for sampling in rural areas for SAARF AMPS® and will in future be used to extend the SAARF TAMS® into rural areas.

Once collated, the data will be loaded onto the computer bureaux that provide media planning software.

Until 2005, the potential reach of outdoor advertising such as billboards, , , bus shelters, taxis, etc. was measured, but the data were not suitable for campaign planning and were not on the software providers’ systems. This method determines the reach and frequency of each site by demographics, Smit says, “Estimates of reach and frequency, GRPs and cost per thousand will be on a par with television as measured by the peoplemeters”

The introduction of this electronic outdoor survey allows for comparison with other media reach and frequency estimates. The survey will create a sales prospecting tool to generate outdoor’s rightful share of media spend.

SAARF and its research provider Nielsen Media Research are, with a few other countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain the world leaders in this area.

SAARF regularly produces the SAARF All Media and Products Survey (SAARF AMPS, the SAARF Radio Audience Measurement Survey (SAARF RAMS®) and the SAARF Television Audience Measurement Survey (SAARF TAMS®)) which provides the ‘common trading currency’ for advertisers and their agencies to select and buy appropriate media space and time. Media owners on the other hand use it to market their media as well as for strategic editorial and programme planning. It also provides a series of segmentation tools to select target markets.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF®) is changing the reporting of SAARF TAMS® audience figures from a weekly report to overnight (day-after) reporting as of mid-2006. At a recent industry presentation, Dr. Paul Haupt CEO of SAARF expounded the benefits of overnights.

Due to increased demands for accountability and a need to bring South Africa up to world standards in terms of media research, overnight reporting was investigated. Haupt says, “Overnights could lead to flexibility in short term buying and over and under delivery will be largely eliminated. It will provide greater control in achieving campaign objectives and gives broadcasters the opportunity to make better use of their inventory.”

“This change in reporting is a revolution in terms of the buying and selling model for TV. With overnight ratings, an advertising campaign can be monitored on a daily basis, which allows for elasticity in the campaign strategy if needs be. This means that media buyers will be able to change spots that are not delivering and therefore time wasted on ineffective spots, thereby leading to a far more efficient use of resources.

The test phase is currently nearing completion and installation of new meters has begun. The change over will occur in phases and the industry will be pre-warned of every change. There will also be several improvements to the methodology.

Non-urban electrified areas will be included in the universe, which means that the rural sector will represent an approximately 30% increase in the universe. TVM 5 meters, which have the ability to monitor viewing on personal video recorders (PVR) and dual viewing, will replace Eurometers in complex households. Haupt says, “We are also instituting limited forced rotation as of next year for long-serving panel households.”

Overnight ratings will be funded by SAARF at no levy increase and ORACLE will continue to pay for additional households on the panel to boost the DStv sample. Funding has already been approved by the Levy Collection Agency (LCA), which has replaced the MIT.

The first in a series of industry presentations was held nationwide to cover some of the important changes that the industry will have to go through in preparation for overnight reporting. An introduction to the measurement of TV audiences as well as talks to highlight both Advertising Agency as well as TV Media owner perspectives, were given. The team was led by Dr Haupt and he was accompanied by Chris Eyre, Executive Director of AGB Nielsen Media Research, Brian McMillan, SAARF Board Member and consultant to e.tv, Mike Nussey, CEO of MindShare and SAARF and AMF Board Member and Tshiphiwa Mulaudzi, Technical Support Executive of SAARF.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) re-elected Howard Gabriels for a second term as the SAARF Chairman earlier this year. Gabriels has guided the Foundation through turbulent times over the past two years and now looks ahead to the future of SAARF.

“2006 brings with it the dawn of a new era in electronic measurement of media,” says Gabriels. SAARF has extended their range of services to include an electronic outdoor media survey – the first results will be released in SAARF AMPS® 2006. Estimates of reach and frequency will now be on a par with other measured media, which allows for comparison with other media reach and frequency estimates. “This survey is very welcome in the industry as it gives media owners a good measure of the effectiveness of outdoor advertising and gives marketers a good idea on the effectiveness of advertising.”

The past
2004 saw a number of changes being made to SAARF’s major research products. SAARF stakeholders recommitted themselves, for the next five years, to supporting the joint industry committee (JIC) model, which underpins SAARF. They also agreed to continue to fund the research products which have become the backbone of the marketing, media and advertising industries. The Levy Collection Agency will collect these funds for all media, with the exception of print, which has a separate legal agreement concerning funding with SAARF.

SAARF’s involvement in Africa since the early nineties is in line with President Mbeki’s call for an African Renaissance. SAARF has since become actively involved in the establishment of industry media and product surveys in sub-Saharan African countries. In conjunction with other African countries, SAARF formed the Pan African Media Research Organisation (PAMRO) in 1999 to promote media and product/brands research in Africa. This initiative is maturing significantly and is proving to be beneficial to the development of business on the continent.

The future
PAMRO’s annual conference will be held in South Africa in 2006. Gabriels comments, “I am confident South Africa fares well in terms of quality on the global playing field. We have learnt good lessons, which can be shared with the world.” The South African advertising research industry has a good relationship with their European counterparts and as a member of EMRO (European Media Research Organisation) can gain a neutral point of view from these industry players.

Holding positions as chair of the Statistical Council of Stats SA and of Lesoba Difference Communications Company, Gabriels has degrees from Western Cape University in Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics and a M. Phil in Marketing from University of Pretoria.

He is a former trade unionist and served in various COSATU unions from 1980 until 1991. He worked in a number of NGOs in the early nineties and in 1993 he became the Director of the Western Cape Economic Development Forum. Gabriels is committed to the economic empowerment of previously disadvantaged individuals.

Johannesburg – The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF®) recently released the fifth SAARF RAMS® Wave 2005. The total fieldwork period for this release runs from Mid June to end September 2005 and the SAARF AMPS® 2005 small town/village/rural component replaced the AMPS 2004 component that was used until RAMS 2005 Wave 4. The inclusion of this part makes it a full national sample, while diaries were only placed in larger communities.

This was also the first time that the new BMR population estimates for 2005, based on the 2001 Population Census was used. The latter shows an annual growth of 1.1%

The sample of diary keepers for the fifth wave totals 18 503, which is the largest sample this year. Results for the fifth wave show stable listening levels period on period but down on year previous. Average daily listenership for individual stations is largely comparable and out of 34 stations, one was up, 30 were stable and three were down on the previous release.

Total Community Radio increased significantly by 2.4% nationally on last period and is significantly up in Western Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal and Limpopo Province. Angie Hammond, SABC market intelligence division – radio says, “It’s great to see this type of growth as community radio allows people to communicate with each other on an intimate level – both emotionally and practically. Community radio serves the greater purpose as it is close to the people and focuses on local issues.”

Michael Smurthwaite, station manager Rhodes Music Radio attributes the growth in community radio due to an increase in professionalism. “The power of community radio has, for many years, been disregarded by the public due to a lack of professional programming. Many stations are now fulfilling their mandates and have become interactive with the public and are managed efficiently. This mind-shift in terms of service levels has created a more supportive listening community.”

Station manager Neville Goldsman from Radio Kingfisher in Newton Park says, “Visibility in the market place is key in terms of increasing listenership and we recently increased our listenership by 30 000 by doing just that. To gain and keep listeners the content must be professional and maintained as such. This is an essential component to both listeners and advertisers. We also take the last step to appreciate and service clients after the advert has flighted. This relationship building builds the station beyond expectation.”

Paul Haupt, Chief Executive Officer SAARF says, “In total, time spent listening is marginally up on the previous release but does not reach year previous levels.” Time spent listening has increased in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Western Cape and decreases occurred in Limpopo, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and Free State.

Repertoires declined in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West. Age and gender profiles of listeners remain stable both period on period and year on year and regarding SU-LSMs, there was a decline in LSM 1 and an increase in LSM 5.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) annually produces the SAARF All Media and Products Survey (AMPS®), which will be released mid-October 2005. To produce a credible report SAARF relies on accurate population data, which is produced by the Bureau of Market Research (BMR).

The SAARF AMPS® survey uses personal in-home interviews of thousands of persons representative of the total population and provides the ‘common trading currency’ for advertisers and their agencies to select and buy appropriate media space and time. The survey also assists media owners to market their media and strategise editorial and programme content. Naturally the population forecast is of vital importance to these strategies.

Every five years BMR updates South African population statistics on a national level and updates major magisterial districts annually. The SAARF AMPS® survey covers the adult population (16 years and older) of South Africa, with a few small exceptions. The population projection for 2005 was recently released.

The projection is based on the four race groups in South Africa, namely Blacks,Whites,Indians,Coloureds and is considered on four processes: Births, Immigration, Deaths and Emigration. Births and immigration increase the stock while deaths and emigration decrease the stock.

While it is impossible to give exact statistics on these elements, results in 2005 reveal that both immigration and emigration have increased dramatically since 1990 and continue to grow. People in Africa migrate to South Africa for better economic opportunities and South Africans leave for abroad for the exact reason. But the statistics that are most influential are those of births and deaths.

While the fertility rate has remained the same, the impact of HIV/AIDS on female’s survival and fecundity has increased dramatically. 38.7% of the adult population in South Africa is HIV positive and increasing. It is projected that there will be 451 249 AIDS related deaths in 2005, which brings the accumulated total to just over 2 million. It is estimated that 9 million South Africans will die from AIDS by 2021.

The life expectancy of Blacks is 43.2, Indian 68.6, White 70.7 and Coloured 59 and while the Indian rate is on the increase, both Whites and Coloureds are on the decline. The death rate in South Africa is driven by HIV/AIDS (half of all deaths are AIDS related), followed by degenerative diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc).

This significant loss of population will affect every aspect of the economy and society, both on a micro and macro level. And the media industry is no exception. The basic fact is that if there are less people to watch television or read magazines/newspapers, the face of media will change. With entire sectors of the population ‘missing’, there will be publications/programmes that will become superfluous and the advertising spend along with it.

Professor Karel van Aardt of the Bureau of Market Research will present a discussion on the 2005 Forecast at the offices of SAARF on xxxx 2005. To attend please contact SAARF (011) 463 5340, fax (011) 463 5010.

The seventh PAMRO (Pan Africa Media Research Organisation) meeting and All Africa Media Research Conference were held recently in Stone City, Zanzibar. As founding members of the organisation, the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) are involved as long-term sponsors and conference organisers for this annual event.

Discussions held at the conference included the harmonisation of multi-country data, population and sampling matters, consumer related matters, challenges facing media audience measurement, targeting and much more. Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe are all using the basic SAARF AMPS methodology, while similar surveys will soon be done in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. The annual meeting and conference rotates between countries and will be held in South Africa in 2006.

Piet Smit, SAARF Chief Technical Officer was recently elected as PAMRO’s first Honourary President and has stepped down as Vice-President with immediate effect. Smit says, “PAMRO will make Africa the world leader in providing a research database for the growing number of global advertising agencies, marketers and media owners.” George Waitito, Managing Director of the Steadman Group in Kenya has been elected as the new Vice President.

Since the early nineties, SAARF became actively involved in the establishment of industry media and product surveys in sub-Saharan African countries. In conjunction with these countries, SAARF formed PAMRO in 1999 to promote media and product research in Africa., “The objectives of PAMRO entail the creation of a forum for advertising agencies, marketers, media research providers, media owners, and industry organisations in African countries to exchange knowledge and to learn from one another’s successes and failures, to ensure the highest quality and to harmonise research methodologies to eventually possess a continental media research database.”

SAARF is the provider of research data to the advertising, marketing and media industries and its main objective is to direct and publish media and product/brand research for the benefit of its stake-holders, thereby providing data for target marketing and a common currency for the buying and selling of media space and time and for strategic programme and editorial planning.

Johannesburg – The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) today released the fourth SAARF RAMS® Wave 2005. The total fieldwork period for this release runs from the beginning of May to end July 2005 and the AMPS® 2004 6-month small town/village/rural component was used to make it a full national release.

The sample of diary keepers for the fourth wave totals 18 472, which is the largest sample this year. Results for the fourth wave were stable and comparable to the previous wave. Listening levels and repertoires are stable and average daily listenership for individual stations remains comparable to previous waves. Time spent listening is down on year previous levels and marginally down from Wave 3 – 2005.

Paul Haupt, Chief Executive Officer SAARF says, “While demographic profiles of listeners remain stable period on period, there is significant growth in SU-LSMs 7 and 8 to listeners.”

SAARF is the provider of research data to the advertising, marketing and media industries and its main objective is to direct and publish media and product/brand research for the benefit of its stake-holders, thereby providing data for target marketing and a common currency for the buying and selling of media space and time.

The publication of the SAARF AMPS® 2005 survey results has been delayed until 24 November 2005. A data discrepancy became obvious on some of the Cape Town interview results and the SAARF board approved the SAARF management’s recommendation to redo 386 interviews in Cape Town. This decision by the Board of SAARF will delay the publication of the AMPS results by about a month.

SAARF Chairman Howard Gabriels says, “This decision to move out the release, despite time and financial implications, is testament to the value of joint industry research as it has created a situation of trust and openness, where the best interests of the industry come first.” These doctrines of transparency and honesty have contributed to SAARF’s 30-year history of credibility.

This is only the second time in the past 7 years that problems with fieldwork have delayed the publication of SAARF AMPS® survey results. The previous case was in 1998, when 800 interviews had to be redone in Johannesburg. The publication of the SAARF AMPS® 2005 results is eagerly awaited by the industry as the AMPS® 2005 6-months data base contains the largest number of product categories and brands in the history of SAARF.

Industry presentations will take place in Johannesburg on 22 November, in Durban on 23 November, and in Cape Town on 24 November 2005. The data will be released on Thursday 24 November at 12:00.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) annually produces the SAARF All Media and Products Survey (AMPS®), which provides the ‘common trading currency’ for advertisers and their agencies to select and buy appropriate media space and time. Media owners on the other hand use it to market their media as well as for strategic editorial and programme planning.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) is changing the reporting of SAARF TAMS® audience figures from a weekly report to overnight (day-after) reporting as of mid-2006. This apparent small shift will result in a giant leap for the television and advertising industries.

The SAARF Television Audience Measurement Survey (SAARF TAMS®) is able to measure the second-by-second movement of audiences whose TVs are connected to SAARF TAMS® peoplemeters. The ‘peoplemeter’ is an electronic, semi-automatic system used to measure TV viewing patterns. The system is fully automatic but is referred to as semi-automatic because it still relies on people’s cooperation to push buttons on a remote control unit to log them in/out. There are currently around 1 350 weekly reporting households in South Africa with about 4 500 adults (16+) and 1 000 children (7 – 15) reporting.

The SAARF TAMS® peoplemeters automatically monitors everything that happens on the television set and related equipment such as video recorders, M-Net decoders etc. The channels that people are viewing on one or more TV sets in each home are thus recorded so that one knows which person in the households watched and at what time. Paul Haupt, CEO of SAARF says, “The data are automatically transferred from panel homes to a central computer every 24-hours via radio, cellular telephone or landline. Until mid-2006 the data will still be published weekly, as currently on Thursdays and will be available electronically via computer bureaux or on CD-ROM in PDF format. In the future the data will be reported overnight, and supplied electronically to subscribers. There will be a parallel-run period to evaluate the data and to give agencies and media owners the opportunity to put in the required systems which will ensure that the industry will get maximum benefit from this new development”.

“There are several advantages to overnight reporting on SAARF TAMS®,” says Haupt. “It translates into a revolution in the buying and selling model for television. A more automated system means more flexibility for buying and selling. With overnight ratings, an advertising campaign can be monitored on a daily basis, which allows for flexibility in the campaign strategy if needs be. This means that media buyers will be able to change spots that are not delivering and thus reduce wasting time and money on ineffective spots, thereby leading to a far more efficient use of resources.”

In order to ensure that industry players are kept informed of developments in this regard, SAARF is planning a comprehensive update on TAMS and the introduction of overnight reporting.

The first series of industry presentations will cover some of the important changes that the industry will have to go through in preparation for overnight or next-day reporting. An introduction about the measurement of TV audiences as well as talks to highlight both Advertising Agency as well as TV Media owner perspectives will be given.

The team will be led by SAARF's CEO, Dr Paul Haupt and he will be accompanied by Chris Eyre, Executive Director of AGB Nielsen Media Research, Brian McMillan, SAARF Board Member and consultant to e.tv, and Mike Nussey, CEO of MindShare and SAARF and AMF Board Member.

The presentations will take place on the following dates:

SAARF is the provider of media audience and product/brand research data to the advertising, marketing and media industries. Its main objective is to direct and publish media and product/brand research for the benefit of its stake-holders, thereby providing data for target marketing and a common currency for the buying and selling of media space and time as well as for editorial and programme planning.

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